Day 49: Why We’re Reaching Back to Foods that Comfort

As I was puttering around in the kitchen Saturday, this thought kept recurring. I haven’t made tofu or yoghurt or baked my own bread in a gazillion years. I know there are economical concerns at work here. And there are skills that should be passed on to the younger generations before they are lost. But it’s not that simple. Something kept nagging at me. Then I watched CBS Sunday Morning yesterday and things became clear.

Mo Rocca is an actor and comedian who does a segment on the show every week and yesterday’s was about comfort food. When he started talking about familiar brands, I realized the connection I was missing as to why I’m heavy into reviving old skills. It’s not really so much about the food itself, although that’s an added bonus. It’s also about the feeling I get making that particular food.

There are a lot of Kodak moments in my life...periods when the world seemed golden and life was glorious. One such time was when Hubby #2 was in medical school and residency. We didn’t have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of. We often ate Hillshire Farms packs of cheese and summer sausage because I could buy them at Sears with my charge card. I made most of our food from scratch. There was nothing extra. We slept in an uninsulated sunporch in the heat of summer and the depths of winter. We worked hard and any recreation had to be free...like, bike rides and trips to the library and walks in the snow at night. 

I was gloriously happy in those years. Probably because I was at that age where I didn’t know what I didn’t know. My reaching for the yoghurt maker and the organic non-GMO soybeans has  a lot to do with the feelings I associate with making those things. Kneading bread dough. Grinding soybeans. Rolling out noodles. It’s a meditative exercise and everything we see, touch, hear, taste, and smell can bring us to a safe place in our hearts and minds during such unsettling times as these. 

It’s the same thing I feel when I walk into Grandma’s house out at the farm. That first breath in takes me to a place of personal safety. We all need to feel safe. If baking cookies or making yoghurt can bring that feeling to you, then go for it girlfriend. If you gain a few extra covid pounds, then so be it. There will be plenty of time for the news and the virus and the election down the road. Take today and make something nice for yourself or someone you love. 

You can watch Mo Rocca’s segment on Comfort Food HERE.

❤️

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”

Psalm 119:50 ESV