COMFORT FOOD

I recently spent the better part of a month “under the weather” as they say with a spot of pneumonia.  As I sat around day after day it got me thinking about food in general and about specific recipes that can offer comfort on a rainy day to a cloudy soul. 

Now keep in mind that this little post is about food that makes you feel better, fills your tummy and lifts your spirit. It is NOT a series of detailed recipes. I offer here some of our favorite recipes as well as samples from a few people around the park. 

Greg: SPAGHETTI  

Now I have to mention here that I make the greatest spaghetti in the US of A and possibly on the planet. And as I am sure that you know, the secret is in the sauce. I like to start with a pound of sweet Italian sausage and combine that with a pound of 80/20 hamburger. I chop up a sweet onion and a green pepper and slowly cook all the above and then spoon off the grease. Spices include a generous dollop of garlic (from a jar), Italian spices, and naturally salt and pepper. I like my sauce chunky and therefore I do not mash the meat into submission. To finish it all off I combine the meat mixture with a jar of chunky Ragu right off the shelf. I spend so much time sampling the sauce during cooking, when it comes time to mix it with the noodles I’m already full!

Mark: HOMEMADE BREAD

Mark grew up with homemade bread from his mother and grandmother. After leaving home and going a few years without it, he ran across a bread machine at a Goodwill ~ and the rest, as they say ~ is history.  Mark’s collection now includes 10 bread machine. The Zogirushi is his favorite. 

Mark fondly remembers mom and grandma kneading the dough the first thing in the morning, letting it rise, and then having fresh bread out of the oven by noon. Now modern bread machines do much of the work. Depending on his mood Mark makes several different kinds including Butter Rich and Christmas Bread with nuts and raisins.

In addition to his family recipes, Mark particularly liked the bread from a local bakery he calls Sweet Brown Bread. After a few years of “reverse engineering” and a lot of taste tests, he finally conjured up what he considers a fairly accurate recipe. It is locked in a safe – which is hidden in a vault – and buried under his trailer. Please do not tell anyone.

Colleen: CHEESY CHICKEN & RICE

My wife is really into new fangled cooking devices and was among the first to add an Instant Pot to her arsenal. We somehow came across a chicken and rice recipe that has become a staple. Ingredients include: chicken, rice, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, garlic and lots of shredded cheddar cheese. It’s an amazing dish that rarely lasts more than a day or two. It could probably be made in a slow cooker or in the oven. You’ll have to bribe Colleen to get the recipe. 

Twyla: RUNNY EGGS AND TOAST

Neighbor Twyla had the easiest recipe of all. If she or Dwayne are suffering from the rainy day blues, their go-to meal is runny eggs and Keto bread toast. It’s simple, she says, but it warms the southern soul. 

BOB THE RIB KING

Bob smokes some of the best ribs in the park using the 3-2-1 method. Basically stated, that means placing the ribs directly on the smoker for 3 hours (at 250 degrees) to infuse the meat with that good ol’ smoky flavor. He then wraps the ribs in foil with a tasty meat rub (sometimes homemade, sometimes store bought) to cook for two hours. The meat is then removed from the foil and Bob slathers it with barbecue sauce for another hour. These amazing ribs fall off the bone. They’re definitely a big hit at a certain Super Bowl party. 

WRITER’S NOTE

I enjoy finding and saving recipes but have never really found an easy way to organize them on my computer.  I simply print them out, 3-hole punch them, and place them in a Walmart binder. When I’m ready to fix a recipe, I use my phone to photograph the ingredients. Then off to Walmart I go!