What is Comfort Food?
Comfort foods are most of the time foods that have fatty acids, carbohydrates, and sugar. Those foods are considered comfort foods because they are based on individual preferences. While some people crave carbs, other individuals crave sweets and healthy treats.
These foods trigger your brain’s reward system and pleasure centers. This leads to the production of dopamine, which boosts your mood. This is why you turn to comfort foods time and time again, particularly because of stressful situations.
Baked Garlic Bread Dip
You will need Pepper, Shallots, Garlic, Oil, Parsley, Parmesan, Salt, Cream Cheese, Chives, Mozzarella, and Mayonnaise for this recipe.
Preheat your oven to 375˚F. Place the garlic heads and shallots over a sheet of foil and then drizzle oil over it. Season your shallots and garlic heads with salt and pepper. Wrap foil tightly around your garlic and shallots and then roast them for one hour. After one hour remove them from the oven and let them cool off. You should let them cool off for about fifteen minutes before you unwrap the foil.
In a mixing bowl combine your cream cheese, mayo, chives, parsley, and salt and pepper. Squeeze your garlic heads and shallots into the mixing bowl. Stir together the ingredients in your bowl until it’s fully mashed together and smooth. Add four ounces of your mozzarella and four tablespoons of your parmesan together and then mix them together.
Pour your mixture into a baking dish. Top your mixture with your remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Let your mixture bake for fifteen minutes or until it’s heated through and the top is melted and bubbling. Transfer the dip to the broiler and broil for one minute or until it’s brown on the top. Serve your dip with crackers and crostini.
Curry Cauliflower soup
Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Toss your cauliflower with coconut oil to lightly coat it, you should use three tablespoons of coconut oil.
Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Roast your cauliflower until the tips of it are golden brown, so for about twenty five to thirty minutes. In a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm one tablespoon of coconut oil until it shimmers.
Add in your onion and a dash of salt into the pot and cook it. You have to stir it occasionally, until the onion is turning translucent, so for about three minutes. Add the curry paste and lemon zest and stir to incorporate. Raise the heat to medium-high, add wine and cook, stir the wine frequently, until most of the wine has evaporated.
The Mixture
Add all of the roasted cauliflower stems and half of the florets to your pot. Put your vegetable broth, coconut milk and sugar into the pot. Bring the mixture you have to a gentle simmer, stir the mixture occasionally. Continue simmering for five to ten more minutes to meld the flavors, reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove your pot from the heat.
Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then carefully use an immersion blender to blend your soup until it’s smooth. Stir into your soup one teaspoon of vinegar and salt and pepper, to taste. If your soup needs more acidity, stir in one to two additional teaspoons of vinegar, to taste. Ladle the soup into four bowls. Top each bowl with ¼ of the cauliflower florets, a sprinkle of basil and chives and hot peppers if you want.
Ingredients :
- One large head of cauliflower, broken into small florets, stems chopped.
- One medium yellow onion, diced.
- No more than 4 tablespoons melted olive oil or coconut oil, divided.
- Two to three tablespoons of Thai red curry paste.
- A half cup unoaked white wine.
- One and a half cups vegetable broth or stock.
- A half a teaspoon of sugar.
- A half teaspoon of lemon zest.
- One can (14 ounces) light coconut milk.
- One to three teaspoons rice vinegar.
- Some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- A quarter cup chopped green onions or chives.
- A tablespoon chopped fresh basil.
- One quarter cup chopped green onions or chives.
- One tablespoon chopped fresh basil.
- Thinly sliced jalapeño, Serrano or birds-eye peppers (optional).
Not All Comfort Foods are Alike
So instead of reaching for those comfort foods that have nutritional value, you can whip up something tasty at home.
Written By Markita Thomas
Sources :
Cookie and Kate – Curried Cauliflower Soup
Spoon fork bacon – Baked Garlic Bread Dip
Blog Gold Belly – What Is Comfort Food ?
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Lorenia Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of WordRidden Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
