Comfort Food...A Family Heirloom

Every family has those recipes that are associated with home. Those dishes that your mom prepared that everyone loves, those are your comfort foods. Those are the recipes that are taken to potlucks, passed around and handed down to the next generation. When you smell them cooking it takes you back to mom's kitchen. No one can cook like Mom! Here is one of those recipes from my mom's kitchen.

    Did you ever wonder where the term comfort food originated?  Are you surprised to learn that the whole idea of comfort food was born in the heart of a home-a mother's kitchen?  There are a lot of words associated with mothers and comfort is definitely at the top of the list.  I think when you become a mother, your heart is forever changed,  and your soul awakens to a new purpose, a new song and a new existence.  Part of loving and caring for a child, as we moms do, is making sure they are well fed.  In the process of loving them and feeding them, we create many special food centered moments that are the beginnings of many great memories for our children.  The term comfort food originated in mom's kitchen.  For some it originated in grandmother's kitchen.  Who ever it was for you, we all have those meals.  Those meals that instantly put a warm feeling in our heart and take us back to special places of our past.  Comfort food, it is one of my most treasured heirlooms.

My mom with my daughter, Macey in 2002.

...and the two of them in 2010.

    I have so many special comfort food recipes that originated for me in my mom's kitchen.  She was always cooking, entertaining and feeding the masses.  She was indeed a great cook.  Holidays were always over the top with the food.  No one ever left our house hungry!  The food was always great, and I looked forward to all my favorites at every meal.  The icing on the cake, no pun intended, was being surrounded by so many family and friends.  The way we grew up, a get together just wasn't a get together if there were not at least ten people involved.  Ten was on the conservative side too.  It was not uncommon for us to have 20 plus people for meals, especially on holidays.  I miss those days so much!  Now getting everyone together is very few and far between because every one is so spread out and has families of their own.

    Today I am featuring one of my favorite comfort dishes my mom made, baked spaghetti.  She would often cook a large dish of it and it was always accompanied by garlic bread and a wonderful green salad loaded with all the goods!  

    I have a real weakness for bread.  Add garlic to bread, it is even better.  In my opinion, add garlic and cheese, and it is over the top.  I think I have passed my love of garlic bread and garlic cheese bread to my children.  Whenever we go out to the local Italian or pizza restaurants, we are all craming the bread in so that we can get as many pieces in before it is gone.  If only bread was figure friendly!  A girl can dream, can't she?:))))  I sure hope in Heaven that there is a good cook, and calories and weight gain are non- existent.  Now that is a great thought,  isn't it?

    It is just Carter and me this weekend.  Dad and Macey are on an Indian Princess Father Daughter Camp Out.  Carter has a friend spending the night and they are hungry.  Since Carter loves spaghetti, I decided I would make my mom's baked spaghetti and garlic bread for the boys.  I had so much fun cooking, and reminiscing about all the wonderful times we shared this dish in my parent's home.  My most fond memories are coming home from college on weekends, and walking in to a house full of the wonderful aroma of baked spaghetti and garlic bread.  

    I often wish I could experience that one more time, one more day.  I loved it back then, but I did not fully understand how sacred those times were.  I was grateful, but you never understand the importance of something, and how much you cherish it until it is gone.  You see, my mom had a stroke in 2005.  She was actually sick long before that, and we just did not realize it.  So, probably about two years before her stroke, she stopped cooking, or cooked very little.  It was sad because she had always taken so much pleasure in feeding loved ones.  Now, she simply cannot cook.  She has the desire, but she is not able to stay on task, organize steps and follow through.  Also, her memory is poor, and that is a hindrance to cooking as well.  I guess I am grateful she did so much cooking when she could.  I only wish I could have known that like a thief in the night, suddenly and without warning,  that aneurysm would come in and rob her of her capabilities.  I suppose life is about not knowing.  It is also about trusting and and believing in the only thing we do need to know-we are children of a loving God who has our lives mapped out in the palm of his hands.

