I was just reading Tonetta's post about tomatoes in her garden and it made me think about what a nice feeling it was to sit in the sun on a hot afternoon and eat the fruit right off the vine!! That made me think about other foods that make me feel good, like root beer floats, hot cocoa and soldiers (toast cut in thin strips to dip in the cocoa) and my grandfather's roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (which unfortunately I have never been able to duplicate although I keep trying). Anybody else have any favourite foods that make them feel especially good?

I think I speak on behalf of many people when I say Chocolate! But other than that, spaghetti, cherries, and definitely some doritos and things like that.

Bridget: How about a juicy cheeseburger on the grill, with lettuce and tomatoes (maybe Tonetta's husband will have some tomatoes to spare this year) with a side of corn on the cob and potato salad, and for dessert homemade apple pie a la mode. Ooops! there goes the scale again just by thinking about it!

Ok, I am stravin' now! I may need to bust out the George Forman grill and grill up some burgers for dinner! Goodness knows it's too chilly to grill outside YUM!

I agree about chocolate, but I always have to have Werther's caramels on hand to keep my mouth busy while working. I gotta keep it busy somehow so I do not talk!LOL!!!

Okay, ya'll--now I'm starving! But I have to share my favorite comfort food (hope there's somebody here who agrees with me)...I make the absolute best split-pea soup you've ever had (it's more like a stew) with ham, sausage, barley, potatoes, carrots, celery, butter beans, onions, mushrooms, and split peas; served up with warm cornbread, it's unbelievable! When these frigid days hit us, I crave it BAD. And working at home, I can chop it all up and throw it all into my huge stockpot before I start in the morning and then enjoy it for lunch AND supper! It's a favorite around here...

Yeah, that split pea soup sounds good! I love homemade split pea soup but haven't made any in a long time. I must do that again soon. Don't suppose you would care to share your recipe???

I just finished supper and, being as it is Shrove Tuesday, had blueberry pancakes slathered in butter and real maple syrup, sausages and bacon (of course, the non-fattening kind!!).

No dessert, but I do have some maraschino (had to check the spelling on that one)chocolate cherries left from Valentine Day.

Comfort foods, huh? Unfortunately, I'm a pasta and bread fanatic. I don't really go much for the sweets unless I'm not feeling well for some reason. My comforting foods are:

Pasta with butter and broccoli (we ate a lot of that growing up).

Spaghetti and meatballs.

Homemade bread (just made a loaf today) dipped in garlicky olive oil.

(Can you tell I'm Italian yet?)

Herb bread

White Castle hamburgers - can't get 'em here
(This is probably a GOOD thing since I doubt I could digest them anymore!)

A sandwich of white bread, mayo, and thick slices of tomato right off the vine.

A sandwich of wheat bread (buttered on the outside), mustard, sliced avocados, turkey breast, and muenster cheese, grill in a frying pan with a little more butter.

Pancakes with strawberries on top.

Chee-tos.

And when I'm sick and REALLY need some comforting:

A bowl of grits (don't frown you northerners!)

Oatmeal with milk and sugar.

Plain unflavored fat free yogurt with fresh fruit.

Homemade chocolate sheet cake (the one with the cinnamon in it - my family's fave - you ice it while it's hot and it makes a thick icing).

A bowl of vanilla ice cream, the good stuff, slightly melted.

I'm getting hungry!
Toni

Yum!! I am sitting here reading the posts with my elbow on desk, chin propped in my hand and drooling over my keyboard...oh oh not good.

But, what are grits? I have heard of them, but have never had them. I do like cream of wheat with milk and brown sugar or syrup. Are grits a wheat product? How do you cook them. Do you eat them for breakfast? So many questions, I know, sorry. But, maybe I can tell you about our fiddleheads, although maybe you get them down south too.

Oh, and talking about typos, I will never forget the one I had not too long ago, a urology report, the child had enuresis and the doctor said, "This child will do fine if the parents would just get off his bike..."

Hey, Bridget...no recipe, really. Here's the poop:

I use a "large" (16-quart?) stockpot. Fill about half-way with chicken stock (water and vegetable or chicken bouillon will work just fine if you don't have any canned or--bless your heart--homemade stock).

Add dried parsley and coarse black pepper, bring to a boil (salt after it's done; it's hard to know what the ham's gonna do!). While this is heating, I start chopping stuff and dumping it in. I buy a smoked sausage (the ring kind), cut it in half long-wise and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. I also use about 2 pounds of the cheapo deli cooked ham, have the deli slice it about 1/4-inch thick and then I rough-dice it.

I take a stalk of celery with leaves, cut off the very tops and throw them out, then start slicing the whole stalk, leaves and all, until I have a cup and a half or so (1/2 the stalk?).

I peel and slice carrots, or you can halve those baby carrots if you like bigger chunks. I take a bunch or two of scallions (green onions), slice off the very tops and peel 'em if they need it; slice the green tops into 1-inch pieces and the white into 1/4-inch slices.

I use 2 cans of butter beans with liquid and 2 cans of sliced potatoes with liquid (although you can use a real potato if you're a purist). Fresh mushrooms, rub off the dirt with your fingers, and slice (but you can use cans--this stuff is indestructible!); but if you use fresh, throw them in last (they cook faster than everything else).

What am I forgetting here? Oh yes...dump a 1-lb bag of split peas into a colander and rinse...pluck out anything that looks suspicious (like rocks LOL). After this mess comes to a nice rolling boil, stir in your peas, peeling the sticky ones out of the colander and dropping them in.

Lower the heat to a slow simmer and cover the pot...stir occasionally so the peas don't stick in a lump on the bottom. After about an hour, add 1/2 box of Quaker barley (NOT the quick-cooking kind) and stir some more. The barley should be cooked in about an hour. Y

our house will start to smell reeeeeal good and your sinuses will clear! Bake up some cornbread (Pillsbury's cornbread sticks are terrific with this) and serve this stuff up.

Even people who can't stand split-pea soup love this stuff. And my sister, who serves cold breakfast cereal for supper to her new husband because she "doesn't do domestic," makes up a pot once every couple of months and then freezes it in those disposable bowls so they can nuke it. It's easy and hearty.

Let me know how it turns out.