Oriental Zen

Back when we were "visiting" Japan and China at school - I went looking for an oriental grocery store to buy 'real' chinese dumplings for our celebration.....  There was one just down the street from me believe it or not.  I had driven past it for years and never really noticed it.  It is a small lil shop tucked into a large sprawling metropolis - easy to miss (that's my story and I am sticking to it !!)  And I found the BEST dumplings ever - and so easy to make.......... 


Well around Easter... W was telling me about going out for dim sum with an oriental friend.  They had gone to a 'real' oriental restaurant - and W raved about the hot mustard.  (W loves hot food / hot spices / hot everything!!!  which is why he's with me of course - cheeky grin) 

So I ventured back into the oriental grocery shop one day to see if I could find this hot mustard.  I had a wonderful sales clerk help me find the mustard........ and she added a hot chili sauce  - promising me that if W didn't find it hot enough for his tastes - there was one other he could try.  The same day I bought some of those delicious dumplings I had bought for the kiddies and some sweet chili sauce (I do not like hot sauces - even more so since being sick last year)

The dumplings are so easy to make that they became a bit of a diet staple around here - especially on nights when I was too tired to cook.  The sweet chili sauce was like ambrosia - my god it was delicious !!! 

Last night I didn't know what to cook for dinner.  I didn't feel like cooking.  I was feeling just a little battered and bruised from "stuff" ........... so around 7:00 I decided to whip up a batch of dumplings and sweet chili sauce.  While they were cooking I decided to break out the oriental dishes and chop sticks... to pay a little attention to the visual appeal of my meal instead of just wolfing them down and getting the meal over with. 

The picture's a bit dark - black plate on dark table - but hopefully you get the idea...
Eating with chopsticks takes time - and makes me sit back and enjoy the meal a little bit more... makes me breath while I am eating..... creates an almost Zen moment.  I took pride in the placement of the dumplings around the dipping cup..... creating (in my mind's eye) a flower........ 


And I thought to myself when I had finished - no more wolfing down meals just to get them over with........... I must start paying a little more attention to detail....... find my Zen ... relax into it.... refocus from the busy noisy life outside the 4 walls I call home... 


Take time to appreciate...............to be Zen....... at one with the quiet stillness around me.