Monday, October 23, 2006

Easy Comfort Food


Well, my cold is lingering and I don't seem to have much energy to do real cooking. Although, I am starting to look at recipes longingly once again.

I don't know about you, but when I'm feeling sickly I regress to being a kid and wanting my mommy to kiss my forehead to check for fever, bring me tea with honey and ginger and make some of her homemade soup. Not going to happen, but a girl can wish, can't she. Still I do need comfort food and before I share yesterday's sad saga, here's what we had for lunch. Probably not the best thing to eat if you're on the The South Beach Diet, but not terrible once in a while if you're on Phase II or Maintenance.

I used 12 grain bread and just a touch of Olivina (margarine) on the outsides of the bread. Then I slathered some Kozlik's Lime & Honey Mustard on the inside of one slice and homemade pesto (I always have some on hand) on the other. Low fat Swiss Cheese and rosemary ham slices are the stars. And then slap the halves together and just cook them up in a non-stick pan for a couple of minutes on each side to brown the bread and melt the cheese. Much better than yesterday's fiasco.....

Yesterday I decided to make myself some easy to prepare split pea soup with the limited ingredients I had on hand. ... a couple of packages of Manischewitz split pea and split pea with barley soup mix (because that's what my mother used to use and I always have some on hand for emergencies like this. Besides, it makes me feel like she's here). I had a big carrot and a parsnip and a half a turnip to add to the pot. I should have just used some beef broth but instead I decided to use the frozen lamb bones and stewing meat (at least that's what the label said) I had in the freezer. So after searing the frozen block apart and sauteeing a pound of cremini mushrooms and adding 20 g/7 oz of dried porcini mushrooms that I reconstituted, I added water and soup mixes with some fresh dill and let it cook slowly for 3 hours or so.

It smelled wonderful, and my Honey and I were really looking forward to some food- hugging - the best comfort food around when you're sick. And then we took the first spoonful - delicious. Delicious that is, until we swallowed it and then a weird aftertaste kicked in. I think I just seriously overdid the lamb, never having used it as a base before. Needless to say...the giant pot of beautiful looking and smelling soup....flushed away and dinner was scrambled eggs and toast.

Tonight, after actually venturing out to do some grocery shopping but now feeling too tired to do more cooking....my Honey will grill us two big, fat sirloin strip (NY Cut) steaks and I'll make some vinaigrette to go over romaine hearts.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I plan on making a wonderful sounding ancho chicken pot pie recipe I found while surfing the net.

What is your favorite easy to do comfort food when you're under the weather?

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3 comments:

Shaun said...

Dearest Ruth,
I, too, have a cold. I presently type with congested nasal passages, a cloudy head, and a fever working its way down. Unlike you, though, I have not updated my blog - shame on me. It is only today that I can even begin to really think about eating proper food. You have inspired me, again, to get back to my little blog. Like you, I wish for some of mum's magic, but I have to make do without. Hope you feel better soon.

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks Shaun - and I hope you feel better soon too.

Brilynn said...

I could go for one of those sandwiches with kozliks mustard in it! MMmmmmmm