I've been reading/hearing a lot lately about "Comfort Food". So hey, lets
start our own discussion of this topic.  What does YOUR comfort food have to
be like--ie, what kind of characteristics and flavors, textures, temperatures,
whatever? And more specifically, do you have any favorite comfort foods?

64 responses total.

Chocolate, semi sweet.  .with nuts or without.
Chicken soup. . .with matzoh balls or without.
Bread pudding. . . .without raisins.
Hot Cocoa. . .with or without marshmallows.

Strawberries
Chocolate
Cookies
If I'm really depressed, anything I like in large quantities.

   squashed grilled cheese sandwiches, made on one of those waffle irons that
has reversible surfaces (haven't been able to find a waffle iron like that
in quite a while, though).

   waffles

   hot chocolate made with real milk

   cinnamon toast

   lasagna

Tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a good
dill pickle.

Comfort = warm and creamy. Spinach fettucini with Alfredo and lobster comes
immediately to mind. Oatmeal. Stroganoff. Toast with peanut butter.

french toast
grilled cheese
tomato RICE soup  (withut the rice, it's just not th same....:)
shepherd: peanutbutter and strawberry-apple jelly

Re #3:
        We've got one of those waffle irons, but one of its sides doesn't heat
up as hot as the other  :(   I think it's a Black & Decker model of some sort,
if you want me to check.

   you don't need to check, but thanks for the offer. the waffle iron my
parents have is one they obtained *years* ago with green stamps. i'm not even
sure who made it.

I, too, respond to warm and creamy.  Tuna cassarole made with muc\shroom soup
and fat egg noodles.  Stroganoff with yougurt and sour cream.  goulash.
grilled cheese. soups.

oh, and good crusty bread with brie or gruyer.

  Grilled Cheese, and a bowl of Cream of Tomato. 
  Cheese Sandwich with mustard, same soup
  Chocolate pudding (the kind that's cooked)
  Lasagna
  Spaghetti with my mother's sauce
  Tiropita (greek cheese pie)
  Cheerios.

The concept of Comfort Foods mostly puzzles me.  But I sure do like warm
fresh-made-from-scratch (nonfat! high in calcium!) chocolate pudding.

I think you got the concept very well!

Valerie, what about the concept of "comfort food" puzzles you?  

Everything?  Maybe it's the idea of using food for comfort.  To me, food is
for eating.  I enjoy eating food rather a lot.  But if I'm in need of comfort,
it doesn't occur to me to whip up a batch of something.  I get comfort from
my friends, not my food.  It's really hard to have a sympathetic conversation
with a chocolate pudding.  :)

I don't know, valerie.  Some of my best friends are puddings.

Some people found in their youth that people are unreliable sources of
comfort.  For us, at least the food was there.  It may have been second best
in some sense, but it was reliably there and it didn't blame when we needed
sympathy.

YMMV, of course.

Comfort foods are those that evoke feelings of safety and satisfaction, "all
is right with the world".
And mta makes a valid point about love/comfort and food. Then there are the
parents who can only express love and nurturing through feeding.

Comfort food is what the sympathetic significant other(s) would prepare
to salve your disappointments of the [time period].  I don't think of it
as something to fix for myself.

Grace hit it on the nose for me.  "Comfot foods" are foods I turn to which
evoke positive memories of nuturing and comfort from my past.  As a child,
I was comforted mostly by others when I needed it.  Now, I have learned to
"comfort" myself and sometimes, it involves making an evocative dish.  Not
to say that i dont often turn to others-just that it isn't always necessary.

Misti, I agree... A lot of people [like me] didn't have reliable sources of
friends/support/whatever and thus, was easier to turn to food for comfort.
I often still turn to food when I'm stressed and/or tired [which is not always
a good thing!]  I think I have a hard time relating to people when I need the
comfort and help that I'm seeking during the 'stressed' times [having been
burned too many times in the past when having had the courage to ask for help
when asked]; thus, food is the easy out.  

I have less of that problem now, Denise, but when I was a kid my pleas for
comfort and sympathy were most often met with "Don't be silly.  Just cheer
up."  I didn't know how to "just cheer up."  I did figure out how to open a
can of soup and make a grilled cheese sandwhich, though.

When I was growing up, the first few years after my sister was born, everyone
was too busy worrying about here to have time for me, because it was expected
that I was already old enough to take care of myself.  (I may have been
physically a lot older than her but mentally, to this day, we are not so far
apart in age)  I turned to food for comfort.  Nowadays I don't do it nearly
as much, with e-mail and all :)

Any new thoughts on comfort food?  For me, I still use food as a 'friend'--
for comfort, empathy, stress release. Its something that's always there for
me, unlike family and 'friends'.

