Comfort Food!

by Mary Jo

In complicated times, we need our comfort foods!  What foods and drinks do you reach for when you need soothing?

Nicola is first:

I’ve been a comfort eater ever since I was a teen and over the last couple of years my eating did rather spiral out of control as a result of all the stresses in the world, macro-sized ones and personal challenges. One bag of crisps became an entire family sized bag I had to myself and the same went for chocolate. When I realised that I needed an entirely new set of clothes to accommodate me and my eating habit, I realised I had to stop.

So I signed up for a programme to help me change my mindset towards food. It wasn’t a diet because it didn’t need willpower, which was good because I don’t have any when it comes to eating. Instead it sort of reset my attitude towards food. So the brilliant thing about it is that I can still eat all the lovely comfort foods I enjoy – cheese and onion crisps, chocolate mini-eggs, hot buttered toast – but as treats rather than in huge quantities. And I’ve discovered the comfort of eating stuff that’s actually good for me: luxury jacket potatoes, lovely rich casseroles in winter.

But when it comes to the ultimate in comfort food then I seek out baklava. For those who haven’t yet discovered it, baklava is a layered filo pastry dessert filled with chopped nuts (my favourite being pistachios), sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. When it’s warm the filo pastry is all soft and gooey with the honey mixture, and the spices are subtle and delicious. You can cut it into square pieces to eat as sweet treats – as large or small as you like. It’s scrumptious and there’s a wonderful recipe for it here:

 

Pat's turn!

I know I’m the odd one out, story of my life. But I am not a food person. When I want to check out for a while, I reach for music and books or go for a long walk in the sun. I swear my batteries operate on sunlight. I’ve never been in the habit of snacking. I suppose, growing up, we never had snacks so it wasn’t a habit I developed. I do remember as a college student working impossible hours and taking an overload of classes with no chance of seeing the sun. I used to stop at the candy counter in the store where I worked and buy a quarter’s worth of malted milk balls every day to compensate. So I do understand the concept. But I was always aware that it was an appalling habit and stopped the instant I had a chance to get out of that deep dark ditch.

 So about the only comfort food I can offer is tea. I do enjoy a good tea on a cool morning. If someone offered me a cookie, I wouldn’t throw it back at them. <G> And during Covid, when flour was almost impossible to find here, I got quite desperate to bake something, anything. But I think that was more the power of denial. If I can’t have it, I want it, and I want it NOW. But once the worst was over, the cookies went into the freezer, and we picked them out occasionally for an after dinner sweet.

 So give me sunshine or a cuddly blanket and a good book and I’ll hide until the rest of the world calms down.

Anne here:

While I do turn to comfort eating from time to time, there's no particular food I turn to again and again. Sometimes I want the simple foods of childhood — hot buttered toast, maybe with a scrape of vegemite, but just as often, only butter — real butter, not margarine. And the bread has to be thickly cut, from a crusty white loaf — which I don't usually buy, but occasionally bake.

Another comfort meal is a poached egg on toast. Sometimes it's soup I want — vegetable soup like Mum used to make, thick with all the vegies available, or a bowl of hot, luscious pasta. At other times it might be salty crisps, straight from the packet. And fruit. Cherry season has finished, but peach and grape season has arrived and I'm eating lots of both. And then, of course, there's always chocolate.

Sometimes I'll crave what I think of as my "Paris breakfast", which is what I ate most mornings one time when I stayed a few weeks in the Marais, in Paris. I ate at the same little cafe every morning, sitting at an outdoor table, and had a piece of baguette (about as long as a hot dog roll) fresh and soft inside with a crackling crispy crust. It came with curls of fresh butter and a little bowl containing apricot jam. Accompanying it was coffee, which came in two silver pots, one containing hot, fragrant, freshly brewed dark coffee and the other containing hot milk. That simple breakfast used to set me up for the day, and every now and then I crave it, and head to the bakery to buy a fresh white crusty roll and take it home to have for breakfast with butter, apricot jam and a big mug of coffee.

