I just love the sound my ‘Little Foodies’ make when they are enjoying their food.
That pleasurable snort mixed with the sucking of tongues against the roofs of their mouths and the ultimate gulp as they swallow with sheer joy and satisfaction.
My children are like me….they love good food!
We forage, we pick, we grow, we collect, WE EAT.
They have at a tender age stood at the side of a hedgerow like kids in a sweet shop squealing with delight while filling their mouths with Wild Blueberries while a blue goo trickled down their chins….a natural blue, no E this or added that just a natural sweet goodness.
They have gathered much attention at our local market when they have been heard to scream for ‘lollies’ from their twin buggy and curious onlookers were amazed that these were shouts for Olives not as we all know Lollies. They still clammer all over the Olive man and I know some day soon that table is going to come a crashing!
In Spring time they eat their way through the forest….snacking on freshly picked Wild Garlic. That which survives is taken home and devoured in steaming bowls of fresh green comforting soup or tossed through pasta in the form of pesto.
You see I learned at an early age where my food comes from….I milked, I picked, I dug, I grew.
It is a love that comes early and stays for life, it forms who we are, it is a passion that is not learned but passed on, a pleasure that is around every corner.
My twins are now 5 and as we enjoy the Mushroom season together and face the Blackberry one I am sad to know that as they start school our times together are limited, our shared lunch from the market, our bowls of homemade soup will be a rare treat that I will adore and enjoy on weekends and holidays but I do know that I will send them off every day with as healthy a lunchbox as I can and a knowing of where it all comes.
My name is Karen Coakley and this is my blog with my good friend Derick McMahon and together we are @kenmarefoodies….we hope to see you around!