I’ve been talking a lot about Mindful Eating lately. It’s a term that came to me out of the blue, and only weeks later did I realize that I picked up the word “mindful” in my many years of studying Buddhism and Hinduism. I studied these for so long that the vocabulary has become somewhat incorporated into my way of expressing myself and my subconscious. I am mindful; I live mindfully.

As a result, before publishing my own Mindful Eating Manifesto–a practical approach to my favorite subject of food–I only thought it fair to publish the somewhat more philosophical article by Buddhist thinker and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.

Traditional Buddhist and Hindu teachings urge us to be mindful about every act, at every moment, every day of our lives. The word “mindful” is not a trademark. It is a way of being. Mindfulness gives meaning to every action, and creates a sharper awareness and a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things.

What does mindfulness have to do with the way I eat?

This may not seem to have anything to do with how you eat, but indeed it does. It’s the current food trend in the developed world, and I feel confident that it will spread at a rapid pace. Eating is not just about filling your belly.

Mindful Eating is about love and care from A to Z in the eating process, from the ingredients you buy, and how they were grown and processed, and whether you prepare them with TLC, to filling your belly and providing your body with the nutrients they need. To eat mindfully, you have to be aware of every step in the process, which by definition connects you, either directly or indirectly, with everyone involved: the butcher, the baker, the farmer, the fertilizer manufacturer, the seed seller, the cook, the chocolate maker (I do live in Switzerland, after all), etc.

Read more…

This week’s foodie overview

I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week, in Switzerland and around the world.

These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.

Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and wine . . . and this week, the Vancouver Winter Olympics and those cute wooly pigs you see in the photo.

Remember, these are just tweets

Remember these are just tweets, so they are short and sweet. They are not particularly orderly; I just tweeted the information as I found it.

I suggest you skim over the headings, and if you’re interested, just click on any of the links that interest you in order to read the detailed article.

Who knows, this might even tempt you to start tweeting yourself!

The list is long, so I’ll list the main topics, which are marked by headings in bold: Restaurants, Recipes, Swiss news, International news, Food trends, Nutrition, health, healthy lifestyle, Chocolate, Wine, Miscellaneous food and related info, Skiing, snow, lifestyle, and Nice quotes.

This week’s tweet list

Restaurants

Taste the latest in the food world, the wooly pig, 23 & 24 Feb. at du Chalet-des-Enfants in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne.

Tired of roestis and pasta in Verbier? Good classic French at La Grange, no surprises.

The Rambling Epicure: check out our restaurant listings.

The Bernerhof hotel in Gstaad has a restaurant for everyone’s taste: pasta, Chinese, traditional.

Tired of roestis in Zermatt? Check out authentic Japanese cuisine and sushi at Myoko, Seiler Hotel.

The food at King’s restaurant Verbier is a delightful mix of English, French, and world influences.

The Walserhof in Klosters is a perfect place to celebrate special occasions, and the food is top notch.

Everything you need to know about eating in Zermatt.

Check out the divine rolled truffle pizza at Quirinale in Geneva.

The Cottage Café in Jardins de Brunswick in Geneva is a great place to meet for afternoon meeting.

Site that lists restaurants in Switzerland that do home delivery.

Read more…

The wooly pig, which gives some of world’s most juicy and flavorful meat and fat, raised using special Austrian techniques, is one of the latest food trends. It is in fact correctly called the “Magalitsa pig, also known as the ‘curly haired hog,’ and is a breed of pig that originated from Hungary and the Balkans known for its thick wooly coat,” according to Pub Sub.

Photo courtesy of Pub Sub.

You can taste wooly pig tonight and tomorrow, 23 and 24 February, at the Chalet-des-Enfants in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne.

The complete menu, including dessert, goes for CHF 59. Reserve by calling +41 021 784 44 80 or +41 076 565 31 58.

The Rambling Epicure’s 2010 Manifesto: Mindful Eating and more

The Rambling Epicure has lots of exciting eggs in her basket for the year 2010.

The Rambling Epicure on Facebook and Twitter

I’ve started two Facebook groups: The Rambling Epicure, for our worldwide followers, and Swiss Foodies, for those who are more focused on what goes on in the Swiss food world. These groups include the GenevaLunch posts, as well as reading suggestions for food- and restaurant-related articles from news sites and blogs, with a short introduction by The Rambling Epicure.

Both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies can also be followed on Twitter.