I keep a case of cans of v8 and packs of gum in my vehicle and office for such
occasions.

I don't think I can point at a truly specific comfort food - but those 
I derive comfort from are cheesy and fattening.  ;-)

McDonald's french fries - don't ask me why. And Ramen noodles.

Yep, cheese is good and I suppose most of MY comfort foods are fattening,
too... [chocolate, ice cream, cookies, stuff like that]. When I need a meal
for comfort food, chicken's always good, as is some various types of pasta,
grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, and the like.

I hadn't had Ramen noodles in years but just a couple days ago, I got some
on sale, a 6-pack for a dollar, if I remember right--at Krogers.  And I agree,
as far as french fries go, McD's are great!

i like pepper jack cheese or bagels with cream cheese...carbo city..yikes
i've got a ton of bigelow tea in my desk with some sugar free chewing gums
to defray any crazy urges like that though

Tea is good. 

dunking biscuits (the UK kind, what you Americans call cookies) in tea - even
better.

Scrambled eggs - another comfort food

When I'm not feeling well it is Campbell's Tomato soup, made with milk not
water, Fritos, Pepsi with or without a tuna fish sandwich on toasted bread.
I float the Fritos in the soup and catch at least one with each spoonful,
though the last few times I needed it, I got the Fritos Scoops and used the
soup sort of like a chip dip.  STeve gets worried when I ask for this
particular meal cause I only eat it when I am sick.  I will sometimes eat
tomato soup, I will at times eat a tuna sandwich (rarely - had too many of
them for lunch as a kid), and I often eat Fritos; but the only time I eat them
together is when I am sick.

Rice pudding and eggnog are also comfort foods.  When we were sick as kids
mom would make a quick version of eggnog by whipping an egg into milk and
adding vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Eggnog was for when you felt sick in
the heat of summer, creamy warm rice pudding was for when you were sick in
the cold of winter.  I don't crave them as often when sick.  I love them both
enough that I will eat them whenever I can find good versions of them.

Chocolate is the only thing that works for depression or PMS.  Since I am
currently in chemically induced menopause, I don't crave it as much.  

Which chemicals?

When I am sick, I love putting miso into chicken broth!

For pure comfort, I make cream of wheat with milk and honey!

What would people recommend for a neighbor who is sick and has been throwing
up and not digesting things very well, other than a pepperoni pizza.  I
suggested something like white rice or plain spaghetti.  Orange juice.

Back when I worked with pregnant Moms who had problems with nausea and had
problems keeping food down, the doctors would put them on a 'BRAT' diet:
eating only bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. And of course, water and
sometimes other types of fluids as well. Maybe something like this would help?

Orange juice is one of the worse things to give to someone that is throwing
up.  Too acidic and causes more upset.  The BRAT diet is great.  Jello that
is mixed up, but not chilled and set is good to combat dehydration and get
a bit of sugar and protein in the system.  Diluted Gatorade will help with
dehydration, balance the electrolites, and raise the blood sugar.  At least
2 parts water, more is often better, to 1 part Gatorade.  When the kids were
little and had upset stomachs or had diarrhoea was the standard, cheap, simple
to make, rehydration formula: 1 liter/quart water, 1 level teaspoon salt, 8
level teaspoons sugar.  Mashed banana or diluted juice can be added to it for
flavoring.  I gave to them a spoonful or two at a time until they could keep
it down for more than a couple of minutes than gradually increased the amount
I gave them.

Hydration is more important than food.  The salt and sugar are needed for
electrolite and blood sugar balances.  Then start the BRAT diet when able to
keep the water down.  Slowly, just a few nibbles at a time.  Too many people
overdo it and start the whole throwing up process all over again.

re #34
Chicken broth with egg noodles
Gatorade

I've served that to several folks I knew who suffered chemo illness and
couldn't keep anything else down.

Hmm, that reminds me of a time years ago-early in the history of the Mnet/Grex
walking group. I didn't go one Saturday because I was sick. So after the group
had gone to lunch at Zingermans, Mary dropped off some wonderful chicken soup.
I still remember that thoughtful act. :-)

A potential boyfriend brought over Zings chicken soup one time when I was
sick.  That went a long way towards overcoming some interpersonal flaws he
had exhibited previously.

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