What is it about comfort that makes that word explode with associations and images? Comfort could be your favorite pair of jeans, a childhood memory, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, a relationship, your job, laying in bed enveloped by a heavy blanket. . . and it goes on and on. Comfort comes in various forms but is a feeling craved oh too often. While it feels nice and safe to live in a land of comfort, it can sometimes be a sign to reevaluate where you are and why you crawled back into comforting arms or why you hesitate to unlock the suffocating embrace. We retreat back to comfortable situations when feelings of loneliness, anxiousness or fright arises. It's safe and easy to submit yourself to the challenges of confronting a difficult situation by falling back in to old ways or relationships just because it is comfortable, effortless and feels "good". . .at least for that moment. But, unless we take risks and go outside our comfort zones, exposing our vulnerable skin, we will be stuck and miss out on the journey of exploration, growth and discovery that awaits.We learn comfort through the dark, warmth of our mother's swaying womb. It is then, from the moment of birth, when we cry out to retreat back from the stranger's hands, away from the cool, nakedness of which we are exposed. Wrapped in a blanket and placed gently back in our mother's arms, we are soothed in our first lesson of comfort. Perhaps this is where associations of our mother and family and relationships get tied in with comfort and security. It is the mother that is suppossed to be a symbol of caretaker and protector.
As I always somehow relate back to food, I find a correlation between this idea of the mother/family and comfort and the various foods labled as "comfort food" that is again becoming a popular theme and trend and in the cooking world. People are seeking out more meaning behind the food they eat and are attracted to foods that will bring some sense of well-being. . .comfort. This may sometimes mean retreating back to basics such as warm, gooey mac & cheese. . .the kind I ate all the time as a child served with a sippy cup of apple juice . .. or perhaps a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. . . with the crust cut off of course. However, comfort is ultimately something very personal, and when it comes to food, it is those individualized nostalgic elements, stirred in with cultural influences, which create your tastes of comfort.
I grew up in an area with heavy middle eastern and israeli influences and find myself craving foods like hummus, tabboule, majadra, crushed lentil soup, pita and fattoush salads especially when I am travelling abroad. While living in Costa Rica, I was fortunate to be in a town heavily populated by Israelis who owned restaurants that offered fresh, healthy and comforting foods that I was used to eating at home. And, living in New York, there is no short of this. . .or any other type of food for that matter, which is important especially in this big city when it is easy to find yourself overwhelmed by the mound of new experiences, relationships and opportunities being explored and are often just fleeting moments. . . all the more enticing you back in to what is comfortable.
There is one specific food though that I can only get from Michigan, which is definitely in the top three of things I look forward to when I go visit my family: cinammon chip scones from Ginger's Coffee Connection:
Ginger's scones are the most seriously addicting baked goodie I have ever had. I am a little weary of the ingredients that must have an additive that makes them so deliciously tempting. . .but I haven't quite discovered it yet. They are paired perfectly with a cup of rich coffee in the morning or hot tea at night. . .mmmm . . .And, since I'm not such a dessert person (ironic because of my love of baking), this is pretty special. However, Ginger's Coffee Connection scone is a prime example of another food trend in which consumers are looking for a healthy twist on their comfort foods, which is usually packed with high fat and calories. GCC's baked goods are packed with flavor but high in fiber and low-cal. It's a comfort food indulgence I don't have to feel guilty about and crave during those times of nostalgia, sadness, loneliness or when I miss the simple comfort of my mother's embrace.
No comments:
Post a Comment