    One great way I reconnect with those wonderful times past is cooking.  I love making dishes my mom and grandmothers made.  It is calming, therapeutic and very good at connecting me to all the wonderful food centered memories stored away in my memory treasure chest-my heart.  What wonderful heirlooms our memories are!  Now, lets get cooking!

    All good spaghetti, baked or otherwise, starts with a good sauce.  This sauce is simple, has few ingredients and does not take long to make.  I suppose you could just go ahead and put this over any kind of pasta and add a little cheese if you didn't want to bake it. 

    SALT: 

     A necessary ingredient for a good pasta is salt.  Go for Kosher or Sea Salt.  No table salt here please.  Be sure and season your boiling water before you cook your pasta.  Also, do not add the salt until the water is boiling.  Pasta should be cooked to al dente.  My grandmother always taught me that.  Al dente, al dente, al dente...she would always say.  Al dente means the pasta is slightly undercook and is a bit chewy when you bite into it.  Remember, with baked spaghetti it is going to cook more, so you definitely need it AL DENTE!  One trick my grandmother taught me was if you take a piece of the cooked pasta and throw it at the backsplash and it sticks, it is ready.  If it does not stick, it needs to cook more.  That works, or you can just scoop a piece out and try it!

   My Mom's Baked Spaghetti Recipe:

1 lb. ground chuck

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 tsp.  crushed basil

1/4 tsp.  thyme

1 T oil--olive oil

2 cans tomato soup

1 can tomato paste

2 soup cans of water

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp.  pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 medium Bay leaf

    Cook you spaghetti in liberally salted water until it is al dente.  Brown the chuck, garlic, onion, thyme and basil.  Add the soup, water and tomato paste, bay leaf, salt and pepper and cook on low 15 minutes stirring often.  The sauce will thicken up nicely.  Remove the Bay Leaf.  Combine the sauce with the drained, cooked spaghetti and stir in the Parmesan Cheese.  Put in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  In the meantime, put together a wonderful green salad, and bake some garlic bread!

    A few sneak peeks:

This is so creamy and decadent...I just LOVE it!

Garlic bread...I love you!

    Are you swallowing hard yet?  Is your mouth watering?  I am, and mine is!!:)))

    The finished product looks something like this:

    Right out of the oven, I garnish the top with even a little more Parmesan Cheese.  Use whole wheat spaghetti and lean ground chuck to keep this dish on the lighter side if you want.  You could also use a whole wheat garlic bread to be more health counscious.  Which ever way you do it, it is sooooo good.  This baked spaghetti is creamy, silky and so luxurious.  It is a true party in your mouth.  It is very savory and you will find yourself relishing every bite.  Stir it up just before serving and listen to it sing to you.  It is so moist and creamy and it truly makes music when you give it a stir.

    What are some of your favorite comfort food dishes?  Make one this weekend, and take a beautiful stroll down memory lane.  It is sure to brighten you day, and put a song in your heart.  Until we meet again friends, happy cooking and merry memory making!

xoxo,

D'Anna

Banana Pudding: A Priceless Heirloom

To live in hearts left behind is not to die.~Thomas campbell

    This quote rings so true to me.   The wonderful memories we create with those we love are like little treasures in our heart.  We can open the treasure chest of our heart at any moment and pull out a memory of a special person, and it can instantly bring so much happiness and peace.  Our memories keep so many people forever present in out lives.  Whether they have gone on to a better place, or many miles separate them, it is the images of wonderful times past that keep us connected. 
    I have talked about my grandmothers in many previous posts.  They are both still living, but I get to see them very rarely because of the vast landscape that lies between us.  It is very sad for me because they make up so many of the special memories of my childhood.  One fond memory I have of them is banana pudding.  They both made it, and I loved it.  Growing up I can remember few times I would walk into their homes and there would not be a banana pudding waiting on me.  Once I was in the door, and everyone was hugged, I was scoping out the kitchen.  Food always was on my mind!:)))  Below I am pictured with Pete at my parent's house Christmas 2002.  Below that,  I am with Nana at Thanksgiving 2009.

