Food Porn X

“Comfort Food”

It’s a crappy rainy day. I have a cold. It’s not at the “I want my mum” stage, but it’s enough to warrant postponing a sister lunch that will likely not happen now until mid-October.

When the majority of us are still working (but not bitter), it can take that long for a lunch date to travel from inception to implementation.

Anyway, this morning Ter suggested mince and tatties for dinner tonight. “Comfort food,” she said, though I needed no convincing. Mince and tatties is my childhood favourite of all time, especially when paired with ...

“Rhubarb crumble for dessert!” I croaked.

“I can get you a can of custard at the shops,” Ter added.

I threw back my head. “Oh, God, yes!”

It so happens that I made a strawberry-rhubarb crumble yesterday, but was too sick to eat any of it. A fortuitous circumstance, if you ask me. Pour a little Ambrosia brand cukkie over warm crumble and be transported to a bliss unlike any other in existence.

Once I came down from my foodie orgasm, I said, “Check the guide! Is there a hockey game on?” Because mince and tatties are our traditional “hockey night dinner” and food is almost always associated with some emotional gratification. Plus, the World Hockey Championship starts this weekend and we’re in hockey withdrawal. Ter grabbed the remote and yep, Canada faces off against the Czech Republic at 5:00 p.m. We are set!

What is it about gloomy weather that inspires a desire for, let’s face it, stodgy food? We call it “comfort food”, but it’s really all about the stodge. Hot soup, beef stew, meat-pie-and-potatoes—okay, anything with potatoes—followed by sweet creamy puddings are probably the worst combo for our compostable containers, yet a grilled salmon Caesar salad just won’t cut it when I feel like s***. On a rainy day, I am compelled to bake, to scent the house with the perfume of burnt sugar and chocolate, toasted pecans and cinnamon, warm fall fruits and ginger. Ter, having less of a sweet tooth, craves the aromas of roasting meat, bubbling gooey cheese, and hearty herby broth. Tonight’s menu won’t do anything to help my congestion, but do I care?

I probably should, but I don’t.

*cough cough*