Pizza Lentils

            Here in Iceland, we have eaten skyr (Icelandic yogurt), moss soup, peanut butter and of course, pizza lentils. All of those foods are not too out of place to be eating in Iceland, but one might sound especially odd. What are pizza lentils you ask? Well, they are delicious. The recipe came to me one day when I made lentils for lunch. I was inspired to add canned tomatoes, cheese, basil and oregano and a dash of salt. And all of a sudden I had a dish that tastes like pizza. I was pleased with it but the real test came when I served it up to the CELL group for dinner. It was approved by the group and now pizza lentils have become a popular dinner meal. But this dish has gone beyond just a meal we eat. Pizza lentils are a state of mind.

 Wet boots on wet moss. Pizza lentils fuel us for the unpredictable Icelandic weather.

            Pizza lentils represent simplicity. All you need are six basic ingredients. The lentils boil in water and are transformed to pizza with added tomatoes and spices. The cheese is the finishing touch. But one missing ingredient out of the six would change the dish beyond recognition. The CELL group is made up of six students. There is Emily, Yilin, Liana, Chen, Elizabeth and me. And then there is Hank, our instructor and fearless leader. He is like the broccoli or other veggies you use to top your pizza lentils. Seven seems like a small group, but we have created a wonderful recipe for community. We started with a common interest in Iceland and environmentalism. Into the pot went new knowledge about sustainability and community. We added some seasoning of knitting, hiking and singing. Then a love of Icelandic animals was stirred in. To top it off, we added northern lights for color. We cooked it in the hot springs and cooled it off by a glacier. The recipe used just what we had in Iceland that was local and seasonal. It turned out wonderfully and has left me feeling full with delight and friendship and knowledge.

Glacial ice.

            Happy are those who eat pizza lentils. Iceland is unpredictable. The weather always surprises us, our plans change and experiences are not always what we expect. But our happiness comes from being present in the moment together. We can find joy in anything. I admit that pizza lentils are not the same thing as pizza, but it is a satisfying meal and tastes enough like pizza to get us excited.

            Pizza lentils celebrate weirdness. We are all quirky in different ways. Some of us CELL students make silly faces or say certain phrases a lot or get very excited about our hobbies and interests. And we are charmed by the quirkiness of the Icelanders. Their overuse of “okay” or “oh-KAY” as they say it, their laid-back attitude about everything and their colorful sweaters have really grown on us. I admit that pizza lentils sound weird. If I invited someone to dinner and served them pizza lentils when they expected normal pizza, they might be taken aback. To enjoy pizza lentils, one has to embrace the weirdness and suspend disbelief. We do that in CELL when we are being silly by pretending to have seen polar bears on icebergs and also when we are struggling to understand the Icelandic Sagas or the meaning of sustainability. I strive for an open mind in play and in reality and pizza lentils remind me of that.

            Pizza lentils dinner. Pizza lentils for life. 

The CELL group conquers mountains.

-Julia