What do you eat when you're feeling sad or emotionally wrecked or furious at the world?
I grew up in a family in which, whenever there was a crisis of some sort, the grownups would say "how can you eat at a time like this?!"
But I'm an eater and, in fact, when I am feeling like life is closing in, I want to eat more than ever, fill myself with food and just keep pecking away like a chicken in a barnyard.
People talk about comfort foods. You know, the foods that supposedly make you feel better.
So what is that food, that one thing that I want the most when I'm at a low point? I've thought about it, that's for sure.
Do I want my Mom's Mac n' Cheese?
Actually, I would rather have my Mom, thank you.
Ditto, my Mom's Apple Pie and Chicken Soup.
Popcorn helps, but isn't sustaining.
Ditto Li-Lac chocolate's Butter Crunch.
Actually, what I want is the very simplest of foods. What helps me most is a plain baked potato.
Russet-Idaho. Organic. Crunchy crusted. Faint metallic taste to the flesh.
This is food so basic and sustaining, so wonderful that, IMHO, it needs just a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Skip the sour cream. No chives. No cheese.
Keep it simple.
I just ate one. I might have another later.
So easy to make perfectly:
Baked Potato
- 4 organic Idaho, russet type potatoes
- 1/4 cup butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, place the potatoes in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Pierce each potato with the tip of a sharp knife. Continue to bake for another 45 minutes or until the outside is crusty and the inside is tender (pierce the flesh with the tip of a sharp knife).
Makes 4 servings