The addition of the Facebook and Twitter feeds lets you follow “breaking news” in the food world. I will from time to time gather the highlights of these one-line inroductions into a Foodie News letter, like the one last week, so you can get an overview of what’s going on the food and restaurant world in Switzerland and abroad.

Mindful Eating

I am American and I do read Michael Pollan, but I’ve been on this ecological, healthy eating, organic food kick since I was a child. I was raised on homegrown food and Wendell Berry, so all the things we’re reading these days just seem like common sense to me. I’m just a hillbilly in a red silk dress, after all.

This being said, I want to encourage the movement toward buying local products, cooking homemade food and general awareness of what and how we eat. The rising rate of obesity in children in the Western world makes me think it’s time we all take a look at exactly what we eat and how we teach our children to eat.

A lot of this information comes from studies and literature in the U.S., so it may seem overly American at times, but just be aware that this is because Switzerland is a small country with numerous languages so we just don’t have the means of having the wealth of literature they have in the U.S.

Buying local, buying Swiss

Since I live in Switzerland, local means Swiss, so you might feel I’m pushing Swiss products down your throat. I’m not.

Geneva red radishes and baby beets.

Buying local is not only healthier; it also creates a local economy. I encourage everyone, wherever they live, to do the same. We’ll not only eat healthier, but we’ll also support our local businesses and provide jobs.

It is also more ecological to buy products that were produced just down the road from your house: less pollution, less fuel consumption.

It means being mindful of what you buy and what you put in the your body. It means being mindful of the effect it has on the environment and on your health.

Restaurant recommendations

2009 was my first year of doing this blog, and I had a lot of ground to cover. This year I will devote more time to searching for restaurants for all budgets, restaurants that are in line with my Mindful Eating Manifesto (to be published soon here on GenevaLunch), and just interesting places to eat.

Every meal doesn’t have to be a gourmet meal. If your products are good quality, you don’t even have to do a lot to whip up a tasty meal. So restaurants that use good ingredients will have a place right alongside gourmet restaurants.

This week’s foodie overview

I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week.

These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.

This week was the countdown to Valentine’s Day, so I listed oodles of Valentine’s dinners, weekend packages at hotels and chocolate shops. You can find the Valentine’s venues I tweeted last week in the 20 Valentine venues, posted earlier this week.

Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and Alinghi . . .

Remember, these are just tweets

Remember these are just tweets, so they are short and sweet. They are not particularly orderly; I just tweeted the information as I found it.

I suggest you skim over the headings, and if you’re interested, just click on any of the links that interest you in order to read the detailed article.

Who knows, this might even tempt you to start tweeting yourself!

This week’s tweet list

Valentine’s

20 Valentine venues: restaurants, chocolate and hotel packages for the “big day”!

Valentine’s events in La Gruyère.

Valentine’s package at Bernard Ravet, CHF500, hotel, champagne, 9-course dinner, breakfast for two, Relais & Châteaux.

Restaurants in French-speaking Switzerland w/ Valentine’s specials; just click on your canton! NOT TESTED BY THE RAMBLING EPICURE.

GenevaLunch: Lake Geneva Valentine’s cruise.

Ramada Geneva offering Valentine’s Day brunch as well as candelit dinner.

Hôtel des Armures in Geneva: special Valentine’s package, rooms, champagne, breakfast and chocolate.

Valentine’s package at Hotel Royal Geneva. Le Duo, chic delish restaurant & brasserie, chef trained by Bernard Loiseau.

Jamie Oliver’s Valentine’s Day menu, along with recipes and tips for a romantic feast.

GenevaLunch: Valentine’s for the “older” crowd.

Read more…

Vineet Bhatia, the Bombay-born chef who first got a Michelin star at his Chelsea restaurant Rasoi, and another one a few months ago at his Geneva restaurant Rasoi By Vineet in the Mandarin Oriental, is now off to Abu Dhabi, reports Perpetual Traveller Overseas.

Bhatia changed the face of the Indian culinary scene in London, where practically every restaurant served the same old same old, by breaking out of these boring boundaries and changing it into something modern, innovative and competitive. The number of modern Indian and Indian fusion restaurants in London, from budget price to upscale, has increased significantly as a result.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is sponsoring its annual 15-day culinary get-together of starred chefs from around the world, starting on February 5. The meals will take place in Abu Dhabi’s most prestigious restaurants, with the guest chefs, who have twenty-two Michelin stars in all, working with the resident chefs. It is a real meeting of East and West.

