I know I’ve talked about toast before…

but with our world (my world) upside down now with COVID 19, for me comfort foods have been one way to cope with the stress, the isolation, the boredom, the monotony, etc. etc. etc. You all know what I am talking about.

So, what are comfort foods?

Official definition – Comfort foods are foods that provide a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by their high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may apply to a specific culture. They provide a temporary sense of well being and they make us feel good. But note the word temporary. The essence of comfort foods are their ability to cheer us up. We all have those particular foods that we turn to when things go sideways in our lives. The wonderful thing about comfort foods are that they can never turn us away and that they never disappoint. The funny thing about the brain is that it responds to happiness and stress relief by continuing to crave the same comfort foods.

My number one comfort food is toast!

Is there any comfort food easier to make? You pull it out of the toaster and plop on your favorite topping. Presto! Breakfast! Lunch! Dinner! Snack time! or ANY time at all! Eating toast is one of the simplest joys in life. Toast is a blank canvas begging for adornment with delicious things.

Perhaps you are familiar with C.S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or the movie. There is a special passage that talks about that while taking tea with Mr. Tumnus, Lucy Pevensie is served a lightly boiled egg, toast with three different toppings (sardines, butter, and honey) and sugar-topped cake. I will positively pass on the sardines and I am not a huge fan of honey, but I definitely and emphatically agree with the butter.

Tea and buttered toast has been my number one, go to comfort food. But I must admit, pizza is pretty good too. Now, let us talk about the bread for this toast – it HAS TO BE, the artisan bread that my husband makes every Sunday. I am truly at a loss of words to describe it to you, but you SHOULD envy me that bread. Toasted lightly – a perfect golden brown (number 3 on my toaster) and then covered from edge to edge with Kerrygold pure Irish Butter and served with a cup of Korakundah- its sheer perfection and the ultimate escape from everything for a few minutes. It is the BEST!!!!!!

I will leave you with this…

In 1906, author E.V. Lucas wrote that “…the noise from good toast should reverberate in the head like the thunder of July.” Over a century later, his words still ring true. Crunch on, my friends, crunch on.

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