Christina here!

My instant reaction to this question was CHOCOLATE! Clichéd, I know, but I usually turn to chocolate for anything from celebrations to a cure for depressing news, and everything in between. Basically, I’m a chocoholic and just one square of dark and creamy Cadbury’s Bourneville can calm me down no end (although four or five would be even better). But thinking about it, sometimes I need something more substantial if I really need to improve my mood.

I tried to pinpoint one specific dish or food item that would do that for me, and originally came up blank because there are lots of different ones that give me comfort. Home-cooked dishes that remind me of childhood, Swedish baked goods like cinnamon buns, and various delicious desserts could all do the trick. Or a huge bag of salty popcorn. Even something really simple like a piece of toast made from a fresh white loaf with lots of melting butter. In an attempt to choose just one thing, however, I flicked through my recipe book and had a lightbulb moment – apple pie and custard!

My dad made a very specific type of apple pie with a very simple, crusty base and open lattice-work top, which I adore. It has to be eaten with cold custard (in my opinion) and is one of my absolute favourite desserts. I only make it for myself as a treat, because I know once I start eating, I won’t be able to stop, so it definitely qualifies as comfort food. It’s simple but delicious, as well as easy to make. In fact, now you’ve reminded me, I might just have to have some this weekend

Susan's turn:

Comfort? Give me hot tea, dark chocolate, and the occasional pizza, and I'm happy. A mug of strong hot tea is how I start each day - that's a necessary comfort, and a really good tea is often a go-to treat at other times. A current favorite is Harney & Sons Victorian London Fog, a combination of black and oolong teas, bergamot, lavender, and vanilla. I add a dash of oat milk (no dairy for me, thanks!) - and it's heavenly.

If I want something more, dark chocolate is just the thing - a small chunk of really good, really dark chocolate is perfect, and just enough. I don't have a big sweet tooth and have some food sensitivities that make it easier to pass up goodies, so I've learned to back off the treats and go for simpler comforts.

However . . .  I am a fool for pizza. Now and then I just want a hot, gooey, crusty, loaded veggie pizza (no meat, thanks). I can be good most of the time about the sensitivities, but put a pizza in front of me and all bets are off. Sometimes it's just worth it; I know I'll recover and go back to hot tea and squares of chocolate and be good until the next time someone says "how about pizza tonight?" 

Andrea reports in: 

I feel pretty lucky in that my tastes seem to run to healthy foods in general. I love fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes . . . rice, quinoa, oats, barley, beans . . . bring them on! A favorite comfort food is fresh baked whole grain bread with some butter or olive oil. A nice grilled cheese also lifts the spirits.

But that said, I do have a real weakness for sweets.(The richer, the better!) When I’m really feeling down in the dumps, something involving chocolate, brown sugar and butter is my go-to indulgence. A chunk of dark chocolate always works magic. And then there are chocolate chip blondies, still slightly warm from the oven so the chunks of bittersweet chocolate melts on the tongue. (Fluttery sigh.)

Another go-to favorite are blondies made with golden raisins and walnuts, topped with a lemon sugar glaze. (Knowing that you all would want to see that particular confection, I took it upon myself to bake a batch—for photography purposes only, of course!

Mary Jo contemplates comfort food:

I have a confession to make: I am NOT a chocoholic!  (This may get me tossed out of the romance writers sisterhood.)  I belong to the fruit loving category.  Give me warm berry pie (heavy on the red raspberries) with a flaky crust and with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yummm…..

I've also made friends with many an ice cream sundae.  Start with coffee ice cream, add hot fudge sauce, a couple of spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter, and a dollop of whipped cream.  The cherry on top is optional. <G>

But comfort food is more than desserts.  Since I've worked at home for many years, I have my everyday indulgences, which prominently includes bowls of hot, delicious soup with crunchy whole grain toast on the side.  I make most of my soups: 15 bean with smoked sausage, potato kale with Italian sausage, chicken matzo ball soup--all yummy and at least a little self indulgent.  I also sometimes buy commercial baked potato soup and tomato basil.  They all make for wonderful lunches.  The tomato basil bisque with a toasted cheese sandwich is particularly self indulgent, especially on snowy days.

