How to Make A Fun Lunch!

Who says lunch and snack time can't be fun?

Everyone remembers comfort food when they're a grown up. The term comfort food has been traced back at least to 1966, when a Florida newspaper used it in a story: “Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called ‘comfort food’—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother’s poached egg or famous chicken soup.

Comfort food is traditional food which often provides a nostalgic or sentimental feeling to the diner, and is often characterized by a high carbohydrate level and simple preparation. The nostalgic element most comfort food has may be specific to either the individual , a couple of my of my comfort foods are ghoulash, cinnamon rolls, vegetable beef soup and a BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich). 

It seems as though as hard as I try,  still cannot get these comfort foods to taste as good as when my mom used to make them! There's plenty of TLC in my kitchen and sometimes it really takes all day to make some of these comfort foods. I love the chemical reactions that take place making cinnamon rolls, watching the flour and yeast rise to a great big lump in a bowl on the counter then punching it down to watch it rise again. It's so hard to wait when they come out of the oven to cool enough to taste!

The beef soup comes from My Grandma's house. Oxtail actually. simmering on the stove all day while the vegetables cook together in the rich beef broth. Oxtails are interesting as they add great flavor, meat, and just enough yum! It's very relaxing to me to chop and slice fresh vegetable to add to the soup pot. They're pretty too, carrots, celery, onion, a little of this, a little of that till it's just right!

When I was growing up it seemed as though the first snow of the year was a special day as my mom would make oxtail soup and cinnamon rolls for supper that day! I try to relive those days every year....