Savour

Can you imagine if all food were just meant to keep us alive? Fuel for our cells? It wouldn't need to look good, taste good - we could have a nutritious drip inserted into our veins and still keep going full-strength.

Instead it's absolutely marvellous sometimes to truly relish the good food we have. I know not all of it is necessarily the healthiest, but there are some things that are just goooood!

I've got a favourite "comfort food" - a triple-decker sandwich layered with good-quality white cheddar and sliced sweet & sour pickles, microwaved for a minute until the cheese is just melting. Thinking of it has my mouth watering - though it's not something I'd live off of.

Lemon sorbet on a hot day - how divine is that! Or fresh-picked home-grown baby tomatoes, still warm from the sun and bursting like a universe of flavour in your mouth. Sweet watermelon - not grainy, not over-ripe, just perfect. Or a fresh focaccia steaming with herbs and olives right out of the oven.

Last weekend I got into baking mode and made pizza bases (my special recipe) - topped them with a mixture of crumbled feta, olive oil, rosemary, garlic and calamata olives. We ate that with a tomato-smothered pasta. Pure heaven.

And, on the more sinful side - what about a fallen chocolate cake - the kind that is merely dark chocolate, eggs and a smattering of flour, sinking into mousse at the bottom with a crisp thin crust on top. Too rich to eat in quantity, but a teaspoonfull melting in the mouth is ecstasy!

In winter there's nothing like the smell of a curry or thick stew simmering on the stove, or a tray of roast potatoes with thyme in the oven. The aroma of bread just baked, smothered in real farm butter and chunky strawberry jam.

I'm so glad we don't live with nutritional liquid drips feeding us what's needed to keep our bodies going. Instead we get to savour a myriad of marvellous tastes, textures and smells, revel in enjoying a meal or indulging in the ultimate treat.