{"id":38072,"date":"2021-12-17T01:33:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T09:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38072"},"modified":"2021-12-16T19:31:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T03:31:08","slug":"comfort-food-for-dark-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/12\/17\/comfort-food-for-dark-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Comfort food for dark times"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the thought of cooking one more boring meal is just too daunting, Google your heart out \u2013 there are gazillions of cookbooks out there.<\/em><\/p>\n

The days are short and dark and all I seem to want to do right now is stuff my face with comfort food. Some days that manifests as peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and some days it looks like pot roast and mashed potatoes. I rarely crave a salad or a stick of celery in this chilly, wet weather. Mind you, I have been tempted (and given into) a huge piece of pumpkin pie. That\u2019s a daily serving of vegetables, right? I\u2019m all about the carbs at the moment. Plus, peanut butter makes my coat nice and shiny. Or so says hubby Harvey.<\/p>\n

Like a bear, I\u2019m looking to bulk up for my winter hibernation. Although, when you think about it, we\u2019ve been living through almost a two-year hibernation. It\u2019s called COVID-19. I don\u2019t know anyone who hasn\u2019t found some comfort in over-indulging during this pandemic. Whether the target of our ill-placed attention is food, booze or online shopping, we\u2019ve all been guilty of overdoing it in some way or other. Oh, I forgot to include Netflix, Prime Video and Crave. I do crave my Crave. I don\u2019t know how many hours of my life I\u2019ve given over to this pap. Not that I\u2019m bragging. Actually, I\u2019m kind of embarrassed by it, but, in a way, it\u2019s keeping me sane because it lets me focus on something other than COVID. But enough about the C-word.<\/p>\n

My guilty pleasure is doughy, savoury foods, packed with calories. That\u2019s where the Perogy Toss comes in. I got this recipe decades ago from the catering company at Richmond City Hall\u2019s cafeteria, where I often ate lunch during my working days. The recipe is still a winner. Add a salad and you\u2019ve got dinner. Add a glass or two of wine and you\u2019ve got a date.<\/p>\n

PEROGY TOSS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1-kg package frozen potato perogies
\n<\/strong>4 tbsp sundried tomato oil (or olive oil)
\n<\/strong>3\/4 cup minced onion
\n<\/strong>1 tbsp minced garlic
\n<\/strong>2 tbsp minced black olives
\n<\/strong>12 tbsp (3\/4 cup) minced and drained sundried tomatoes
\n<\/strong>4 tbsp minced capers
\n<\/strong>1 1\/2-oz (14-gram) package fresh basil, chopped
\n<\/strong>light sour cream<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boil salted water in a large pot. Add frozen perogies and boil for four to five minutes (or whatever the directions say). Drain well. Rinse with hot water and drain again. Return perogies to the pot.<\/p>\n

In a frying pan, heat the sundried tomato oil (or olive oil) until hot. Add onion and garlic and saut\u00e9 until onion is soft and golden. Add olives, sundried tomatoes and capers. Stir.<\/p>\n

When heated through, add to the cooked perogies in the pot. Heat on low for about one minute, tossing to fully coat the perogies. Add the basil and serve at once. Put sour cream on top, if desired \u2013 and who wouldn\u2019t desire that?<\/p>\n

Just in case this recipe doesn\u2019t give you your year\u2019s allotment of salt, here\u2019s another one that will not only satisfy your craving for savoury, but holds its own as an appetizer served with pita or crackers. Some of you might be put off by the weird orange shade of this dip, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll get past that. If you\u2019re a lazy cook like me, you\u2019ll be happy to know that the only kitchen appliance you\u2019ll need is a food processor.<\/p>\n

RED PEPPER & FETA DIP<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 red bell peppers
\n<\/strong>6 oz feta cheese
\n<\/strong>2 tbsp olive oil
\n<\/strong>2 tbsp pine nuts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cut in half and seed three red bell peppers. Place on a broiling pan, skin side up, and broil until skin is charred and blistered, turning over several times. This is what creates that smoky flavour.<\/p>\n

Remove the skin from the peppers \u2013 some say sealing them in a brown paper bag while they\u2019re cooling for five to 10 minutes creates steam and makes them easier to peel.<\/p>\n

Once peeled, put the peppers in a food processor and add the feta cheese, olive oil and pine nuts. Blend till it\u2019s nice and smooth.<\/p>\n

Chill before serving. (I mean the dip, but you could also chill yourself with a glass or two of your favourite alcoholic beverage and a bag of chips.)<\/p>\n

Serve with pita wedges or crackers. And don\u2019t even think of substituting a different kind of nut. It\u2019s just wrong. It\u2019s got to be pine nuts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made this dip for company loads of times and everyone likes it. It\u2019s one of those go-to, quick-as-can-be appies that\u2019s pretty much foolproof. Of course, your guests have to have a taste for feta cheese and pine nuts, but don\u2019t most of us? (Maybe have an EpiPen ready just in case.) It\u2019s definitely got a bit of an unusual flavour, but in a good way. It\u2019s worth a try, if only to expand your repertoire \u2026 says the woman who ate the same California roll and agedashi tofu three or four times a week when she was single. However, I\u2019ve since seen the error of my ways.<\/p>\n

As you can tell, I\u2019m all about the easy. And, if it tastes good too, score a win. I\u2019ve never been one to fuss about food because it all gets eaten in a matter of minutes anyway, so why bother? I know, I know. What kind of an attitude is that for an accidental balabusta? But, like Popeye said, \u201cI yam what I yam.\u201d<\/p>\n

As time wears on with this pandemic, I\u2019m going to need to get more creative with my culinary adventures. I\u2019ve fallen into the chicken, fish, meat, repeat, habit, and it\u2019s getting old. I sure miss going out to restaurants on a regular basis. With the majority of us Canadians being doubly vaccinated, I think we\u2019re moving in the right direction with this pandemic and, hopefully, it won\u2019t be long before we embark on our \u201cnew normal.\u201d G-d-willing, it will be an even better, more beautiful \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, if the thought of cooking one more boring meal is just too daunting, get out your mother\u2019s 1970s National Council of Jewish Women cookbook, Google your heart out or visit a bookstore near you, and tackle some new recipes. You might just discover your new favourites. Or maybe try a recipe swap with your close friends. You never know what tricks they might have up their sleeves. Caveat: choose friends whose culinary realm most resembles yours; otherwise, you may find yourself spending hours in the kitchen making some exotic breakfast, when all you really wanted was a new recipe for French toast.<\/p>\n

Wishing you well in your hibernation. Don\u2019t forget to turn the heat down, suspend newspaper delivery and stock up on toilet paper. I know, I know \u2013 newspaper? (Present company excepted, of course, and the JI<\/em> is taking the month off, as well.)<\/p>\n

Shelley Civkin<\/strong> aka the Accidental Balabusta is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the <\/em>Richmond Review. She\u2019s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the thought of cooking one more boring meal is just too daunting, Google your heart out \u2013 there are gazillions of cookbooks out there. The days are short and dark and all I seem to want to do right now is stuff my face with comfort food. Some days that manifests as peanut butter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[8729,9932,6395,3584,20750,20815,9812],"class_list":["post-38072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-accidental-balabusta","tag-comfort-food","tag-cookbooks","tag-cooking","tag-covid","tag-entertaining","tag-pandemic"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}