Wander|Wonder : Taste
The sweet delight of fruit, the herbal pleasures of tea, the earthy mushroom - I taste the earth, I honour her gifts that nourish heart, body and mind.
Here is the final part of this little Wander|Wonder series - I hope you are enjoying!
You can read See here, and Hear here, Touch here, and Smell here..
Vianne:
And these are for your husband. Unrefined cacao nips from Guatemala, to awaken the passions.
Yvette:
Psshh. You've obviously never met my husband.
Vianne:
Well, you've obviously never tried these.
~ Chocolat, movie, 2000
Savour
At first it seems like this sense might be a bit harder to utilise as a way of bringing ourselves closer to, and connecting with, nature. But it only took a moments thought, because the act of eating is for us no different than it is for any wild animal - we have just put up some barriers and exclusions, some modern interventions, between that rudimentary act and what it is we actually do. Microwaves, pressure cookers, air fryers aside, ultimately what makes us is what we fuel ourselves with. What we ingest is the building blocks of our actuality. And despite modern intervention, the majority of that still comes from the earth in one way or the other. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, herbs, spices - everything we can possibly need to thrive is provided by nature, and they have always existed in one form or another. Access to fresh food should be a right, but unfortunately for many it has become a privilege that they cannot afford, and that is truly heart-breaking.
But savouring, now, that is not just eating is it.
To savour is to let a taste linger on our tongue, eyes closed, enveloped by the exquisiteness of it all. To be immersed in not just the taste, but the bodily sensations it evokes, the smell so closely associated with taste, memories that may be attached to other times encountering that same taste, wishes for what should accompany it next time. For me, the epitome of truly delightful decadence and simultaneous connection and reverence for our earth comes through two fruits in particular (but truly, any fresh food could be the conduit): strawberries, and apples. Strawberries. Strawberries. There is little I would not do for a plate of their succulent, divine explosion of ambrosia and sunshine - they taste like the sort of red that can only be found in dreams. What an odd, yet true sentence.
Do you have foods that you feel as strongly about. Please excuse me a moment while I go get some strawberries from my fridge…
Mantra
The sweet delight of fruit, the herbal pleasures of tea, the earthy mushroom - I taste the earth, I honour her gifts that nourish heart, body and mind.
Wandering
If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where you can sustainably forage for wild foods, and you know what you are doing (no poisonous mushrooms for dinner!) please do your wander there today, and share it with me! If, like me, you have a small yard and grow some herbs or some veggies, go for a wander there today. If you don’t, try a wander at your local farmers market, or in the fresh food section of your grocery store, or if you are all stocked up, in your fridge and pantry! Pick up or consider each item as though you have never seen it before, really notice its appearance, the colour, the texture. Smell it. Then take a little nibble. Thoughtfully consider the taste - there are some words below that may help. Alternatively make yourself a little picnic, go for a wander and eat some berries under a tree. Lose yourself in your sense of taste, and allow your other senses to be caressed by the wild around you.
Wondering
In today’s journaling adventure, think about what natural foods delights you would bring to a picnic to have at your favourite wild place. You are bringing something to share, so it needs to be animal/fish/bird/creature friendly, which means being as close to its original form as possible (no Miracle Whip or Ovaltine or Milo I am afraid). What would you bring? I would make The Wondersmiths Savoury Solstice Galette, along with a salad made of as many greens and ‘weeds’ as I could find, with grilled peaches and roasted cashews and a honey citrus dressing. For dessert are strawberries - ALL THE STRAWBERRIES, wild ones, white ones, rosey red ones as big as your hand. My mouth is watering again.
The Wondersmith is a such a beautiful inspiration, and were she to hold a fairytale gathering in woods close enough to me, I would be there in a heartbeat. Have a little wander|wonder around her blog and find some new recipes you might like to take on a forest (or seaside) adventure with you.
Write about where you would go and what you would take, and what creatures you might expect to meet there and share your delights with. How does the thought of this adventure make you feel? How can you make it a reality in some small way?
20 Words Used To Describe Specific Tastes And Flavours from Writers Write
acidic – very sour
astringent – an astringent taste is one that is strong and bitter
bitter – a strong sharp taste that is not sweet
bitter-sweet – tasting bitter and sweet at the same time
brackish – has a slight taste of salt and is therefore not pure
hot – contains a lot of spices that create a burning feeling in your mouth
mature – has been left to develop a pleasant strong flavour
mild – does not have a strong taste
ripe – has a strong flavour
robust – has a lot of flavour
savoury – tasting of salt or spices and not sweet
seasoned – containing seasonings to improve flavour
sharp – has a strong and bitter flavour
sour – with a taste like a lemon
spicy – has a strong hot flavour
sweet-and-sour – contains both sweet and sour flavours
syrupy – thick, sweet, and sticky
tart – a slightly sour taste
unsalted – not flavoured with salt
watery – pale, or not strong
Savoury observational meditation
In our final observational meditation, we are going to continue our sensory exploration, focussing on taste this time. Grab yourself a few items to taste - then thoughtfully consider each one, consider the flavour, explore whether that flavour changes the more you chew or even after you swallow. Think about how eating this item is an act of absorption of all of its energy - you are now part apple, part parsley, part kale. That always tickles me, it also feels like a huge honour in many ways too. It feels right, as well, don’t you think?
Thank you for Wonder Walking with me
Thank you, dear one, for wandering and wondering with me these last few weeks. How did these prompts make you feel? Did you come to any epiphanies about how you can connect more readily with the nature that you have around you? Do you feel more centred, more willing to explore, to observe, to celebrate and reciprocate with the natural world in your place?
Many of you have let me know what connection to the wild means to you - has that changed at all after these sense contemplations? Has it evolved or deepened? Have you found other ways to consider how you connect, or how to connect?
I so appreciate you, and I wish you all the dappled sunshine through canopies tall, and a handful of strawberries to boot!