As the days grow shorter and the nights take on that indefinable chill of fall, I find myself thinking more and more of those good old (and generally less healthy) meals that people define as comfort foods. Now, before I go further, I want to state that I never intended an article about food to be my first blog post. This is not a food blog per se, and I also realize that this so far may not seem like much of a confession-but bear with me. Here comes the first confession.
When I informed my son this morning that I was out of oatmeal so there was no porridge for breakfast, he literally burst into tears. I felt like the worst mother in the world. What self respecting mother runs out of oatmeal a mere two days before the first of October? For there is certainly nothing more comforting on a chill autumn morning than a piping hot bowl of oatmeal with crunchy crystals of melting brown sugar and cold milk. This was the inspiration for my post this evening. Oatmeal. And the subsequent crushing disappointment when none is available.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed an unconscious transition from the lighter dishes of summer to the richer flavours of fall. The terms braise, roast, and stew have taken precedence over steam and grill. This weekend we broke our long boycott of bacon to make a gnocci carbonara, and last night I made a full on dinner of pork chops and applesauce with mashed potatoes-these are not dishes I would ever make in the summer, it just wouldn't do! I find myself dreaming of roasted squash and root vegetables, coming up with new ideas for seasonings and sauces as well as digging up the old standbys such as a braised italian sausage dish that is a family favorite of ours as well as a fond memory from my childhood. We make it with low fat turkey sausage now and I have updated the seasonings and, perhaps most importantly added beer to the recipe, but it remains pretty true to the dish I grew up with.
And, of course, every now and again you must have the sort of lunch that I ate today-confession number two-a couple of handfuls of cheetos and a chocolate bar. This comfort food combination most likely dates back to my high school days where pocket money was short but bagged lunches were "uncool." So we'd scrape together what pennies we had to buy ourselves a peer approved lunchtime snack. The only thing missing from my meal today was a nice, cold can of coca cola-I just can't stand the syrupy sweetness anymore. Sometimes it sucks growing up.
Confession number three-I have been having difficulty coming up with a suitable conclusion to this post. It almost begs for a recipe for a sumptuous fall feast, but I don't "do" recipes. I don't follow directions, don't make entries in a kitchen journal, don't measure. So a recipe is out of the question. So what I have decided is to ask all of you, out there in the blogosphere, if you feel so inclined-what is your favorite fall comfort food? Post a comment, recipe, or description of a fond autumn food memory. And yes, immediately upon dropping my son at school today I went to the store and bought some oatmeal for his porridge!
