Navigating Emotional Terrain

When times are tough (and they are right now) I gravitate to comfort foods. I hadn't been to the grocery store.  There wasn't much in the house — pasta nests from the Chinese market, sausage in the freezer that I could defrost in the microwave, a few mushrooms on their last legs. I started slicing and sauteing those mushrooms in butter, then frying up the nuked bratwurst and adding in the egg noodles I'd cooked separately.  German food can be very satisfying.


The next night I made some small shells, mixed with my absolute favorite bottled sauce, Ragu Robusto Chopped Tomato, Olive Oil and  Garlic.  I took this photo then took a bite and felt it lacked some comfort, so I ripped up some fresh mozzarella into little bits and zapped my bowl in the microwave. Much better.  Even the simplest Italian food can be very comforting.

The next day when it came time for lunch I knew what I wanted to have.  It required a trip to the supermarket.  I reverted to making my childhood favorite — a fried Taylor Ham sandwich on a toasted English muffin with Heinz ketchup. I devoured it with such relish I forgot to take a picture.



But then, the third day,  I had to call in the big guns — it was time for dolma.  Time to channel my mother and mix the meat and the rice, boil the sumac, stuff the peppers and roll the grape leaves.  Cook it all and then settle down to the lemony-sour mouth-watering taste of dolma.  

When it comes to soothing my emotions, Armenian food takes the plate.