    I was a lover of my grandmothers’ banana pudding, but I was also a destroyer of it.  You see, they both lined the outer, top edge of their decadent delight with Vanilla Wafers.   These Vanilla Wafers were just way too tempting for me, and it is if they were screaming, “Come and get me!”  So of course, I had no control and I did…come and get them!  They were like perfect little scoops, and I would take one and dig it deep into the bowl and come up with a cookie loaded with good stuff.  My stomach would be so happy!:)))  Here is a sneak peek at what I am talking about.

    See those little crispy, light and crunchy wafers sitting there in that bed of goodness?  How is a girl to resist?  The answer is simple...she is not!

    I recently took a short trip with my husband to Nashville.  We had one night there to go out for dinner, and I had my sights set on The Loveless Café.  I am a fan of all things Food Network.  I had recently seen a Paula Deen Episode that featured a lady who was the cook at The Loveless Café.  It was a great episode,  and she made her famous biscuits and fried chicken.  Being a tried and true southern girl and food lover, that all appealed to me!  

    The cook at the Loveless Café is a cute lady named,  Carol Fay Ellison.  She has worked at the Loveless something like 35 years.  She started out as the dishwasher, and by chance, moved to cook over the years.  So in my mind, if she is on Paula Deen, she has gotta be good-right?  Umm, well...I guess  my standards were set a little high!:))

    First off, it seems like we drove forever from our hotel to get to the Loveless.  When we finally arrived, I learned just how mighty a Paula Deen endorsement can be.  The line was out the door and all around the property.  Secondly, I had a lump in my throat because I knew there was about to be a reaction from my husband.  Not about the line so much, but the motel, (complete with flashing neon lights:))), and the trailer park and the general store.  You see, it wasn't just the Loveless cafe, but all the above as well, The Loveless Motel, The Loveless Trailer Park and The Loveless General Store and Shops.  Hehe, for a Texas country girl, this was not so odd, but for a city slicker from Nebraska, it was a bit foreign.:)))  Anyway,  I was sitting in my seat as we are driving in and in my ming I hear my "She devil" saying..."wait for it...wait for it...bam!  "What the heck is this?"  I really tried to control my laughter.  He was genuinely horrified!  "The Loveless Motel?"  I quickly reassured him we were not going there, and redirected his attention to the restaurant.   Below is the sign for The Loveless cafe and Motel.  Notice the neon vacancy and air conditioned light for the motel--hilarious!

    After waiting for a LONG time, we were finally seated.  It was not long until we were brought a huge plate of Miss Carol Fay's homemade biscuits and jam.  This was my first of several disappointments at The Loveless.  The biscuits were not near as good as Pete's homemade ones.  The fried chicken I had for dinner was good, but not near as good as my mom's.  I can say all of our sides, the black eye peas, the cream corn, macaroni and cheese, fried okra and the hash browns were excellent!  However, next to the biscuits, the biggest disappointment of the night was my dessert, the banana pudding.  Not only was it not as good as my grandmothers', it was just plain not good!  Why would I ever think perfection could be duplicated.  Well, I am sure it can, but in my mind my grandmothers' banana pudding cannot be matched!

    Below is the recipe for my most favorite banana pudding.  You first make a simple custard that is sooo good.  Nana would often make the custard alone when someone was sick because it is so good, comforting and nourishing.  I remember when I was younger and Nana had to have all her teeth pulled.  I think she lived on this custard for something like three months.  It is just that good.  My kids like it as just a pudding, and I often make it for them just to eat the custard.  When you are cooking it it smells divine.  At the end when you add the vanilla, it is true aroma therapy!

My Grandmothers' Banana Pudding

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 heaping Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon Vanilla

    Mix all the above except the Vanilla in a pan.  Stir constantly over a medium low heat until it thickens.  It takes about five minutes, and should be a pudding consistency.  Let it cool completely.  At this point, if you are just making the custard, you can eat it warm or chilled.  i love it both ways!

