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Heartwings Love Notes 1011 - The Comfort of Food

Heartwings says, Comforting food can only be next best to loving arms."

My mother kept a stack of old women's magazines in her art studio on the second floor of our garage. She was a sculptor and worked there in clay. Eventually she took classes in painting and no longer worked with clay. Her first training as an artist was in sculpture as a teen. She did that for a number of years, and that was how she and my father got together. However, that is a story for another time.

At the age or around eight or ten I enjoyed reading them. Good Housekeeping--the inspiration for the title of my column, Redbook, House and Garden, and several others piqued my curiosity and provided me with household hints and ways to do things more efficiently. I remember one article—useless now, that taught me how to make a bed without circling it more than once.

In those days there were no fitted sheets, so you could accomplish this feat very nicely. These came in around 1954, and I remember I received my first pair from my cousin as a wedding present. The bottom fitted sheet was matched with a top sheet that was fitted at the bottom. I never saw another pair like it.

In those years, women's magazines were much more domestically oriented. The whole society in which I grew up was clear about women's roles as caretakers and men's as earners. As a result, my expectations were to get married, raise children and keep house for a husband who would go out and work to support us. How times have changed. Gender roles have blurred. To the best of my knowledge, there are no jobs that are not open to all.

There is one thing that has not changed, however, and that is comfort food. To be sure, the recipes and the ingredients may vary by region or by culture, yet there are some dishes that are almost universally favored as such. One of them is Bread Pudding. As families gather, I thought it would be appropriate to share my recipe with my readers. I adapted it from one in the "Cat Who" series cookbook.

I begin by tearing enough slices of stale bread in small pieces to make 4 cups. The size of your slices determines how many. You can grease the casserole or not, I've never found it makes much difference. Fill a 1½ quart covered casserole with the bread and add ¼ to ½ cup Turbinado or regular sugar. Beat together and add 2 eggs and 2 cups any kind of milk, 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla, a speck of salt and an optional 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon. Place covered casserole in a larger pan with some water and bake 45 minutes at 350, take off the lid and bake another 20 minutes to brown the top. Serve hot or cold. It's even better the day after you make it. It's an enjoyable comfort food for all ages.

May you find good comfort foods for your loved ones and for yourself, too!

Got any easy recipes to share? Food stories to tell? I so appreciate your comments and thoughts. Please write to me at tashahal@aol.com, and for more love notes, check out www.heartwingsandfriends.com. Thanks!
 

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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