It’s been a while since my last blog post, too long. I needed to break the curse – So I’ve thought long and hard as to what my curse lifting post should be about – the latest hip dirty burger bar, or the 20 course tasting menu from that new swanky place…but sometimes it’s the small familiar places that inspire you. The places you least expect, the places you’ve been to countless times and maybe it’s a reflection of my current state of mind – the curse has been broken.
Not just a food blog anymore – not going to limit myself – so I feel like writing about why I run…
What do I think about when I run? Nothing and everything…I don’t dwell on specific thoughts, I let my thoughts wash through my mind, my thoughts are fluid, thoughts just flow, from one to the next…
I think deeply about Aine and Flynn, about how lucky I am to have them in my life. Running gives me the space and perspective to appreciate everything good I have in my life. I think about my relationship with my parents, and how fortunate I am to have grown up with them, my childhood, and what it must be like for them to look at me now with my own son. All at once 36 years seems to stretch into the horizon, but yet it’s disappeared within the blink of an eye.
When I run I can think about my life in a very wide-angle continual perspective – it’s as if I can see all the scenes that have made up my life to that very second, and then if I want to I can slow it down, and zero in on a particular moment or person and fully appreciate everything about that single point in time in utter positivity and complete lack of judgement.
Running is my calm place, devoid of all anxiety or worry – running is peace of mind. It is my way of reminding myself of all that I have, I don’t dwell on things that I don’t have – and by running and experiencing the pure joy of moving and working your body, breathing deeply and feeling your heart beat strong and hard, to feel that life force within you – it’s the life force that connects you to all the people you have close.
At some point on a long run, the feeling of joy, the life force, along with the complete devotion and appreciation for the family and friends you have in your life – it all blurs into one wave of crackling electric emotion that you can feel across your skin, and for a few seconds you are purely in the moment, standing at the top of the mountain, surveying all that you are lucky to have.
Every run is a pure expression of the gratitude I feel for my wife, my son, my parents, my extended family and the friends I’ve made along the journey so far – every run is my tribute to them.
This is why I run.
Risotto is a dish I love to cook. I don’t have it that often, but when I do, I get lost in the simple act of cooking it. I get cravings for risotto. They come once a month or so, and when they do, I have to give in. Continue reading
It’s not often I get to wander the streets of Dublin on a Monday morning, at my leisure, whilst the world hikes it into work to start the week. Having a Monday off is very good for the constitution, I should really do it more often. It’s funny how walking through Dublin knowing that the majority of people are in work casts a new light on the City. You notice things that you may not have seen before, the detail in the grand scheme of things. The cast iron shamrock of an old street lamp or the mosaic roof on the balcony of Bus Arras… Continue reading
Pizza is one of those foods that is sure to stir up some very strong opinions. We all think we know where the best pizza can be found, whether it’s for the base, the sauce, the cheese or the selection of toppings, pizza is a universal food favourite. Continue reading
I won’t lie to you, this recipe is a bit of a cooking project, it requires time, love and little patience, but if it’s flavour and relish you’re after then this is a recipe you must try.
For every food lover there are restaurants that are the serious ones. The ones on the list. At the top of these lists are the establishments that occupy the hallowed ground territory. St John Restaurant in Smithfield is my hallowed ground. Continue reading
This year’s holiday was a week in the West of Ireland, during the first week of October. I love Autumn in Galway, but coming back here always stirs up a lot of emotions in me. When I was 23 I was persuaded by my now wife to move to Galway. I was lucky enough to meet Seamus Sheridan and blag a job in his cheese shop. So began my love affair with good food.I feel very privileged to have spent time within the Galway foodie circle that emanated from Sheridan’s Cheesemongers.
Boojum burrito and cold beer
Hi, my name is Jeremy and I am a burrito addict. I’ve been addicted to burritos for quite some time now…
The first throes of my burrito addiction began on an innocent trip a few years ago to San Francisco. Ever since that first bite of a Mission burrito the world has been permanently tilted on its axis.
Let’s be honest, we like a drink in this country, but if you stopped to ask the person on the street to name an Irish beer you’ll probably hear the same big brands repeated over and over again. But 175 years ago things were very different with 17 small breweries in Northern Ireland and 154 in the Republic of Ireland. Continue reading
The Pickled Quince 