Comfort of Childhood Food During Difficult Times

     Comfort Food - according to Google, comfort food is food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically any with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking. I am sure many of us have enjoyed a favorite "comfort food" in the last few weeks during isolation. What is it about these home cooked foods that bring us comfort? Most of the time, it is the memories that we associate with these foods. There are very strong memories tied to smells and odors. Being a country girl, I can remember when fresh hay was cut in the fields, the smell of the kitchen when Mom was doing baking for an upcoming holiday, or the wonderful smell of rain in the air. These are all aromas of comfort and a simpler time from when I was a child. One of my comfort foods is mashed potatoes. Warm and full of butter, milk, salt, and pepper, mashed potatoes go with just about any meal. Very rarely do I make homemade mashed potatoes. Now that I am an adult, I consider them a luxury that I can't always afford time to prepare, especially when I work. 
     Our time in quarantine during the Corona virus has caused me to dust off many of my cooking skills and recipes that I haven't used in a while. I have always enjoyed working in the kitchen and I enjoy cooking, it just isn't something I always did during a busy work schedule. Well, I have had plenty of time lately to pick up the skill again. One of my favorite things to make with leftover mashed potatoes are potato cakes. In the Jewish culture they are called potato latke, but they are essentially a pancake made from mashed potatoes. This is a very simple recipe and is easily found on the internet, but I wanted to include them in my blog. Since I very rarely make mashed potatoes, I rarely make potato cakes but it is a great way to use up those leftover mashed potatoes. 

     Anyone can make mashed potatoes. All you have to do is peel your potatoes, Yucon Gold make the best mashed potatoes, cover them in water and boil until you can mash them with a fork. I usually put salt in my water and I have also used chicken broth to boil my potatoes. It gives them a great flavor. Drain the potatoes after they are soft and either mash with a hand mixer or I like to mash them by hand with a hand masher. Add butter, salt, pepper and milk. I have also added sour cream or buttermilk. Just depends on what you have in the fridge. I have even heard of people using plain Greek yogurt, garlic powder, onion powder or bacon bits in their mashed potatoes. I would call those loaded mashed potatoes. 

Old Fashioned Potato Cakes

1 cup of leftover mashed potatoes

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 tsp onion powder (you can use real onion but I have found that children eat them better with onion powder)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional, I just love garlic)

1 egg

salt & pepper to taste

chives (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together to make a batter. It should be thick. If too thin, add more flour as needed. 

Make sure your oiled skillet is hot. Dip the potato mixture into spoonfuls on the hot griddle or skillet. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they start turning brown on the edges, before turning them over. Once you turn them over, smash the patty so it is flat like a pancake. 

Once the second side is brown, take it out of the skillet and set on a paper towel on a plate. This helps to absorb the oil. I use very little oil with the griddle I use, so oil isn't an issue. Some nonstick skillets may not require oil at all. This usually makes between 5 and 6 patties about tablespoon sized dollops before you flatten them out. You can make them as small or as big as you please. 

     Just like comfort food, the right book can be a comfort in difficult times. My favorite genre is historical fiction. I just finished reading The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson. This is the story of two sisters, Dorothy and Etty that are left at an orphanage by their mother. It is 1929, right before the start of WWII and the two orphaned sisters vow to stay together and to take care of one another. The story of why their Mom left them at the orphanage when they were 8 and 4 is unclear. The characters are well developed and the story is easy to follow and you just get roped into their lives quickly in this book. I read a variety of books, but sometimes you just want one that is easy to read, easy to follow and easy to get lost in. The Orphan Sisters will have you  cheering on Etty as she encourages her husband to have a backbone and stand up to his meddling mother and weeping as the girls go through losses.