The comfort of food.

We hear the term "comfort foods" thrown around all the time. There's an entire industry, even a style of restaurant cooking, devoted to comfort foods. In this age of dietary hyper-awareness, some foods are considered "off limits" from the scrutiny of the overactive, self-righteous health nuts that have tried to dominate the food landscape for decades, with only moderate success.

Please understand, I am an advocate of healthy eating, though I don't always practice what I preach. I am overweight and have nasty digestion issues. (which is something I'm dealing with as I write this.) But I believe in moderation is the key to nearly all things that are good in life and eating the freshest, most nutritious food available is part of that.

With that being said, there are certain foods and dishes in this world that will make me extraordinarily happy when set before my gaping, hungry maw. Most people think of comfort foods as pure nostalgia, something that mom or grandma used to make back when you were but a wee lad or lass that you loved, and perhaps still do. For me, that's only a part of it. I think of comfort foods as belonging to one of three categories:

Nostalgic- stuff that mom and grandma made way back when. My mom was young when she had me, so she wasn't a great cook in the beginning, (she's an AMAZING cook now!) My comfort foods in this category are things like mac n cheese with tuna, buttered extra wide egg noodles with cottage cheese, and vanilla wafer banana pudding. We weren't completely poor, but we were definitely lower middle class. Money was tight and sometimes mom had to make due with what she could afford. Pasta dishes with alternative protein sources were common and I still love them to this day.

Indulgence- good Catholics, children of Jewish mothers, and dessert lovers everywhere see guilt as an old, trusted friend that has been there since the beginning. Indulgences in food are something that are often savored with the intensity normally reserved for religious experiences and sex. Two desserts fit this bill for me: a really well made New York style cheesecake and a Baker's Square French Silk pie.

And lastly, Therapeutic- there are some foods and/or dishes out there that just make you feel good eating them. Sometimes this is because what your eating is not only unbelievably delicious, but it's also good for you! Sometimes it triggers a wave of happy thoughts. Sometimes, it's just REALLY fucking good. My favorite therapy dish is the chicken shawarma plate at Mediterranean Cafe on State Street here in lovely Madison. It's quick, easy, cheap, has my favorite hummus ever on it, and it's just plain good!

What foods and dishes do you find comforting?