There are times
when food really is the answer.....
I'm not talking
about famine and food banks, neither of which should feature in our 21st
century society and both of which remain fixed in the reality of the present
day.
We have just been bombarded with the shrapnel (forgive me if that is an inaccurate military metaphor) of election issues, and whilst these food issues were not at the forefront of the debates, in fact were sadly little more than footnotes, let us hope that they WILL be tackled.
............and so, back on message as the pollsters would say.
I am talking about *overused cliché alert* "comfort food", the so-called "hug in a mug", although I much prefer the "high in a pie".
This is about
using what you put in your mouth - no smutty jokes at the back of the class,
please - as a means to lift your spirits and feed body and soul. A
genuine mood enhancer.
If you believe in
karma, it will come as no surprise to you that after I started formulating
this piece, I reached page 179 of Kay Plunkett Hogge's The Adventures of a Terribly Greedy Girl - the Comfort
of a Roast Chicken. This perfectly sums up everything I wanted to say.
Damn you, Kay. I urge you to read the whole book and appreciate the
"full emotional clout of food"
Kay is an
incisive, entertaining writer, her words compelling you to turn the pages and I
write in her shadow. But stick with me, you may find some resonance in my
ramblings.
This is not about quick fixes and instant gratification. I am as prone as anyone to cravings, it's just that I am not a chocolate biscuit kinda girl and am most likely to found stuck into an oversized pot of coconut yogurt - each to their own!
This is not about
reaching for the yogurt pot or a Mars bar, any more than it about ripping open
a bag of crisps, face-planting a bowl of popcorn or cramming in a cream
horn................. I told you, no giggling at the back.
What I am ranting and rambling about is the solace of sustenance and the sheer joy of comfort food, achieved through comfort cooking.
The simple, yes,
it has to be simple - go read Kay and Diana Henry - process of mixing and heating.
A chemical reaction and an exercise in philsophy. Concentration, focus,
dare I say "mindfulness.
Comfort cooking is
not about cleverness or cockiness, it is about simplicity and satisfaction,
and, quite possibly, a little alimentary alliteration.
Much has been said
recently about coalitions of chaos, a phrase lately referring to the politics
of our times, but also, I believe, descriptive of the tsunami of alleged
nutritional advice that swamps all forms of media and drowns out the little
voice in your head that says, "All I want is a cheese sandwich"
White bread, saturated fat, gluten, carbs aaaargh!!!!! Shame on you.
We are assailed by wellness bloggers (yeah, ok so the English language is evolving, but like seriously, what even is that?), we are bewildered and bemused by an array of diet regimes (fads), rendered guilt laden if our calorific intake is not clean or real, bombarded by acronyms - just go away JERF - blinded by pseudo scientists telling us to eschew all E numbers (did you know that E simply stands for Europe and E300 is Vitamin C?) and misled by claims of the benefits of low fat and low sugar prodcuts.
If you have the
time, please read Michael Mosley and One Angry Chef on these topics - they are waaaaay more
qualified than I am to explain/debunk this crap to you.
It is a sad truth that for many people, food represents challenges rather than comforts; be they pecuniary, supply issues or health related.
But for the rest of
us, we can revel in food, take joy from growing it, buying it, engaging with
producers, preparing, cooking and finally eating it - with relish!
Whereas junk food
will give you a quick hit, prolonged satisfaction (again, quiet at the back,
please), can be had from lining up a few ingredients, switching on the heat,
switching off the outside world and performing a little alchemy.
Here is a little artificial sunshine, for days when you need a little lift.
Apricot and brown sugar cobbler
3oz butter
A dozen apricots
Maple syrup
2 oz ground
almonds
4 oz self raising
flour
½ tsp baking
powder
2 oz dark brown
sugar
Approx 130 ml
buttermilk
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC
Put 1oz of the
butter in a shallow Prospector pan and place over a low heat.
When the butter foams, add the halved apricots, cut side down.
Drizzle with maple
syrup - it's up to you how sweet you want them and how ripe they are (the riper
the fruit, the more naturally sweet they will be). Turn off the heat.
Put the pan in the
oven and roast the apricots for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place
the almonds, baking powder and flour into a food processor or large bowl. Chop
the remaining butter and add to the flour. Process/rub until it resembles
fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix well.
Add just enough buttermilk (substitute plain yogurt or milk if you wish) to form a soft dough.
Turn the dough out
of the bowl onto a floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces.
Roll each one into
a slightly squashed ball.
Remove the apricots from the oven and arrange the dough balls on top.
Replace the dish
in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Serve warm, rather than piping hot with clotted cream.
© Netherton Foundry 2017
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