    For the Banana Pudding you need:

3-6 medium-large bananas--this will depend on how big your bowl is.

1 to 2 boxes Vanilla Wafers--again depending on bowl size.  You will need more for  a trifle or deep bowl.

    Layer a small amount of pudding in the bottom of your bowl and then top with cookies.  Next a layer of bananas, then pudding, then cookies and bananas.  Repeat steps ending with pudding on the top.  Hopefully you will get at least three layers.  Line the outer edge of the bowl with cookies.

    Note:  If using a larger bowl, like a trifle bowl, you will most likely need to double the custard recipe.

    Once you are done...TA DA...look what you get!

    This banana pudding recipe is truly a priceless heirloom to me.  The taste is unparalleled in my opinion, and I have had some good banana puddings.  I challenge you to try it and see what you think.  You will not be disappointed and your family will be so impressed.  It really could not be simpler to make, and it will take any dinner or party over the top.

    Ponder your favorite childhood memories associated with food.  You will be surprised how a smile will envelop your face, and a song will tickle your heart.  The senses are wonderful memory ignitors, and our sense of taste is no exception.  Until we meet again friends, happy eating and memory making!

xoxo,

D'Anna

    

  

The Chain of Love

Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.~          Orison Swett Marden 

    It has been a long five weeks of recovering from pretty major hip surgery, and being pretty much totally dependent the first two weeks.  For anyone who has had to be on crutches for any period of time, you know it is a physically exhausting experience.  It takes a toll on your entire body.  For someone like me, who does not like to sit still very long, it is especially draining.  After two pretty good falls, countless sore muscles, aches and cramps, the fourth week came when I was supposed to magically walk-so I thought!  Well, there was nothing magic about it, but it has eventually happened.  Not on day 28, but shortly after, my body was so exhausted and taxed from these crutches that I was determined to walk.  I woke up one morning and thought to heck with it.  Today, I have to walk.  I did just that and have been ever since.  Now let me be clear, I am moving at a snails pace, but I am ok with that for now.
    I have learned a new appreciation for people who have to get up everyday and walk with some sort of assistive device.  It is taxing and draining.  I also got to see the world from the view of a handicap person.  It is interesting how people treat you. I think the most important thing I learned was that I did not want pity, as I am sure no one else does.  It was funny because some people stare, some totally ignore you, and some are so over the top nice that is borders on sounding fake.  Many times I thought to myself, I wonder if those people are as nice to a seemingly "normal" person?  Wouldn't the world be a much happier place if that were the case!
    Anyway, I realize this is a food blog so I will try and get on task.  First off regarding food, I have not cooked in over five weeks.  We have been so well fed by our church family and friends.  It has been such a blessing to not worry about what was for dinner.  We were so well fed that I now need to return to my reality.  Unfortunately my reality does not include macaroni and cheese, lasagna, pie, cake, chicken alfredo, etc...every night!:(((((  While we are forever grateful for all the amazing, (and fattening food), I now have a little work to do to shed the seven pounds of kindness that I gained!:))))  It was fun, but in all honesty, I am ready to return to healthier eating.  My husband, on the other hand, not so much!  He has been in sinful bliss with all these creamy, rich and sweet treats.  
    We had the opportunity to spend the first part of spring break at the beach with some wonderful friends.  It was a fun trip and everyone enjoyed it.  I was not able to do much, as I was just starting to walk and I still cannot bend or stoop--hopefully soon!  I did not feel like I was much company, but I did get a lot of needed rest and relaxation.  My husband attempted to rent me a beach wheelchair so I could enjoy the beautiful weather, but it was not real comfortable.  Needless, to say, I did not last long!  Below is a picture of my fancy beach wheels.  Try not to be too jealous, I know it is a fashion statement!

