garlic bread

Any other Peter Kay fans out there, will probably recognise a catchphrase in the words 'garlic bread' . As food items go, it's one of those 'love it' or 'hate it' things, like marmite, or olives, or coffee cake.

For me, there is almost nothing to beat the appetising smell of hot and crusty garlic bread, brought straight from oven to table, and there is almost nothing worse than coming downstairs in the morning to be greeted by the rising aroma (now travelling up the stairs and all around the house) of the garlic peelings that got left in the bottom of the kitchen bin the night before.

Wild garlic grows in great abundance here along the river bank and edges of streams. It has been particularly stunning this year, with bold, green leaves and a mass of white flowers, literally carpeting whole stretches of riverside. The best time of day to enjoy the whole freshness of it, is early evening, following a rain shower, as the warm air lifts and carries the scent.

Henry tells a story from the old dairy farming days, when the milking cows got out, and gorged themselves on garlic leaves along the river. The milk was tainted so badly, they could not send any milk for four days, and had to tip it all away. I can imagine a different outcome these days. There must be a cafe bar somewhere, that would leap at the chance to serve garlic milkshake?

Personally, I think I'll stick to garlic bread.