Friday, October 9, 2009

Comfort Food

Here is a view from the front porch of my portable classroom. What is that wet stuff on the ground? Why, it looks like rain! Here in central Texas we are glad for all this rain to ease a draught that has left lakes virtually empty.

We are especially glad that this current weather front ushered in COOL WEATHER!

How!many!excitement!marks! can!I!add!about!that?

Not enough, apparently. Bloggy friends: the 40 days of 100 plus degree weather are over and we now have the COOL.

I feel like a new cool new world has opened up to me, and spent most of the morning planning tonight's Comfort Food. (Disclaimer to parents of students in my room who may be reading this: We spent most of the morning tearing Kleenex into small pieces. We put it into bottles of water because we are learning how paper is recycled. So I had the brain power to multi-task Comfort Food planning and Kleenex shredding. Even though recess was canceled and the energy level inside my small portable classroom could be harnessed to give electrical current to a small third-world country...This is making my heart beat too fast. Could we just return to that Comfort Food part?)

Ahhhh, yes! Comfort Food. I'm sure your family has some food traditions. At my house, when the children were growing up they always wanted fajita nachos and pumpkin pie as the home meal for their birthday. Not sure where that tradition began, but I embraced it for lo these 20 years or so.

On the first cool night of each season, our menu was always sausage wraps, macaroni and cheese and sauerkraut. Again, not sure how that evolved, but by golly it was on my table last night. Actually, on my tray. Because I've dumped the six chair table as being too lonely and relocated to my new chair and ottoman in the den. (And, apparently, the Gosslein train wreck and David Letterman's little fiasco will dominate dinnertime TV for a loooooonnnnnggggg time.)

Traditions. I'll have to say my annual Comfort Food meal did not taste quite as good as I remembered it when all the chairs at the table were filled with family. They gave it a lot more flavor and fun. But I am considering it all joy: cool weather, Comfort Food, and weekend off where Loyal Sister and I are going to see the "Toy Story" double feature in 3D at a theater that serves great popcorn.

I'm thinking there is a Pumpkin Spice Latte in my future today. (Shout out to bloggy friend, Gina, who is making me want all things fall.)

It's those little traditions, established long ago, that are bringing me great comfort. Not just the food.

Do you have any fall traditions?

4 comments:

Locketts said...

Our family is just starting out, so I'm trying to establish some of those comforting traditions. Yankee Candle's Autumn Wreath is a constant during this cooler season. I also LOVE making Beef Burgundy and my grandma's Wassail when the weather turns cooler. (Unfortunately the humming nebulizer is also a fall tradition, as all three of us are allergic to this season. Ahh, nothing like the smell of Albuterol in the morning.)

Gina said...

How sweet of you to mention me. Glad the cool has come to your neck of the woods. We got snow this morning but it saw my "mean teacher look" and went away so as not to spoil our Homecoming festivities. All food is comfort food to me but I made a pot of chili for some football watching and another batch of molasses cookies.
The pumpkin spice lattes are worth a stop!

Lynn said...

Today is Thanksgiving here in Canada but we celebrate with our turkey dinner on Sunday as we did yesterday. I love the colors of fall but our fall season is rather short and especially short this year as we have snow now!! I'm still counting on it to melt!!! Yikes it will be a long winter if it stays now. I love Pumpkin Spice Latte and have had a couple so far this fall. I made beef stew the other night and my daughter came to eat with me, so much nicer than eating alone. I also bring out the fall decor including Pumpkin Spice candles.

Buttercup said...

I've been thinking about pumpkin spice latte, too. Walked by Starbucks on the way home and almost went in, but making real headway on curbing my desires for 5.00 drinks. It is real fall here now and I'm wearing gloves in the mornings and evenings. The heat came up in our building and it feels so nice and toasty.