Quiet Food

by Tilly

I saw in Christmas 2010 and the new year at a Buddhist retreat centre (the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo in the South African Midlands, to be exact). Apart from daily meditations, discussions, reflections and “mindful ambling” (which is just a fancy way of thinking while you walk), one of the anchors of this retreat were the meals. Three-a-day, ovo lacto-vegetarian fare, it was something I looked forward to. 

Admittedly, I even pigged out a little. How could I resist?

The food was simple. Cottage pie made with lentils instead of beef. Baked potatoes with guacamole and cheese. Pea soup. Vegetable soup. Just loads of yummy, yummy but plain-and-simple meals.

Because the Centre is built on acres and acres of land, they of course have their own veggie patch. The patch isn’t so much as a 4 metre by 4 metre square of ground they had spare at the back of the kitchen, but a massive area where they grow loads of things.

Another rule of the Centre is that you are silent during meals. (Actually ‘mindful’ is the word they use, but really they just mean silent.) This is to encourage actually eating while you eat instead of mindlessly shoveling food down your throat as fast as it can go, while discussing the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

So, with all of this is mind, here is what I’ve learnt:

• What real olives taste like. Which, for the record, is nothing like the crap they sell at supermarkets.
• How buttery and tasty an avocado can be if it is naturally grown and not the size of one’s head. These were about the size of a tennis ball and man, did they taste good.
• How nourishing hot porridge can be on a cool and misty morning.
• How good vegetables are when they’re not overshadowed by a hunk of meat.
• How textures can be so pleasing to the mouth. Case in point: a gem squash half, with peas scooped inside. The firmness of the peas contrasting with the softness of the squash is heavenly.
• How cold water feels when it’s chasing warm food down my gullet.
• What it feels like to be satisfied (not fully full, but full enough).
• And lastly, how easy it is not to have to talk to people while you’re eating.

I am looking forward to another great year of great food, great wine and great conversations. But I want to try it all from a different angle this year. So here are my eating resolutions:

1. Don’t be a glutton. You don’t have to eat everything or try everything. (You can just try Tara-Zee’s).
2. Don’t get drunk. Drink wisely and enjoy the bouquet of the wine. Really taste it.
3. Drink more water.
4. Pick up more food types on a fork so that the textures can be enjoyed at once. Really think about whether or not it works together and why or why not.
5. Eat more veggies. Eat less meat (including poultry and fish).
6. Have one meal a day in silence. Enjoy every mouthful of it.

Happy 2011! I look forward to more meals shared with TZ and friends, and more of these experiences shared with you.

PS. Wonder if I’d get away with telling TZ that “this meal will be eaten in silence.”… She’d probably stare at me for a while and then roll her eyes and carry on talking.