Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Little Gracie had been feeling under the weather all day Wednesday. She had no interest in running and playing, choosing to curl up and sleep for most of the day. And, she was coughing.

So, yesterday, off to the vet we went. When I take Gracie for a ride in the car, I feel like a new mother packing up to take the new baby out to run errands. I have no diaper bag, though. I put some water in the special bowl I have with a tight-sealing screw-on lid. Chew toys for the crate in the back seat. The leash. Treats to replenish the small supply I keep in my cup-holder in the front seat.

For this trip, I also made room for a small basket of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I was sure the nice doctors, office staff and techs at the veterinary clinic would enjoy a people treat of their own.

I have a weakness for flatbread, all kinds of flatbread. If flatbread is on a menu, it's pretty much a given that I will order it. Years ago I made those Chinese spring onion pancakes, but other than that, I really haven't bothered. Why? Well, making flatbread seemed like it would be a bother, what with the yeast and the kneading, and rising and resting and all I figured it was easier to just order it in restaurants. Until last week.

While in London I spent many hours perusing food magazines and the fantastic cookbook collection at Books for Cooks, one of my favorite book stores in the world. I will share with you my list of purchases at some other point, but suffice it to say one of my purchases was a Donna Hay magazine. Donna Hay is Australian but she is tremendously popular in the UK and for good reason. Her recipes are generally not that complicated but offer maximum impact for a minimum of effort. When I saw her recipe for rosemary flatbread I was intrigued.

This evening I heard a news reporter on television say Minnesotans are embracing the cold temperatures. Are you kidding me?

I’m a Minnesotan. Tuesday morning the thermometer here showed 35 degrees below zero. It doesn’t warm up much during the day. And tonight it’s expected to be 25 below. Do I embrace this? No. I deal with it.

When the temperature drops to way, way below zero I can hunker down in my home office and work in my flannel jammies with a big pot of hot dark coffee at my side. All seems quite normal until midday. My body begins to react to the frigid temps. The cravings begin. My brain sends a signal. It’s time to start eating if I want to stay warm. I want sugar. I want carbs. I need fat. And they're all so easy to get. A kitchen full of food is just steps away.

Like a mad woman, I dug through the freezer until I found a box of Thin Mints left from last year’s stash of Girl Scout cookies. I ripped open the two foil packages inside the box and before I knew it, I’d eaten all of those crispy little fat- and sugar-laden rounds.

A hot breakfast is a smart way to begin the day. But it can take too much time to prepare. Because they're already cooked, left-over mashed potatoes are a quick and easy way to make a nutritious breakfast.

For dinner last Sunday, we had a Caesar salad made with frisee instead of romaine and roast pork (porchetta) flavored with Italian parsley, garlic and onions. Garlic mashed potatoes and roasted whole tomatoes were the sides. A plate of cut up cara cara oranges and a custard with crystallized ginger and orange juice finished the meal. All in all, dinner was very satisfying.

The next day, the refrigerator was the beneficiary of Sunday's dinner. Considering what was left-over, we were looking at a succession of meals we could have during the week.