SEASONAL FOOD FABLES: A 4-PART PERSONAL MEMOIR
Season 1
WINTER: A WONDERLAND FOOD FABLE
A story of globally flavored fare in a snow-laden village high in the Swiss Alps
Part 1 of 4
— By Deborah Kesten and Larry Scherwitz –-
It is early in the evening. We are sitting in a restaurant in Müren, Switzerland, relishing the respite from the icy chill of the snowy winter landscape outside. We are vacationing, taking a break from the reversing-heart-disease research we’d been doing with heart patients at medical centers in both Germany and Holland. Scanning the menu, we’re feeling as if we’re perched on top of the world in a winter wonderland. Because of the locale and season, we are feeling a subtle sense of withdrawal from the world; it is a time of turning inward.
To get to this Swiss resort town, we took a slow, squeaky tram up the side of a steep, snowy mountain. Because Müren is so high up and hard to reach, there are no cars here. Instead, the busyness of everyday life is replaced with a special sense of solitude and serenity, and in winter, with the opaque, flat, silent quality that comes with snow.1
Global Menu Memories
With such winter-inspired feelings in our hearts, we scanned some unforgettable global meals—Swiss, French, Italian dishes—as the powerful scent of a pungent cheese fondue wafted past our table. Mixed veggie salads to salad with shrimp. Vegetarian struedel with hollandiase sauce. Chicken in blueberry sauce with rice and carrots (a hard-to-find dish in this region of Wienerschnitzel and beef). Veal with mushroom sauce. Or lamb as a main course.
The menu was also resplendent with dessert options—from a blackberry crepe and fresh fruit to artisan cheeses and sorbet. An abundance of some local—but mostly French wines—provided a nice option as an accompaniment to the delightful dinners.
Nourishing Body and Soul
To be truthful, while we recall some culinary delights on menus we scanned that were posted outside of various restaurants, we don’t remember much else about what we ate that first night in Müren. But we do recall—vividly—the feelings, mood, and atmosphere that flavored our dining experience: the soothing serenity of hushed conversation, the cozy comfort of being surrounded by steamed-up windows, the flicker of candlelight on each table, the soothing influence of the scents emanating from the kitchen, and the welcoming warmth of the food we ate. Blended together, all these mood-enhancing ingredients created a particular internal ambience in the soul as we ate—one that provided a perfect antidote to the icy cold and utter blackness of the moonless winter night that waited for us outside.1,2
References:
- Deborah Kesten, The Healing Secrets of Food: A Practical Guide for Nourishing Body, Mind, and Soul (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2001).
- Deborah Kesten, Feeding the Body, Nourishing the Soul: Essentials of Eating for Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Well-Being (Berkeley, CA: Conari Press, 1997; Amherst, MA: White River Press, 2007).
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Next post:
Think outside the diet to make weight loss last with “SPRING: AN EDIBLE FLOWERS FABLE,” Part 2 of our Seasonal Food Fables: A 4-Part Personal Memoir posted on our FreshFoodFables blog.
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