Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Good eats
While eating breakfast the other day, I started to think about foods that I found appealing when I was a kid. Not just the usual candy and sweets that kids crave but the "comfort foods" of childhood. Here's my list:
The first things I thought of were related to breakfast. A slice of buttered toast wrapped around half of a banana. The combination of crisp toast, melted butter and a banana at just the right level of ripeness is so good.
Another breakfast food, especially on cold mornings, was a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat sprinkled with sugar. It would cook on the stove into a hot gelatinous mass. We'd cool it down with cold milk poured on top. Since I was usually in a hurry, I'd eat quickly and feel the molten hot cereal slide down into my stomach just as I stepped outside into the winter air.
Other foods I recall began as favorites of my parents. My Dad's family ate incredibly bland food at home. When he joined the Navy during WWII he loved the food. It actually tasted like something. One of his favorites was chipped beef on toast (aka SOS). We didn't eat it frequently but I became a big fan as well.
One of my Mom's favorite snacks was slices of brown bread that had been spread with cream cheese. Brown Bread is an odd concoction — it's actually baked in the can. I learned to enjoy this as well.
Let's see. Another favorite was a big side of mashed potatoes eaten with biscuits. Seems a bit odd to mix starches but the end result is a bit like a potato knish. My Mom would also fry up potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes. Another favorite.
Wow, the foods on my list are all heavy in carbs. I guess that defines a comfort food.
The first things I thought of were related to breakfast. A slice of buttered toast wrapped around half of a banana. The combination of crisp toast, melted butter and a banana at just the right level of ripeness is so good.
Another breakfast food, especially on cold mornings, was a steaming bowl of Cream of Wheat sprinkled with sugar. It would cook on the stove into a hot gelatinous mass. We'd cool it down with cold milk poured on top. Since I was usually in a hurry, I'd eat quickly and feel the molten hot cereal slide down into my stomach just as I stepped outside into the winter air.
Other foods I recall began as favorites of my parents. My Dad's family ate incredibly bland food at home. When he joined the Navy during WWII he loved the food. It actually tasted like something. One of his favorites was chipped beef on toast (aka SOS). We didn't eat it frequently but I became a big fan as well.
One of my Mom's favorite snacks was slices of brown bread that had been spread with cream cheese. Brown Bread is an odd concoction — it's actually baked in the can. I learned to enjoy this as well.
Let's see. Another favorite was a big side of mashed potatoes eaten with biscuits. Seems a bit odd to mix starches but the end result is a bit like a potato knish. My Mom would also fry up potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes. Another favorite.
Wow, the foods on my list are all heavy in carbs. I guess that defines a comfort food.
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