Comfort Food

I'm feeling a little down today. And eating and cooking are the farthest things from my mind. Okay, so that's not exactly true. I don't feel like doing either today. That is unusual. If I've got the blues or am upset, there's nothing like a bowl of ice cream or a plate of meatloaf and mashed potaoes to make me feel like the world isn't such a bad place. Cotton candy makes me happy. It is sweet, sticky and you get to eat it with your hands. The same goes for funnel cake. If the idea of so much sugar seems off-putting, I also like eating grapes and melon in the summertime. They bring back the warm feelings of sitting on our aunt's front porch watching the sun go down over her garden. Hot fried chicken brings memories of watching my uncle cook Sunday dinner. Hey, it was his turn. I cooked the other six days of the week and I was still in high school. The smell of fresh baked rolls can send me hurtling back in time to Christmas 1981. It was cold outside and so warm in my aunt's kitchen. The horde would gather around the hot pan barely waiting for her to plate them as we fought over the butter or margarine. I always had to have a center one. No edges please. Ahh, the smell of cabbage cooking with a ham hock in for flavoring evokes memories of my mom having a hot meal on the table for us after school. Sadly, my mom and her sister have passed and I'll never again taste the delicious meals they cooked. My uncle refuses to fry chicken for me. He says I'm big enough to do it myself.

Hey, I'm beginning to feel a little better. Who says you have to eat the comfort food? And was it really the food that was comforting? Was it the people who prepared it for me? Or the knowledge that they gave me the tools that I need to make my own comfort food and the wisdom to know when my soul needs to be fed as opposed to my stomach?

What is your favorite comfort food? Can you make it yourself? Who is or was your go to person for old-fashioned favorites?