What Are Your Comfort Foods? Guilty Pleasures?

Comfort Food

I just read some posts on LinkedIn about the resurgence of foods that many consider comfort foods. One such post talked about how the recent trends were toward fresh, healthy foods but since the pandemic that is being seen as a luxury. People are turning towards more shelf-stable foods - he mentioned that Campbell’s soup has reported better than a 50% increase in sales and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers are becoming a hot commodity.

That got me to thinking, which can be a rather dangerous thing but in this case I think everyone is safe.

What is it that you have in your pantry for "just in case?" What are some of your comfort foods? Do you have a guilty pleasure food? We always have some stove-top macaroni and cheese in the pantry. This was something the kids loved when they were growing up and it was an easy weekend lunch. Of course the pantry is also stocked with a variety of pastas and flours. There are also cans of soup, tomatoes and other staples. I could go on but this isn't about "What is in your pantry?" it is "What are your comfort foods?"

Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture. - excerpt from Comfort Food on Wikipedia

My Comfort Foods

I would say that my two (2) main comfort foods would be ice cream and popcorn. They are such a big part of my life growing up and some of my fondest memories involve them. I have written about both, Ice Cream, Oh How I Love You! and Popcorn and Sleeping at Grandma's house; if you read them you will come to learn why they are so important to me.

I would round out my list with burgers, fries, pizza, and macaroni and cheese. I would have to say that my favorite meal would be a big bacon cheeseburger on a real hard roll with a heaping serving from french fries. If we add a good-sized ice cream sundae for dessert, I cannot think of a better "comfort" meal.

My Guilty Pleasures

It wouldn't be fair for me to ask about your guilty pleasures with out letting you in on one or two of mine. I absolutely love salty snacks - mixed nuts, pistachios, potato chips, pretzels, etc... but I don't think of them as guilty pleasures. I mean, nuts are good for you and everyone eats potato chips and pretzels. Right?

When I talk about "guilty pleasure" I am thinking more like something you eat when nobody is looking. You know, like Junk Food Junkie, you go into a closet and eat your Hostess Twinkies^®. Speaking of Twinkies.... You may not know this but in the early 80's I took drove a blue 1972 Ford Pinto hatchback and took classes at Brookdale Community College. Brookdale held a Twinkie Festival and I was able to score a coveted bright yellow "Twinkie Power" bumper sticker. To say I liked Twinkies would be an understatement. I still like Twinkies but I don't have them very often. I also love Hostess Orange CupCakes^®. The chocolate are okay but orange is far superior. You do know the best way to eat Hostess CupCakes is. Right? You pinch off the bottom half, eat it and then turn the icing top upside down and eat that. If you aren't eating them that way you don't know what you are missing.

I could probably go on for quite some time in the Guilty Pleasure category but some things are best kept to ones self.

How About You?

Okay, it's your turn now. What are some of your comfort foods and guilty pleasures? What do you keep in your pantry for "just in case" and what do you miss the most since we've been restricted during the pandemic?

Let me know in the comments below and let me know how you have been keeping your sanity during all of this.

Ice Cream, Oh How I Love You!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

I can't remember if I first heard that rhyme from my grandmother or her sister, Inez. Now, I don't know about you but I love ice cream and so did Inez! If it were up to me ice cream would be it's own food group and we would be required to eat at least one serving with each meal.

Last week's stroll down Memory Lane was all about my grandmother and popcorn (Popcorn and Sleeping at Grandma's house), this week is all about ice cream! Ice cream, for me, is more than a delicious cold treat, it is a big part of my life with scores of memories in each scoop. When I was growing up I spent two (2) weeks each summer visiting Inez along with my brother and sister. This was the highlight of my summer and it usually started right around July 4th. My grandmother's other sister, Viola, would host a big family reunion and then we would go from there to Inez's. She lived in a big farmhouse that belonged to my great-grandparents and it had a small, enclosed porch in the back. This porch housed the most important appliance in the house - a large chest freezer! The freezer had three or four compartments and I remember the furthest one from the door was filled with ice cream. All kinds of ice cream! Every night we would get a big bowl of ice cream to eat while watching television - shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Chiller Theatre, Creature Feature and The Twilight Zone - just to name my favorites. I often had butterscotch and maybe chopped nuts on mine. If we had gone out to eat for dinner it is quite possible we had ice cream for dessert but that wouldn't stop us from having it while watching television, too.

It has been more than 40 years since I spent a summer there - my siblings and I replaced by cousins - and the house, unfortunately, is no longer in the family but I still love having ice cream while watching television at night. I don't have a chest freezer (yet) and don't have ice cream every night but when I do I am instantly transported back to Flanders and the green vinyl easy chair that I sat in. When I was little we both sat in the chair together but as I got older the chair became "my spot" when I was there.

Not all of my ice cream memories come from my summers in Flanders and not all involve watching television. I can't eat a Good Humor bar - especially the Strawberry Shortcake - without thinking of church, Dilger's Market and my aunts, Chris and Cindy. I will explain. Most Sunday mornings I would go to Sunday School and then go back to my grandmother's house. There would be me, my brother and sister, and my aunts, who are only 10 and 11 years older than I. On the way home from church we would stop at Dilger's Market where my grandmother would get her newspapers and we would each get a Good Humor bar - I typically got the Strawberry Shortcake. I don't know when the market closed but it has been a very long time and I don't believe any store took it's place; the building is still there, boarded up and long since abandoned but I got a craving for a Strawberry Shortcake Good Humor bar....