But not being a chocoholic doesn't mean I dislike occasional chocolate if it's in the right form, such as really first class truffles.  For years Baltimore County has been blessed with a European chocolatier named Kirchmayr whose extraordinary confections make for great gifts and occasional crazed madness.  The business closed down during the pandemic, but a long term employee bought it and recently opened in a new location.  And I'm here to say that the hazelnuts dipped in dark chocolate are as good as ever!

What comfort foods call your name when comfort is needed?

Mary Jo and all the other Wenches

Comments

[Patricia Franzino]

Bread is a big comfort food for me. At Julian's Boulangerie, a chain here in NYC and other cities, there is a sesame sourdough loaf that is cut up in sections in my freezer right now.

It's there at any time I need to thaw and enjoy with Kerry Gold Irish butter.

[Mary M.]

There are lots of comforting foods I have to limit, but none more than premium ice cream. Deeply dark chocolate, full-bodied coffee, real fruit in vanilla, and most of all any with caramel swirl and crunchy bits. Good thing I only shop about once a month now! But my satisfying-enough everyday stress-beater is a good biscotti, namely Nonni's almond dark chocolate, which I order in bulk in winter (so the chocolate doesn't melt before I get them in my Phoenix house). They're individually wrapped, so I'm conscious of how many I'm eating a day (one!) and it's not a big calorie hit. But don't get me started on pie, which I categorically Cannot Have In The House ...

[Binnie Syril Braunstein]

There are too many foods that fall into my comfort zone. That being said...I love soups of all kinds. French onion tops the list. I also make a killer chicken soup from scratch. I love any dessert - candy, or baked - treat that is laced with coffee, and perhaps with the word "mocha" in its name. Good, crusty sourdough bread. And desserts with fruit. I used to drive 20 miles to go to a department store restaurant that served apple crumble or crisp.

[Kareni]

I am drooling now having read this post -- baklava, chocolate, soup, warm bread and butter, chocolate, ice cream, and did I say chocolate? Thank you... I think.

[Annette N]

Y'all should be ashamed.....I am sitting here getting my keyboard damp from the drool.

I never met a grain of sugar I did not like. Yep, I am a fan of sweets.

But, for actual comfort, a poached egg on whole grain toast. Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Chicken and noodles. Mashed potatoes (not too mashed) with lots of butter and salt and pepper.

Looking at my list, it shows me my grandmothers.

Thanks for such a wonderful post. You make me want to go somewhere and eat myself into oblivion.

Hope everyone is happy as clams.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Patricia---mmmmm, great bread and Irish butter! That's a tough combination to beat!!!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary, I'm a Yankee, a group known to eat pie for breakfast given a choice, so I hear you! Great ice cream is also heaven. (Preferably on the pie. *G*) Nonni's biscotti is delicious for a few bites of daily delight. You and I have aligning tastes!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Binnie--Soup, glorious soup! As you know, we're on the same page with soup and fruit desserts. Razzleberry pie, anyone?

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL, Kareni! I've with you on the mixed reaction to this blog. As I put it together, I kept being tempted to go downstairs and check out the refrigerator.. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Annette, your grandmothers had most excellent taste! As another fan of mashed potatoes, may I suggest another ingredient I learned in a recipe in the newspaper? Beat in cream cheese and cut up spring onions. Glorious! And the addition of the cream cheese helps leftover freeze better. Assuming there are any leftovers!

[Abby]

My mum’s sweet French toast made with cream, milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla and then dusted with icing sugar and a super rich small cup of hot chocolate(like an espresso but hot chocolate). This was always my birthday breakfast treat growing up. I was surprised to discover that not everyone made it like this when a friend’s family made it for me once with bread dipped in just eggs.

