Coming home to rice and beans
On emerging from a week-long meditation retreat and rediscovering the profundity of rice, beans, and squash.
As my week-long meditation retreat began, snow descended upon us. Week-long, snowy weather graced us with beauty as we sat, walked, and ate. Fittingly, the snow began to melt on the day of our departure, which felt like an invitation for emergence. I returned to a letter from a dear, and incredibly talented, friend, and her words and experience I felt captured mine as well, as she described the feeling of “…sitting in a snowglobe where my thoughts pass through like clouds, become shaken up like snow from the ground.” Through intentionally cultivating intimacy with the present, among others engaging in the same practice, spaciousness blossomed to sit with whatever was arising and dissipating, pleasant and unpleasant. One of these (surprisingly) satisfying experiences was eating plain-old rice and beans.
Falling back in love with rice and beans
For lunch, the kitchen always serves a main entree (vegetarian and a dairy/gluten-free alternative), a side vegetable, and a comprehensive salad bar. Three small pots of rice, tofu, and beans are available for individuals with further dietary restrictions. One day, the side-vegetable, deliciously-roasted delicata squash, made my heart swoon (I’m a sucker for whatever produce is seasonally available). I scooped up what I determined was my fair share and innately headed for the simple rice and beans. I’m not sure how they prepared the squash, my guess would be olive oil, sea salt, and some cinnamon, and the rice and beans were bare as could be, though I remedied that on my end with a salt shaker. While entirely basic, a more incredible and comforting meal could not have seemed better at that moment, and I slowly savored and intended to attend to every bite.
I’m still a bit awestruck by the extraordinariness that arose from experiencing such a simplistic meal. Perhaps there is deep-rooted nostalgia in me from eating my Cuban mother’s rice and beans throughout my life. Additionally, maybe rice, beans, and squash create a profound triad, similar to what Robin Wall Kimmerer exemplifies between corn, beans, and squash in Braiding Sweetgrass. In her chapter The Three Sisters, she demonstrates the interrelationships between the three plants, and how they physiologically depend upon one another for their flourishing. This augmentation by togetherness continues beyond the garden. She writes,
The genius of the Three Sisters lies not only in the process by which they grow, but also in the complementarity of the three species on the kitchen table. They taste good together, and the Three Sisters create a nutritional triad that can sustain people.
By the corn’s food energy, the bean’s protein, and the squash’s rich vitamins, we depend upon their unification. On retreat, perhaps the meal was so delicious because I was more attuned to the embodied sensations of nourishment.
My takeaway from this experience is simple meals are a worthwhile undertaking. I’m often looking for new, exciting recipes to try out, but it’s good to remember not to disregard the staples that have nourished humankind without fail in cultures across the globe. Simple, nutritious meals not only have a place in satiating us on busy days but also eating staples in their essence can cultivate intimacy with them. Intimacy, appreciation, gratitude, love; what wholesome states for wholesome meals.
Manifesting rice and beans- a sneak peek into February
Over the coming weeks, rice and beans will increasingly become at the forefront of my experiences, from rice stories to potlucks to traveling to Cuba. I look forward to sharing about them with you :)
Additionally, for February’s book club, we will read Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson and/or Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot. Honoring the themes of Black Cake, I’m inviting those interested to make a dessert of cultural significance to enjoy during the meeting; it probably isn’t a surprise that I am inclined to make arroz con leche (Cuban rice pudding). The book club will meet Sunday, February 26th, 6-7 pm EST. Email intereatingblog@gmail.com if you’d like to join us.