The juxtaposition of the commonality and singularity of comfort food

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bacon, comfort food, postaday2014, tomato sauce, zucchini

We often hear of comfort food and how when the weather gets cool or times are difficult or just when you need a pick me up, there is nothing like comfort food to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. However for every person who craves comfort food, there is always a specific food that is craved even when on the whole it is something from your childhood, hot and soothing with some type of carb and fat attached to it.

In our house the classic pasta carbonara is a favorite comfort food for our children and my husband; whereas for me it is sautéed zucchini and onions with tomato sauce and grated parmesan cheese, just the way my mother made it for my sister and myself when we were little. It reminds me of our kitchen back on 24th Street, yellow and white where we ate dinner every night together, just the three of us while my father worked nights at the restaurant. Happy memories.

Now when it comes to the pasta carbonara; it’s easy to figure out why it is considered as comfort food, it’s the bacon, because quite simply, bacon makes everything better. 😀

Bacon makes everything better

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bacon, comfort food, cooking, dinner, eggs, food, pasta, postaday2013

Yes, I said it, bacon makes everything better. I know that nutritionally it isn’t the best for you, but if you have bacon, say on a once a week basis, how bad can it be? There are many comfort foods that have bacon attached to them in some fashion. One of my family’s favorite comfort foods is pasta carbonara and that is what’s for dinner tonight.

The baby boy and the baby girl discovered their love for this dish at a small restaurant next to our rental apartment in Le Canon, France a few summers ago. There is nothing that beats the comfort level of this pasta dish; eggs, bacon, parmesan cheese, sautéed onions and a little cream plus the pasta. There is nothing not to like here.

My hankering for comfort food

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comfort food, dinner, house guests, postaday2013, vegetables

One house guest gone and another one to come tomorrow. This afternoon when we got back from dropping cousin Nancy off at the ferry, we went food shopping and when we got back home, I went to work preparing the pastry dough for the chocolate croissants and the pain au raisins for our new house guests; my little sister and my niece and nephew. While I let the dough rise, I prepared what I consider to be my comfort food; sautéed zucchini, onions, garlic, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. There is something about the medley of vegetables melting into the tomato sauce, spiked with the parmesan cheese that makes me feel good and warm all over on the inside
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My sister is coming to go skiing at the ski area right by our house and my hubby and I are going to join her and her babies. I am making the breakfast pastries so that we have something yummy, flaky and different for the early morning before heading out to the ski slopes. When we went food shopping, we picked up pork center cut chops and a few other ingredients to make a Thai pork with peanut sauce in my slow cooker so that it’s ready for when we get back from a day of skiing. There is nothing better than having something ready and waiting for you when you are tired and cold from being outside all day.

I’m looking forward to having my new house guests and I’m glad that I made my comfort food because I never mind sharing if anyone else has a hankering for zucchini.

When comfort food actually lives up to its name

Tags

comfort food, easy cooking, pasta, postaday2012, sadness

Yesterday after we came home after we put our Rex to sleep, the only dish that I could think to make for us was pasta carbonara. It is our ultimate comfort food dish, a hearty meal of pasta, bacon, eggs, Parmesan cheese and cream, good for the belly and good for the soul. It is also one of the easiest and fastest dishes to make, I had it made in under a half hour. After the rough three days of caring for Rex, I was too spent to make anything more complicated. I have to say that last night, the pasta carbonara did its job, nourished us and comforted us. We miss Rex.