Oh happy hunting we go!

As has become tradition over the last few years for me and S during the middle of October we go and collect pine cones for my mother-in-law, who loves to have the real fire lit during the winter months. This is a wonderful excuse to escape the city, even in the drizzle we wrap up in wellies and raincoats and head to the pine forests.This year M and E were of great help gathering up the cones they found.

The liberation I feel on leaving the city is magical, I live in a beautiful city, relatively small in size and as I work in a large local school it can sometimes feel like I'm living inside a goldfish bowl. The City of Santiago de Compostela is at the heart of Galicia in the north west of Spain, it is a stunning region with the most amazing beaches and lots of green all around. As we are in the centre of the city we have to remind ourselves during the colder months to get out of the town and JUST be in nature, especially now E. doesn't rely on a pushchair. 

M was really excited about the pine trees and the reasons we were collecting the cones - they make amazing fire starters, by the way. We also found  M.'s favourite snack of the season, the humble chestnut. We were able to show her where they came from and how to open them without getting pricked. It took some convincing that they had to be roasted before she could eat them though!

We first found this forest a few years ago as we had gone for lunch to a quirky restaurant/shed right next door called Fogar do Santiso. The restaurant was famous for it's cobwebs more than anything but over the years they have evolved into serving only organic dishes. They have a great children's play area outside when the weather permits and scattered around the "cave" inside they have small log fires burning, which makes it a really fun place to go with kids during all seasons. The food is typically Galician with some added extras my favourite dish was the patatas a la brasa con romero - roast potato wedges with olive oil and rosemary.

Had I been able to save some of the chestnuts from the beggars at my feet I would have given this  recipe a go Chestnut Brownies from my favourite food blogger at Savoring the Spice

As always getting out of the city lifted me and made me connect with the girls in a fun and calming way. We actually managed to sit and enjoy our meal with both girls eating really well. It was one of the first meals we've had as a family where S didn't repeatedly say "this was a bad idea", in fact the whole day was his idea and it was a great one!