    We are back in Birmingham now, and I am trying to slowly ease back into my life as much as I can.  There is still a lot I cannot do, and I get tired really quickly.  Physical therapy is progressing well, and I notice a difference everyday in a positive way!  Hopefully I will be released to bend over soon so I can quit having to call for help every time I drop something.  I wonder if I drop things this often normally?  I bet not!

    When I woke up this morning I decided tonight was the night to try and cook a light, easy dinner that would get me in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.  I did just that.  It was a healthy and easy meal, but boy was I worn out!  I made baked chicken, roasted vegetables, and a side of whole wheat rustic bread for some much needed bread carbs!!  It tasted great to have a home cooked meal loaded with healthy vegetables.

    First I gathered my veggies and red potatoes to prep them for chopping, seasoning and roasting.  Here were the ones I chose:

    I love the colors, nutrients and taste of bell peppers.  Roasted onion is one of my favorites!  The onions become so juicy and sweet--perfecto!  I also love roasted celery.  It also takes on a very sweet flavor and just tasted so healthy and refreshing.  The carrots and red potatoes also add a healthy element and great flavor as well.  Below they are all chopped up and seasoned in the pan.  I used a simple season of sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and ground pepper.

    I baked this dish at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until tender.  It was delicious and such a great compliment to the baked chicken!

    For the chicken, I just used the parts I wanted, and only enough for those of us eating.  I seasoned them again with a simple season of sea salt, fresh ground pepper and olive oil.   I used bone in and skin on for more flavor.  I did, however, remove the skin before eating since that is where a lot of the fat is.  

    Here are the seasoned chicken parts ready to go in the oven.  I baked them at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the juices ran clear.  I did not season them until right before cooking, and I let them sit out thirty minutes before cooking so they would be closer to room temperature.  This allows for more even cooking of the meat.  They were moist, tender and full of flavor!  Below is a picture of my plate with all the finished products.

    Oh yea, on the edge of the plate next to the chicken, that is my one serving of whole wheat bread.  Well, if you are wondering if it has a bite out of it, you are right.  I could not wait to taste it!:)))))  For the bread, I purchased a whole wheat rustic bread loaf from Whole Foods.  I only cut three slices, one for each person so we were not able to OD on it.  I know us too well, and we would not stop with one if there was more available!  I put a little pre-chopped canned garlic bits on top with a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of sea salt.  I heated it until it was warm about 5 minutes.  It was delicious!

    Well, I know this meal was not rocket science, but it was very satisfying, healthy and very good.  As I ate, I thought back over the past five weeks, all the struggles, hurdles and joys.  The things that I have been struck by the most through this are:  1.  You find out who your friends are in a hurry.  I now know for sure who I can count on in times of real need, and who is just plain to busy!  2.  The number of people who showered me with pity was shocking.  I cannot tell you how many times I heard, "poor you!"  Those words or any kind of pity almost made me cringe.  This may be confounding to you, but not to me.  Not to someone who knows to never ask, "How much worse can it be?"  Or, "What else can happen"?  I have be friendly with enough heartbreak, tragedy and the harsh realities life can deal out.  I know not to ask those questions or think those thoughts, because I know the answers.   Believe me, I fear them!  I know sometimes people just don't know what to say.  It is in that case that less is more.  If you feel you must say something, stick with what works.  "Is there anything I can do for you?"  "Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything."  Lastly, please, please be ready to back that up if you are going to say it!  Ok, I am coming down from the pulpit for now.  I promise less talk and more food next time!  Please be patient as I am easing back into my kitchen.

    Until we talk again, happy eating and happy travels along this sometimes bumpy and sometimes smooth road of life.  In closing, I want to leave you with some words form a song I heard on the radio today.  I had totally forgotten this song because I have not heard it in years.  The song is called The Chain of Love, and the chorus goes like this:

You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too...Someone once helped me out,  Just the way I'm helping you.  If you really want to pay me back,  here's what you do... Don't let the chain of love end with you!

      What a great message, and how great our world would be if we all adopted this motto.  So, until we meet again friends, don't let the chain of love end with you!

xoxo

D'Anna