[Karin]

I do love chocolate, in fact right now I am in the middle of baking the cocoa shortbread from Andrea's Lady Adrianna recipe collection. But I sometimes crave the food of my childhood, which was Austro-Hungarian and Eastern European peasant food. Stuff like cabbage and potatoes, believe it or not!

I am now going to look for the London Fog tea Susan mentioned, it sounds delightful!

[Teresa Broderick]

CHEESE!! The stronger the better. A lovely cheese sandwich was always my comfort food. Unfortunately I developed an intolerance to cow's milk about nine years ago so there had to be big changes. I can tolerate goats milk in small doses and over the years I've discovered some lovely goats cheeses. However, my comfort cheese sandwich has never tasted the same since.
Very interesting post.

[Janice]

Comfort food is to me the things that my mom regularly fixed for dinner. Meat was expensive, but my dad thought dinner wasn't a meal if it didn't have meat and dessert, so she'd do weekday dishes like chili and lima bean soup that have meat in them, but not much - hamburger for the chili and ham leftovers for the soup.

Here is her method for lima bean soup:

Ingredients:
Dry lima beans
Ham
Salt and pepper

Buy ham with bone in. Eat ham. Save bone and meat shreds (my mom had three teenage boys, that's all that was left anyway).
Buy a 1 pound bag of dry white lima beans down at the Thriftown Market. Food was cheap there.
Rinse beans and soak overnight in water.
Separate shreds of ham from bone. Put both with water to cover in a big pot. Bring to boil, let simmer for a while. Remove bone, skim fat if any. Drain beans and add to pot. Cook on low until beans are soft and skins begin to separate. Maybe add a bit more water. This usually takes a couple of hours. Salt and pepper to taste.
The soup separates, so give it a good stir before ladling into bowls to serve.
We usually had bread and a little salad of lettuce and orange jello with it. The adults had coffee and cigarettes afterwards with dessert (usually ice cream).
The 1950s were a different universe :)

[Vicki L]

If I need serious comfort it has to be crunchy or chewy. I love chocolate, cookies, bread, etc. But crunch hits all my buttons. Which is why I don't keep bags of chips in the house. Once I get started... that bag is history. Though fritos can stay as I don't care for them very much..

Nuts have lots of good crunch but unfortunately I can't eat too many before I start getting funny feelings in my throat.

Candy...usually not so much. It may be crunchy and/or chewy but for some reason it doesn't hit the right buttons. Even though all my sisters and my mom love candy..

Mostly my favorite thing is whatever is available at the moment I decide I want it. Growing up we didn't have snacks. It is mainly the last 10 years that I've become a serious snack eater.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Abby, a lot of French toast recipes are just egg with maybe a little milk and cinnamon. Clearly your mother's French toast was top of the line! It sounds delicious.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Karin, potatoes and cabbage were common across northern Europe as well as Eastern Europe. I like them too, and tomorrow I'm buying corned beef with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots for St. Patrick's Day. Yum!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Teresa, cheese is one of God's Basic Food Groups! I'm sorry that you can no longer eat cows' milk cheese. Goat cheese cane indeed be lovely, but it's NOT THE SAME!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janice, yes, the 50's were a different world--but that chili and lima bean soup still tastes darned good! Not so sure about lettuce and orange jello. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Vicki, I agree that textures matters a lot. Sorry about the nut sensitivity since I really enjoy the combo of crunch and protein. I'm glad the the last decade has been good for you snackwise!

[Janice]

I was raised on lima bean soup, chili, corned beef hash, Spanish rice, meatloaf, pot roast and chicken pot pie. Roast beast on Sunday. And peas and carrots, that being the only vegetable thing my brothers would eat. It's a wonder we survived.

[Christina Courtenay]

Me neither, Mary - if the pie is there, I eat it - it's as simple as that!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janice, your childhood menu was not unusual and really not that bad. Better than Big Macs and milkshakes every night!