Then there is Dairy Queen. My Little League team, the Lions, was coached by Mr. Marks. The Marks' lived a couple houses away from me and Johnny was one of my first friends when we moved there shortly after my 5th birthday. Mr. Marks coached Little League since before we even started playing and everyone in the neighborhood who played baseball played for the Lions. There were no exceptions that I know of. We always had a really good team and won most of the time. When we won we would all pile into a few cars - back then it was okay - and go to Dairy Queen for a celebratory ice cream cone. The big treat was the addition of the hard shell coating that we got on the cones. Years later I worked for a company just a few miles from the same Dairy Queen and would go there for lunch some days. Guess what I had for dessert when I did.... Every time I see a Dairy Queen I think of baseball, Little League and the friends I played with.

My parents used to take us to Carvel for an occasional treat. I remember that my "usual" was a sundae with vanilla soft serve and wet walnut topping. I still love that sundae but there aren't a lot of Carvel's around anymore. The one that we used to frequent is still an ice cream place but it is a privately owned store.

I think this is a good place to stop - I could go on for a while and have more stories but I heard you are supposed to "leave them wanting more" and so I stop. What are your ice cream inspired memories? What is your favorite flavor? I'd love to hear from you.

Interview with Food Blogger Carol Taylor

Carol Taylor, aka Caz, is a retired Civil Servant from England who is now living among the rubber trees in Thailand. She now spends her time pursuing her passions – cooking and writing, sometimes even writing about cooking! She is working on a novel and is getting ready to publish a second collection of short stories with some of her writing friends. In her circle of writing friends, Lola, Sophia and Ethel, she is the whimsical one they call Roxy (don’t ask, she would tell me.) Carol had told her daughter, a cancer survivor, that she would run a marathon and she did; she has the medal to prove it but don’t expect to see her line up again anytime soon.

I have enjoyed reading Carol’s posts but it can be difficult to do on an empty stomach because everything looks so good. As I write this I am looking at her Apple Pie and thinking about her Alcoholic Hot Chocolate. She also has written about the differences in what foods and ingredients are called – You Call It What! and What do you call it???? are terrific reads. Look below for a link to her Niume profile and other writings.

Now, it is my pleasure to give unto you – Carol Taylor in her own words!

Personal questions

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Red Shoes and what girl doesn't at some point want a pair of red shoes. I was quite young 11 ish and was out with my mum for sturdy school shoes...I wanted these red ones so every pair she made me try on..hurt me too big , too small anything. She got fed and marched me home. Telling my dad could take me to get school shoes. My dad was the authoritarian and stood no nonsense from us girls. He took me , asked me what pair I wanted...Me..little madam pointed to the RED ones. So we tried them on...a perfect fit and he bought them. My first pair of Red shoes. Looking back I am sure he got an ear bashing...lol
(Joe: great story. Reminds me of when I was 13 or 14 - I wanted red Puma Clyde suede sneakers. They cost $25 and my parents refused to buy them. I cut grass all summer and used some of the money to buy the sneakers before school started.)

What are the five foods you can’t live without?

Chillies, of couse..lol. Thai basil, Rice, Indian curry and coconut juice.

What’s the best advice anyone has given you and who gave it to you?

My best friend Jilly who sadly is no longer here. Once told me never to forget that I was ME before I was a mum. I love my kids and would do anything for them but I also leave time for me..to cook, to write and not so long ago my big son told me I had always been his inspiration and that's why he had got to where he was and he flies high and is also a great dad. Now I am blubbing..your fault...lol
(Joe: that is great advice. Once we become parents it seems we tend to lose "us" and we shouldn't.)

What is your favorite thing to do when you aren't cooking?

Writing...My passion and I always say my fingers are an extension of my mouth...I just write and walking i love...when was younger I used to run to free my mind but not now....

If you could spend an hour with any famous person, past or present, who would it be and why?

Steven Hawking...what wonderful mind that man has..I would have so many questions about the universe..

Professional questions

Why cooking?

Why not??? I love to cook...I also like to know what is in my food so I think that ultimately drives me. I buy no processed food I make practically everything but without being obsessed because sometimes you just can't make it ..so then if I really want it's moderation.

Can you explain your style in 10 words or less?

I just cook from the heart.

What is the best thing you ever cooked?

I think you best ask them that eat my food that question..lol.. I can tell you the worst...Many of those...like the time I first used garlic and when it said clove I used the bulb...but I learnt.
(Joe: that's funny.... with that much garlic you don't have to worry about vampires for a long, long time!)

What is one thing, culinarily, that you wish you could do better, and why?

Beautiful presentation...When I see some of the dishes and how beautifully they are presented...My food..I get lots compliments on taste but would love to serve a dish where as it approached the table everyone went WOW...just by looking...You did ask..lol

Where do you draw inspiration from when you cook and what’s your favorite part about the process?

I used to be recipe driven and living here has taught me to be ingredient driven...so most times I look at what I have and cook..I substitute if Ihaven't got an ingredient and I taste and I can now taste a dish and tell you all that is it or most.....So I am inspired by Taste I suppose.

Bonus question:

What are your Top 5 "Deserted Island" albums?

Oh..That's a big ask so many wonderful albums and my taste is diverse but here goes.

• Paolo Nuttini...These Streets.
• Rod Stewart...Still the same... A great rocker
• The Rat Pack...Sammy Davis J, Frank Sinatra and James Dean.
• Handels Water music...I have old single and it was the only music my daughter would go to sleep for and she drove her brother mad when she able to put it on for herself..lol
• Lastly ohhhh a Bit of Buddy and Elvis

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Carol better. As promised you will find links to more of Carol's posts and writings below.

• Carol can be found on Niume - https://niume.com/profile/42183#!/posts
• Retired? No one told me! - https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
• Follow Carol on Twitter - @TheRealCarolT

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All photos are the property of Carol Taylor and may not be used without written permission.

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