food that is simply prepared and gives a sense of wellbeing; typically food with a high sugar or carbohydrate content that is associated with childhood or with home cooking www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn
The term "comfort food" seems ironic at times. Sometimes when I think of the meals I've had with my family I can almost smell the spices or hear the voices of my now gone family members. Sometimes, most times, that is painful. I miss them and it's hard to remember them without longing to feel them near. But when I am preparing a meal that my grandmothers used to cook I feel joyus. Even through my tears. I have to fight through the pain of memory to feel the comfort of the past.
My comfort foods have always been associated with my two grandmothers, Granny and Grandma. For years they shared a two family flat on the Northside of St. Louis City. They would alternate between the first and second floor. When I was little girl visiting from Chicago sometimes the quickest way to tell which grandmother was living on which floor was to take a deep breath. If the smell of country fried chicken or spaghetti came wafting to the front door-Granny lived there. If the air was filled with the aroma of homemade cakes or macaroni and cheese or chicken n' dumplings-you were in Grandma's house!
6 comments:
Wilena,
Thanks for returning the favor! You should bake sugar bread with your grandkids. It may be messy or not come out like you remember your grandmother's bread, but you'll have fun and create a memory of you that your grandkids will have for a lifetime. I think preparing and serving food is a way to honor our relatives and teach our youth about family members they may have never met. Let me know how that brad turns out! Coming soon I will have a post on "Food Nightmares." I hope you'll come back!
Terilicious...further to your comment on my blog...in England we generally prefer to kill things before we eat them. In France however, this isn't always the case. Shellfish is often served very fresh, alive and still wriggling. I'm not particularly squeamish, but others shy away from chomping on something that is trying to crawl off of your plate.
I always try not miss chances of making food for my grandkids, because i know how they will feel one day, when they smell or taste something i used to make ... That´s the best way to go on living, even when we´re not here anymore ... It´s just family history. I may be a bit egocentric, but i can´t help it - it was the same with my mother and my grandmother.
Woman at the well: You aren't being egocentric at all. We all want to leave a little of ourselves for family members. The power of food/aromas/memory is awesome. I wish my grandmas would have written down some of their recipes. I have to do a lot of guess work when trying to recreate one of their meals! Thanks for stopping by.
Terilicious - Firstly, thanks for dropping by my blog...come by more often, it isn't always ponderous posts. :D
I see you like cooking and that it fills you with memories. that's really sweet - memories being rejuvinated by people who were your comfort. feels good i must say. i try keeping memories of my girl alive - she's studying in the us now...and haven't seen her for a while and won't be for another couple of years. guess it;s these small things which refrsh memories. sweet ones. (she used to make lovely pasta - and everytime i screw up trying to make pasta, i remember how good hers used to be :D)
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