Comfort Foods and Indulgences

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.

What is a guilt-free muffin anyway? I guess that means something different to everyone. Let's face it, muffins do not usually equal health food, but there are ways to make them better for you. A healthier muffin to me means, a little protein and fiber, with a lot less cholesterol causing ingredients and lower in calories.

I am literally shocked at how good this muffin tastes with just a few little ingredient changes. There is no oil or butter in these muffins! And they are satisfying and sweet; dense, but in a good way. They are also completely moist, even after four days. 

I used my tips and tricks for the Best Banana Nut Muffin and applied them to this recipe. The two-cup method does work when it comes to creating a banana muffin you will love.

Consider it the perfect gateway snack in between meals, with a cup of black coffee of course.

If you had to pick just one dish that represents the category of comfort food better than any other, what would it be? My pick would be good old fashioned mac 'n cheese. Many people think of macaroni and cheese as a true American dish, but in fact its roots lie with the cheese-loving Swiss. Who better to have invented the dish?

What makes macaroni and cheese so popular everywhere is the fact that it's a basic dish to put together, using simple and satisfying ingredients. In this recipe it's cheese, pasta, and bacon—is there a combination any more comforting? This macaroni is hearty enough to get a mountain climber to the top of the Alps and back.

My recipe combines the classic Alpine cheeses of Raclette, Gruyère, and Fontina. Other good Swiss cheeses like Appenzeller or Emmentaler would work well too. The combination of cheeses is typical of a Swiss fondue. And it's the perfect blend for this mac and cheese. Thickly sliced bacon adds a great bite and salty flavor to the dish. And even if you don't reside in an Alpine ski chalet, enjoy this dish on a cold day. It's even better after a day of being out in the snow.

Years ago I lived on Aquidneck Island (home to Newport, Rhode Island) and every June we’d head over to Quonset View Farms, high up in the middle of the island where the cold fog off the ocean just kisses the plants and fades away in time for daily sun baths. The soil must be pretty special there, too, as I swear I’ve never tasted strawberries so sweet and juicy. At Quonset View, it was hard to get out of the field without eating most of your berries.

Ever since then, I haven’t really been able to eat much in the way of commercial strawberries, which tend to be hard and white in the middle and short on flavor. I wait 11 months for the real deal. It’s kind of torturous, but pretty blissful when the local berries ripen. I try to pick enough to freeze some for later months, too, but they never last very long.

My longing was made even worse this year by the fact that Rebecca has been selling strawberry plants at the farm stand where my garden is. Every day that I pass by these beauties, another berry ripens on one of the plants, red and juicy and drooping seductively on its green stem, just begging to be eaten.