Comfort

I've been thinking about comfort food.  What does it bring to mind for you? I googled comfort foods last night, and, apparently, there is some controversy over whether it's even a thing!  There was a  scientific study that was released a couple years ago from the University of Minnesota that 'debunks' the idea of comfort food.  The study showed that foods that are typically described as comfort food did not actually make subjects feel better when they were eating these foods while watching disturbing or sad movies.

 Results: Comfort foods led to significant improvements in mood, but no more than other foods or no food. Conclusions: Although people believe that comfort foods provide them with mood benefits, comfort foods do not provide comfort beyond that of other foods (or no food). Individuals may be giving comfort food “credit” for mood effects that would have occurred even in the absence of the comfort food.”

I think that's crap and built on an entirely false premise. The idea of comfort food, to me, is not that it's the panacea, that it gives me comfort by the sheer force of eating it, but rather it's the whole idea of what the food represents: the associations, the smells, the way it makes me feel and what it causes me to remember - this provides the comfort.  (Plus, ice cream is yummy.)

 The Atlantic did a story last year that seems to back up that notion. 

"comfort food’s power may lie primarily in the associations it calls to mind. People who have positive family relationships are more likely to reach for reminders of those relationships in times of sadness—and often, those reminders come in the form of something edible. A grilled cheese sandwich can be a greasy, gooey, satisfying endeavor in its own right, but even more so if it features in happy childhood memories.In a similar 2011 study, the authors found the same thing with chicken soup, a food that’s often associated with being taken care of: The stronger people’s emotional relationships were, the more satisfying they tended to find their soup.
“I tend to think of it in terms of classical conditioning,” Gabriel said. “If you’re a small child and you get fed certain foods by your primary caregivers, then those foods begin to be associated with the feeling of being taken care of. And then when you get older, the food itself is enough to trigger that sense of belonging."


I made pot roast a few weeks ago and was flooded with a complete 26 Bettswood Rd (my childhood home) flashback.  Lazy Sundays, that kitchen with the yellow mushroom wallpaper, Sunday pot roast dinners.

My mother NEVER let us stay home from school if we "didn't feel well."  You basically had to be contagious with strep or bleeding from the head.  But then?  The royal treatment.  7-up and saltines on the couch (EATING IN THE DEN, TV DURING THE DAY, SODA!!)  It was epic.  And when I serve up the same combo to my kids on the very very rare occasion they stay home from school (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree), I get that warm and fuzzy feeling by proxy.  I hope they will with their kids, too.

(A funny aside.  One morning, when he was about 10, Noah complained bitterly about his ears killing him so I brought him to the minute clinic and sure enough, he had a double ear infection. I got the antibiotics and some Tylenol because we were out.  He came home, I set him up on the couch with saltines and ginger ale and put on his favorite movie.  He fell asleep in minutes and was OUT all day.  I thought wow, he is really sick!  When he finally woke up for dinner he, too, was shocked that he hadn't made it past the first scene, and was telling me about how, scientifically, your body sleeps when it's just too sick to do anything else.  Fast forward a few hours later when I was bringing his antibiotics and tylenol upstairs at bedtime.  I glanced down and saw, with horror, that I had bought Tylenol PM!  The adult kind!  I had totally drugged him. No wonder he slept all day!)

ANYWAY - last week my sisters and I were emailing and that night everyone seemed to have some sort of comfort food or another on the docket.  I made tuna noodle casserole for the first time ever.  And it was fantastic.  On a cold winter night, with a spinach salad and some bread and a glass of red wine?  Pure Comfort.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Cook up 1 package wide egg noodles, drain and run under cold water. 

 

Meanwhile, saute 1 large chopped onion and about 2 chopped carrots  in butter over med-high heat for about five  minutes, until onions soften.

Add 2 Tablespoons of flour and cook one minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually add 3 cups of low-fat milk and 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens a bit, about 5 minutes. 

Stir in 1/2 cup low fat cream cheese, softened, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard and 1/2 tsp salt.  

Cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Throw the cooled noodles back in the pot.

Add the creamy yumminess, plus a cup of thawed frozen peas,

2 cans of drained and flaked tuna

Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and mix the whole thing well.

Dump it all into a shallow baking dish and add more fresh pepper, another 1/4 cup parmesan and I added a couple handfuls of Panko breadcrumbs to give the top a little crisp.

Stick it under the broiler for about 2 minutes - until the top browns but doesn't burn. 

deeelish.