A shamanic dinner designed by a dream

A dream followed by a shamanic journey generated a new dish worthy of the first Irish shaman.The most magical food story from Mosswood Hollow so far (and there have been many).

1. A French dreamer named Paulette in my current Imaginal Healing training shares a dream in which a red-tailed hawk takes her to meet an indigenous elder who is fishing for salmon.

2. She and I agree we will travel through the portal of this dream together, meet the elder and (if permitted) taste the salmon, in a shamanic journey.

3. The journey is a fabulous success. We meet the elder, discover the healing gifts of the pool, are permitted to partake of the salmon - and then find the way open to even deeper discoveries involving connections to several ancient traditions.

4. We both have a very tactile, gustatory experience when we eat the salmon, inside our shared vision. Very specifically, we both taste hazelnuts as well as the fish. For me, it seems that mashed hazelnuts are inside the salmon. The combined flavors are delicious.

5. When we share journey reports at the end of my drumming for the group, I recall that in Celtic folklore the first Irish shaman, Finn, gains his powers by tasting salmon that has swallowed hazelnuts from the Tree of Wisdom overhanging the River Boyne.

6, During the break, I talk to Sandie (Sandra Grumman) the Kitchen Goddess and co-owner of Mosswood Hollow.
     "Do you have some hazelnuts?"
      "Yes." 
      "Are you planning to cook salmon anytime soon?"
      "Tonight." 
       I tell her the shared dream. She immediately says, "I'll put hazelnuts in the salad to accompany the salmon." 
      This sounds great, but I speak about my vivid sense - the taste is still in my mouth - that the hazelnuts are inside the salmon. Sandie does not skip a beat. "I'll put hazelnuts in the stuffing for the salmon." At three hours' notice, Sandie proceeded to create and serve a new dish to 33 eager dreamers.

7. Eh voilà! Saumon farci aux noisettes. Salmon stuffed with hazelnuts. True shaman food. A dinner designed by a dream, with the help of the most creative chef I know. Salmon à la Paulette, for short. Merci!