Homemade tartar sauce beats any ready-made sauce with a million miles
It is easy to make and you can turn the whole process into a mindful experience
What you need
1 red onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
mayonnaise
gherkins (tiny, as the small ones are crunchy and not too wet)
1/2 a lemon
Optional additions:
capers
and/or
boiled carrots
How to do it
Chop the red onion into tiny pieces.
If you feel bored or drained by the task, then recognize it as an excellent opportunity to practice mindfulness.
Focus on the beauty of the onion
Red onions have an amazing colour repertoire, they aren't just red and white
Listen to your knife going chuck-chuck
Feel the texture, you will notice both silky- and slippery surfaces when working with an onion
Observe your body's sensations as the onion fumes hit you
Keep on chopping, this sauce is to be made with care
Squirt plenty of mayo into a bowl, add the chopped onion and crush the garlic gloves on top, mix
Take you tiny gherkins and start chopping them even tinier. As with the onion; sense your work using your eyes, ears, nose and fingertips
Add the chopped gherkins into your mix, squirt over some lemon juice and Sauce Version 1 is ready. It improves when sitting in the fridge over-night.
Version 2: Add a handful of halved capers
Version 3: Add two or three handfuls of finely cubed boiled carrots
Version 4: For picky kids: Skip the onion, use less garlic, and serve with vegetable sticks.
More mindful tips & tricks
If you are up for some hard-core mindfulness, here's what you can do:
Loving-kindness:
While chopping, after having used the senses mentioned above (sight, touch, smell, and hearing. Because tasting is not yet allowed...) start practicing some loving kindness. Think of the people you will be serving. Become aware of how your chopping efforts will turn into a delightful experience for them. Do this with a pure heart, wishing your guests well, not out of hope for gratitude or praise.
Appreciating-gratitude:
Whilst squirting the mayo; think about how this white mixture was produced and ended up in your kitchen. There were hens laying the eggs, those eggs were packed and shipped. Sunflowers grew in a field (planted, cared for, and harvested), and oil was extracted from the sunflower seeds. Vinegar was made god knows how and then the mayo maker bought those ingredients plus some other ingredients, and everything was mixed and bottled. Lots of people worked to get it into the shop you bought it from.
And you had the money to buy it!
Hurray!
...and now you can taste it, or better: Fridge it until tomorrow and then taste.
This is called delayed gratification, another healthy mental exercise for most people living in countries with a "developed" economy.
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