“So when confusion or pain seems to tighten what is possible, when sadness or frustration shrinks your sense of well-being, when worry or fear agitates the peace right out of you, try lending your attention to the nearest thing. Try watching how the dust lifts and resettles when you blow on it… Give your full attention over to the nearest of life—to how an apple peels and juices—and after a while, each thing attended will reveal yet another way back to center.”?
— Mark Nepo

How an apple peels and juices. How basil lifts when watered. How mung beans sprout with the sun. How my brain fog lifts when I’m laying in the sunshine and how my heart fills in movement. I’m noticing more.

The practice of self-love is always evolving, and the stages of life are constantly fluctuating and always telling me truths in clues I barely notice. If I stop right now and listen, I feel the clue in the top left corner of my chest. Right under my collarbone. There’s a shift happening.

I’ve always been a deeply emotional person. Trusting my intuition has served me, but to really feel where things are happening in my body is another lesson I’m learning. I don’t always know what it means, but I’m noticing the feeling.

I’ve started asking myself: Did that person feel good to be around? What about that moment felt good and where did I feel that in my body? Is that how I want to spend my money? Did that feel good? Was that moment a full-body yes? Why or why not?
My recent experience with 5Rhythms dance was an absolute full-body yes! In this situation, I love dancing more than I love sharing food. They’re both a love language to self and others. I’m realizing how incredibly important free dance is to me. If I can close my eyes and just move, it’s truly like coming back to myself.

5Rhythms focuses on Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, Stillness. My teacher Heerraa guided a group of 40 of us through these over two and a half days. It was truly incredible to connect so deeply with people I’ve never met through the thoughtful, intentional prompts she designed and the music to get me through into new pathways.

This is the kind of somatic work brings me back into my body so I can be the best version of myself in order to create, design, and live in the present.

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?Staccato Citrus Salad

The salad I made after the dance helped me ease into stillness.

I stood by the river to make this gorgeous salad, and before I knew it, what would easily take 15 minutes to make took me an hour. Pouring the oil and zesting the lemon. Mixing the tahini, and grinding the pepper. It was a gentle process. The river rushed past me, giving me the comfort of sensual memories swimming naked in so many rivers.

The citrus was cut rather than peeled—an easy way to see the pulp shine brighter and also creates a totally different textural experience.
Each pea pod was different and I found it quite pleasurable to open each pod, curious if this one would have smaller or bigger peas. Easy to see just by looking at the unopened snap pea, but still a funny practice in creating joy in a small moment. Some pods cracked easily and I found myself, as a food stylist, deciding their worth of being seen. Stopping and questioning. Eating some on the spot and displaying others. The freshly sprouted mung beans feel like an extra little gift of slow pleasure. Sprouts do that for me—an easy way to say I’ve been thinking about you. Realizing I’ve been taking an hour and the plates are nearly all arrived on the long table inside. Peas start being cracked open quicker and breaking easier. The thought of others’ thoughts creep in, and I slow, and then quicken, and then slow and then quicken, and I finally give in instead of taking 20 more minutes to feel complete. It was a good noticing for me. Although, in the end, I could have taken another hour if I really wanted to.

I’m noticing unnecessary chaos I create for myself. Noticing when rushing really matters. Most of the time it doesn’t.
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close up of citrus, snap peas, sprouted mung beans
Staccato Citrus Salad
A bright, zippy, layered salad inspired by movement, sunshine, and slowing down. The dressing is sharp and citrusy—with a good tingle on the tongue.

Ingredients
For the Dressing:

Zest and juice of 3 lemons
¼ cup tahini (I guess here)
¼ cup olive oil (also a guess)
Tons of freshly ground pepper
Sprinkle of flaky salt
For the Salad:

3 romaine lettuces, chopped
1 cup sprouted mung beans
1 grapefruit, peel removed with a knife so the vibrant pulp is visible
1 orange, peel removed the same way as the grapefruit
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1 cup snap peas, carefully opened to reveal the peas inside
Instructions
Whisk until creamy and well combined.
Lemon zest and juice
Tahini
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Add the romaine?
Cut and toss the romaine in the dressing until well coated.
Tip: A tray makes the layering more visible and beautiful. If using a bowl, layer in halves—half of the toppings, then more romaine, then the rest of the toppings on top.
Sprouted mung beans
Citrus slices (grapefruit and orange)
Snap peas
Green onions
Notes
The dressing is sharp—on purpose.
Want it milder? Use just 2 lemons instead of 3.
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This Staccato Citrus Salad is for the one who’s building new pathways to pleasure. It’s a zesty shock to your taste buds. Reminding them you’re worthy of stunning, slow food you can play with, be with. Maybe it’ll get you up, out of your seat to do a little dance yourself.

Just like dust resettling after a breath, these small acts—dancing, cooking, noticing—bring me back to center. One snap pea at a time.

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Sending love,

Sam

p.s. tastesaltandsilk.com is sooooo very close.