Comfort Foods & Potluck
SAMPLE CATEGORIES
The following material is also available in hard copy, if requested.
Excerpts
Included are sections reflecting the substance and style of the book. Additional information is available.
Introduction
“Mom, I don’t feel good. I need ‘pink soup’ with nothing in it”
“Did you leave something out of the recipe you gave me?”
“This isn’t like yours, and I did what the recipe said, except . . .”
The above comments led to my compiling a cookbook. My husband, Ralph and I learned from friends and relatives that each person has individual comfort foods. When she was three, my sister demanded a soup without any noodles or pieces of vegetables and, ‘while you are at it, make it pink!’ The ‘pink soup’ became what Mom served us when we were sick. I still crave the sense of well being I got when Mom brought me a bowl of Campbell’s Cream of Tomato soup. The ‘nothing in it’ for me means, “Please don’t poach an egg in it. That’s disgusting.”
The choice may not make logical sense. A friend wanted crisp bacon sandwiches when she had a sore throat. Comfort foods are those that bring back pleasant memories and soothe when ill or stressed. What we discovered is that if your children or others don’t know how to prepare foods that lift your spirits, you will be out of luck when you are too ill or feeble to cook for yourself. Many old recipes have been lost because we are in a hurry to prepare meals or the ingredients have changed.
Becoming a good cook requires courage and sound instincts. Frequently recipes are not followed or the techniques are confusing. Problems with substitutions and inexperience are part of the reason for my sharing things I have learned. My husband and others have shared their frustration as they tried to make a dish without prior knowledge of the language or techniques. Following a recipe requires a different vocabulary and practice. It also takes following instructions as written and seeking clarification if it doesn’t make sense. Great new recipes can be invented because of cooking mistakes, but so can horrible disasters.
|
