>> >there's a time and a place for variety, but "comfort
food" is almost
>> >universally "peasant" in nature.
>> >Rare would be the person for whom the pickled redfish with snail
>gratinee, violets and mango chutney would scream "ahh, the comforts of
home" but I
>> >guarantee you'll find hordes of attendees for a good pot of beans, warm
>> >tortillas and a beer -- with or without a chunk of flame-cooked beast.
:)
>> >
>> I think that's a very localized idea of comfort food. You'd  also find
>> hordes for whom that would be weird exotic food only tried with great
>> trepidation.
>
>Oh sure -- I was just using that because it's what he mentioned...
>It was the simple compared to the ornate stuff I was thinking of.
Substitute
>other menu items for other cultures :) Other cultures would find a
hamburger
>to be strange variety they'd rather not indulge in that often... sticking
to
>their own chickpeas and bread, or some other simple, familiar food.
>
Yes, I remember the first time I tried an American hamburger, and wondered
why such a fuss was made over a rissole in a bun.

>> >but as I said... variety is good too, and while I may not go for the
>mango chutney often, I'm glad to know I could if I chose to :)
>> >
>> I like variety almost all of the time. If I'm feeling sick or exhausted
>I'll go for the low-effort soft sloppy food, such as congee or soup. I'll
eat
>> very hot chilli or curry when I have a cold. Other than that what I want
>> from my food is sensuous pleasure
>
>Heh :) Me too I'm afraid!  But I can find it in the familiar as well as
>variety :)
>During the week I generally go for the tried and true... stuff I don't have
>to even remotely think about to prepare, things I generally have on hand
all
>the time. But weekends I plan for variety, elaboration, special trips for
>ingredients etc... I have time for it then.
>
Right. That's the way I do it, too - though I'll often cook things on the
weekends with the intention of eating them during the week. Even the
weeknight food has variety, though. There is in the freezer at the moment
(remember, I have a 22 cu ft freezer left over from the days of 8 kids in
the house, as well as the big freezer in the top of the fridge) turkey (a
Silly Season food) pork roast with crackling (potentially, if I cook it
right) pork steaks (cheaper than chops) ham joint (more Silly Season food)
smoked ham hocks (for making pea soup) chicken legs, skinless boneless
chicken breast, pre-made chicken cordon bleu, pre-made veal cordon bleu,
goat chunks, lamb chops, ground buffalo, buffalo steaks, beef roast, *ground
beef, *ground pork, *ground turkey, *ground chicken (*all divided into one
meal packets) wild salmon fillet, snapper fillet, cod fillet, black cod
chunks, halibut chunks, ground salmon, orange roughy fillet, scollops,
shimp, prawns, sole fillet, skate, and every frozen vegetable you've ever
heard of, some premixed, such as "stir fy mix" and "Japanese
mix" and "West
Coast mix" as well as fresh vegetables and pre-mixed salads
>
When I get home from work if I've forgotten to take something out to thaw, I
take one of the packets of something that will cook quickly and well from
frozen. Most often stir fried fish and vegetables of one kind or another.
There's usually more variety of fish than that, but room has been made for
silly season food. There's also often other meats, such as duck, goose, or
rabbit, but this is what happens to be there today
> >
>> Oh, by the way, Lisa and I finally had ostrich that we could taste. Very
>> much like venison. That's something I would definitely eat again
>
>Good for you! You can have my share :)
>
Lisa loves beef, which I'm not too crazy about, and she enjoyed it, so I'm
sure you'd like it - though maybe not cooked the way we had it (in Thai
food)

>> Laurie trying a new taste is like reading a new book Phoenix
>
>there is that!
>
>Read _Like Water for Chocolate_ and you can get menu ideas as well as a new
>book! 
>
Read it
>
I've discovered a weekend breakfast that I like so much I'm going to make it
again this morning - using portabello mushrooms instead of english muffins
for eggs benedict
>
Laurie off to make breakfast Phoenix

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