Favorite Comfort Foods That Bring Back Memories?

[SunnySmiles]

Hello ALL new friends,

I’ve been thinking about those simple, heartwarming dishes that just make a day feel cozy. For me, it is a warm bowl of chicken(Or potato!) soup or a slice of my grandma’s apple pie. There is something magical about food. It can take us right back to happy moments or remind us of someone special.

I would love to hear about the comfort foods you have returned to in retirement. Do you have a favorite recipe that always brings a smile or a little story that goes with it? If you have a photo of the dish or a memory to share, I would be delighted to see it and potentially try to recreate it this upcoming weekend...with varying degrees of success lol.

I am always happy to try new recipes and swap little tips. Please share anything that makes your heart and your taste buds happy.

Looking forward to your stories, recipes, and memories.

 

[zzmike]

I grew up in the northeast of England (county of Northumberland) in the 1960s and 70s.

"Sunday Roast Dinner" (lunch) was a universal tradition in most all families, but my family had a recipe for a condiment (to accompany roast meat) that I thought "everyone" made. But I have asked old schoolfriends in later life, and they have never heard of it.

We called it "Choppy Up."

Recipe: Finely chopped lettuce, white onion, scallions, and mint. Mixed with equal parts heavy cream and malt vinegar.

When served with freshly-dug (everyone kept a kitchen garden plot in those days) new potatoes and roast lamb and yorkshire pudding . . . HEAVENLY!!

I still make it here in the US on occasion.

 

[Aunt Bea]

The sauce sounds interesting.

We sometimes had a sauce of whipped heavy cream and prepared horseradish with beef.

I haven’t had a proper roast beef dinner in ages, they used to be the foundation for a weeks worth of meals.

The English Joint

Hot on Sunday

Cold on Monday

Hashed on Tuesday

Minced on Wednesday

Curried on Thursday

Broth on Friday

Cottage pie Saturday

 

[hollydolly]

I'm a big fan of Home made lentil & Bacon soup... and also Broccoli & Stilton soup


generally I;m not a soup eater but during the winter these 2 soups are delicious...

I make them from scratch.. the first by boiling a piece of unsmoked bacon.. setting aside, then using the water to add the lentils, chopped potatoes, and any veggies that I fancy putting in there...let that simmer gently for an hour, then shred up some of the bacon and add it to the stock, top up with boiling water often during cooking .... and it's delicious... sometimes I add barley with the lentils, but you have to be careful only to add a small amount because it makes the soup bbvery thick.. you can also add any spices that take your fancy


I think there's lots of recipes online for Stilton & Broccoli soup...it's very quick to make

 

[SunnySmiles]

The sauce sounds interesting.

We sometimes had a sauce of whipped heavy cream and prepared horseradish with beef.

I haven’t had a proper roast beef dinner in ages, they used to be the foundation for a weeks worth of meals.

The English Joint

Hot on Sunday

Cold on Monday

Hashed on Tuesday

Minced on Wednesday

Curried on Thursday

Broth on Friday

Cottage pie Saturday

Wow, that sounds like quite the tradition! I love how nothing went to waste and every day had its own twist. Did you have a favorite day of the week, or a version of the leftovers that you looked forward to the most? I’m always curious how people reinvent meals like that.

 

[SunnySmiles]

Wow, that lentil and bacon soup sounds like a hug in a bowl! I love the idea of adding a little barley, but not too much....sounds like it needs just the right touch.

Do you ever switch up the veggies depending on what’s in the fridge, or stick to a favorite combo? And Stilton & Broccoli, now that’s one I’ve never tried. Any tips to make it taste extra special? I think I am going to try this recipe this weekend, ill let you know how it goes! Lentils are underrated.

 

[hollydolly]

The sauce sounds interesting.

We sometimes had a sauce of whipped heavy cream and prepared horseradish with beef.

I haven’t had a proper roast beef dinner in ages, they used to be the foundation for a weeks worth of meals.

The English Joint

Hot on Sunday

Cold on Monday

Hashed on Tuesday

Minced on Wednesday

Curried on Thursday

Broth on Friday

Cottage pie Saturday

that must have been during the war..it certainly hasn't been the case in the UK in my lifetime...

 

[CaliS]

Homemade chili and cornbread - just the way mom used to make!

 

[hollydolly]

Wow, that lentil and bacon soup sounds like a hug in a bowl! I love the idea of adding a little barley, but not too much....sounds like it needs just the right touch.

Do you ever switch up the veggies depending on what’s in the fridge, or stick to a favorite combo? And Stilton & Broccoli, now that’s one I’ve never tried. Any tips to make it taste extra special? I think I am going to try this recipe this weekend, ill let you know how it goes! Lentils are underrated.

Yes I add any vegetables to the Lentil soup that I know I'll enjoy, but the basic veggies are potatoes, carrots, sometimes beans....the ubiquitous lentils of course... but if I have any other veggies I will add them, especially as if you make a big pot then you have plenty over for the next day or 2..or even 3... and you can add veggies you go.... Please do remember to boil the bacon joint first so it gives the stock a good flavor..don't add any salt to the soup until you've tasted it near the end of cooking, sometimes the bacon joint has enough salt...

Incidentally I often freeze it..it freezes very well.. and you can reheat from frozen...

I would say with regard to the B&S soup.. that if you like spring Onions..or leeks.. then soften them by frying gently in butter and add to the soup with the garlic and r onions.....if you make it following a recipe that uses Milk.. that will make it thick..if you don't like it too thick then use Vegetable stock instead.....remember you can fry up some croutons and add it to the soup at the end and or add a swirl of heavy cream...

 

[MACKTEXAS]

I did most of the cooking during the years I was married, and enjoyed making big dinners. Now that I live, alone, I do not, so my post won't be much of a contribution.

But - - - the thread got my attention, anyway :"comfort foods that bring back memories" - to me, something heavy like biscuits and cream gravy with ground beef in it. Gingerbread with a thick vanilla cream sauce on top. Vanilla ice cream heavily covered in hot fudge.