Bhatia will be working with the chefs at Yas Island Rotana, a restaurant serving both North and South Indian cuisine, from 16 to 19 February 2010.

For more information, contact Gourmet Abu Dhabi.

The Rambling Epicure’s chocolate notes: countdown to Valentine’s Day

Comprehensive list of chocolate shops and visits to chocolate makers in Geneva area. Each chocolate maker makes its own special chocolate creations for Valentine’s Day, so check out the chocolate works of art at your favorite local chocolate maker.

A chocolate heart from Chocolatier Durig in Lausanne.

Organic, fair-trade chocolate at Chocolatier Durig in Lausanne. Online ordering.

From chocolate lollipop to cup of organic dark hot chocolate. Just dip lollipop into hot milk and stir for few moments et voilà, a delicious cup of hot Swiss chocolate! List of sales outlets at La Cuillère Suisse.

How did chocolate get to Switzerland anyway? They don’t grow chocolate in the Alps! Read about it here.

How to make a chocolate heart for your sweetie, but please substitute Swiss chocolate! Buy the chocolate at your favorite local chocolate maker.

Photo courtesy of Once Upon A Time.

History, ecological tourism and regional food products all in one

The Lausanne tourist bureau is supporting the efforts of three wine estates around Lausanne to provide rooms on a B & B basis, meals, receptions, cocktail parties, and wine tastings. These include the Château de Rochefort, the Abbaye de Mont and the Domaine de Burignon.

Each estate offers different amenities, but all have shops selling local food products.

Rooms go for CHF 50 at the Château de Rochefort, including breakfast.

The Abbaye de Mont has reception rooms, including one that can welcome groups of 8 to 20 people for meals or buffet teas. Cocktail parties for up to one hundred people can be organized in the wine press room or the courtyard. The cellar can hold up to fifty people for catered meals. It is located in Mont-sur-Rolle, between Lausanne and Geneva.

In addition to its spectacular view over Lake Geneva and the Alps, the Domaine de Burignon, located in Lavaux between Vevey and Lausanne, uses local Vaud ingredients to prepare meals, which are served with wines made on the estate. They have a capacity of 8 to 20 for meals, while they can handle up to 40 people for stand-up receptions.

They have two apartments with bathrooms, going for CHF 60 for one person or CHF 100 for two people, including breakfast. The rate is cheaper for children and according to the length of the stay.

This effort is made in the context of encouraging sustainable eco-tourism.

Rooms are fitted out simply, with an emphasis on natural materials. Furniture is made from wood coming from FSC-certified forests, much of it from the Lausanne Forestry, Estates and Vineyard Service.

Related link: Lausanne tourist bureau

When it comes to wine and food, a name is not just a name

Switzerland has had AOCs for a while now, but on 14 January 2010, the Swiss federal agriculture office, OFAG, published an official bulletin containing a list of approximately 800 appellations of origin and geographical indications, roughly the equivalent of the French Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC). These were voted in in the context of a reciprocal agreement with the EU, and are to be protected and respected throughout the EU.

This effort should help to improve the reputation of Swiss products outside Switzerland. As of 15 March 2010, any person or company can stamp agricultural products produced in the defined geographic locations with the geographic indications and appellations defined in this list with an AOC type seal.

The project is still being finalized, so there may be even more good news on the way.

Read more…

If you’re looking for greener pastures, this weekend is the time. Swiss’expo, the “largest farm” in Switzerland, opened 14 January 2010 and will continue until the 17th.

Lovely the cow.

It is being held at Beaulieu in Lausanne.

The agricultural show includes more than 1,000 show animals, including calves, cows, horses, ponies, and goats, as well as local and regional produce, to be eaten on site or to take away, and an organic farm and village.

More than one thousand European-bred cows will be in competition. The “coronation ceremony” of showered down, brushed up and decked out cows will take place on Friday 15 January, when the prize cattle will be put up for auction.

Saturday night offers music and awarding of prizes to champion livestock.

For the children: Lovely is coming to Beaulieu

The Swiss milk producers association and their cow Lovely will show you how a cow produces milk and how it is turned into butter, cheese and yogurt through the use of games, diagrams, photos and tastings.

Colorado Country Band: it’s party time this weekend

The Colorado Country Band will play on Saturday 16 January 2010 from 19H30 to 20H30 and on Sunday 17 starting at 13H. They play new country rock.

For information: