Food Memories: Comfort Food & Family Recipes

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61

Here’s my list…

 Our Mother's : 
 •  mac and cheese, a slurpy cheddar sauce with elbow macaroni, baked with toasted white bread 
    croutons and a layer of cheddar on top. Eventually I convinced her to let me have my serving 
     unbaked.
 •  her fabulous roasted game hens with a Uncle Ben's converted rice stuffing (sometimes there was a bit 
   of wild rice in there) that had chopped celery, maybe some white onion, broth, Bell's seasoning, and 
   plenty  of  salt and pepper. I've never been able to recreate that. So damn simple and savory!
  • a roasted leg of lamb with lots of garlic slivers imbedded in the leg and HER grandmother's Finnish 
    coffee gravy and those oven roasted potato halves.  Lamb curry with the leftovers.
  •  The Pülla bread from the maternal side of the family
  •  Dad's spaghetti with olive oil and garlic, way before 'pasta aglio e olio' was common usually served 
     along side a ground round patty grilled on the hibachi
  •  Dad's presentation of a platter of cracked Dungeness crab, lemon wedges and Best Food's mayo to 
     be eaten with a loaf of sourdough bread made into garlic bread, a green salad with lemony 
     vinaigrette 
   •  Dad's dad's family wiener schnitzel (it's battered) that mother made to perfection with wide egg 
      noodles and plenty of lemony pan sauce to drizzle. This was my ' last supper' before going away 
      and for a birthday meal. I would rather have had Trader Vic's pan fried abalone with bedspring 
      potatoes and a Shirley Temple.
   • Mother's 'chip steak' sandwiches: at the time it was Ranch Hand brand beef (thin sliced frozen steaks- 
    --now it is Steak Ums) with spicy brown mustard, iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced bermuda onions and
      mayo on toasted Kilpatrick's white bread. 

    I have made my own additions to these to keep them fresh and I do try to make them a few times a 
   year.
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62

Wow, I didn’t realize that, but I do know the no no’s can be extensive with CKD. It must be difficult - is there anything you miss terribly, or have you gotten used to it?

63

I never liked bananas anyway.
Actually, I’m supposed to eat lots of protein so great for a carnivore like me. Tomatoes and cheese, not so much.
The weird thing is it is mostly healthy foods that I can’t process but now after 10+ years I’ve realized I can eat fun stuff, just not everyday.
:slight_smile:

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64

Well, I’m glad you’re not pining away for bananas, and have come to an acceptable balance of do’s and don’ts, it sounds like.

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65

The only pork chops I’ve had and liked were 1) when our mother made when ‘Shake & Bake’ (“and I helped”, the little girl said, in a southern drawl in the tv ad) first came out. I think it was barbeque flavor. It was yummy to a pre-teen, then. The second was a dish a friend’s mother made called ‘The Gravy Train’. Fried pork chops and onions then simmered with a can of cream of onion soup and green bell peppers and something else over rice. It was something we scarfed up quickly. At first I didn’t want to touch it because I though it was dog food, as in the Gravy Train brand.

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66

Only in America :grinning:

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67

supposed to eat lots of protein

Odd. My nephrologist said to cut down on animal proteins.

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68

Im anemic so that’s why my nephrologist is always nagging me to eat more chicken.
Potassium is my bugaboo.
I’ve paid a few visits to ER to get "flushed " out.
No fun.
Main thing I’ve learned is don’t take anyone’s advice on probiotics and supplements unless they’re qualified medical folks.
Those things can kill us. :smiley:

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69

Amen!
Kidney/liver/gall bladder issues are the $@%ts. Low protein/ no animal protein/ low fat/plant fat/low fat plant fats/ eliminate processed foods/ chocolate has cadmium…No iron//low iron. Lots of olive oil, but becareful from where it comes from. What the fred? I gotta discriminate my olive oils? Prebiotics/ probiotics/no biotics/anti-biotics. Drink lots of water, but be careful of where your water comes from/. Good heavens. I look at the FODMAP lists and scream! I’m dizzy. Good luck everyone!

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70

Seems like it’s the season for comfort food. What are peeps making these days?

As for me, the Mississippi roast has become a standard (lucky to have leftovers from yesterday), but equally comforting are cheesy pasta bakes, and nice, hot soups.

Looks like another rendition of lohikeitto for tomorrow, and I’ll forever be grateful to @MunchkinRedux for introducing me to the dish :smiling_face:

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71

Mac and ham and cheese was made last night; I’m thinking Pork, Sweet Potato and Apple Cider Stew needs to be made for again very soon (and my freezer, as it’s an easy reheat).

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72

The pork stew sounds delicious. Any chance you could share your recipe? Comfort is a high priority at the moment. Thanks.

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73

Here you go!

Pork, Sweet Potato & Apple Cider Stew

Serving Size: 6-8

3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil – divided (more as needed)
1/3-1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme, more to taste
1/2 tsp dried sage, more to taste
2-3 lbs. boneless pork butt – trimmed and cut into large 1-1/2 to 2" chunks
4 large carrots – peeled and cut into 2" chunks
2 medium sweet potatoes – peeled and cut into 2" chunks
2 cups apple cider *
1 cup chicken or pork stock
1-2 Tbsp cognac
1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, more if you want more tang
1 bay leaf
minced parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Add cubes of pork. Seal shut and shake well to coat the pieces of pork.

In a Dutch oven suitable for both stovetop and oven, heat some of the canola or olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add pork shoulder cubes in small batches, browning well on all sides. Remove browned pork to a bowl; add more oil to the Dutch oven and brown remaining pork. Remove all pork from Dutch oven.

Pour apple cider, chicken stock, cognac, and apple cider vinegar into Dutch oven and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen the fond on the bottom of the pan and blend it into the liquid. Turn off stove heat.

Return pork to the liquid, tuck a bay leaf in under the meat, sprinkle half of any remaining flour mixture over top and carefully stir in, and cover. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or so.

Remove from oven, and tuck in the large chunks of carrots and sweet potatoes, ensuring that the liquid mostly covers the meat and vegetables. If needed, sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over top, carefully stir in, and bake for another hour, checking occasionally to stir and ensure vegetables are cooking and liquid is thickening. (If liquid remains too thin, remove the lid and stir occasionally. You can also add a flour slurry to thicken the liquid to a gravy at the end.)

Serve in individual bowls over egg noodles, sprinkled with minced parsley.

NOTE: you can also cook this exclusively on the stovetop, as the liquid has a tendency NOT to thicken in the oven, whereas a simmer on the stovetop with the lid ajar helps to release the steam and thicken the gravy.

P.S. Sweet potatoes get VERY soft, so the large chunks are necessary so they don’t melt into nothingness when you scoop everything out of the pot.

  • P.P.S. This is best with unpasteurized apple cider (only found in the autumn when cider comes out). What is sold in supermarkets is pasteurized and the flavor can be deadened with that process. But it still works for this recipe.
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74

Thanks so much! :+1:t2:

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