Comfort Foods

When it comes to our favorite comfort foods, when something troubles us and we're down in the dumps, food transformed by love and memory becomes therapy.  Personal patterns of consolation are encoded on our taste buds.   

I read somewhere there are six basic food groups:  haute cuisine, lean cuisine, comfort food, soul food, nursery fare and chocolate.   I don't know about you, but I prefer comfort foods and chocolate; the rest are hit and miss for me. 

Comfort food is hearty.  When hearts are heavy, they need gravitational and emotional equilibrium.  Some of my own favorites are meatloaf and mashed potatoes, or extra cheesy lasagna, macaroni and cheese, or even red beans and rice, along with a slice of what I call good bread.  These types of food reassure us that we will survive.  As they say, different foods for different moods.

You won't find comfort foods in a four-star restaurant, but you might get lucky in a diner.  For me, when I cook up some comfort foods, I enjoy the anticipation, knowing that I'll soon be enjoying my comfort food.  And while I'm at it, I just might make a double batch, put one serving in the freezer so that when some kind of black cloud hovers over me, that wonderful cuisine is just a quick microwave session away!  And when we sit down not only to eat but to be cheered and comforted, do it with grace and gusto, and a grateful heart!