Chanukah Night #4: Comfort Foods

Tonight we light the 4th candle of Chanukah. Our discussion question tonight should be fun!

What four foods are comforting to you (bring you light). They don’t *have* to be Chanukah food, but if that is what comes to mind, all the more perfect.

To be honest, when I am under stress, I lose my appetite, and thankfully my husband will remind me to eat and good friends will drop off food 🙂 So this is not an easy question this year for me.

My mother-in-law Pearl Zimmerman z”l was a master cook. She was one of the first women to get an advanced degree at Cornell and she really knew the science of cooking.

She loved to entertain large groups of people (like the Indian delegation to the World’s Fair) and had incredible recipes that I had scribbled down because most were in her head.

Back in 1999, I could tell that my mother-in-law was beginning to forget some of the recipes she stored in her head, I sat down with her for days and transcribed her recipes as she spoke them out loud.

Wanting to make sure our boys were able to inherit her recipes, and those of my family, too, I decided to make a Family Cookbook.

I put a call out to both my husband Ely’s and my side of the family for people to send me their recipes that they’d want to pass down. I asked them to share any stories about the recipes. One of Ely’s relatives had been turned away from Ellis Island back in the 40’s and Cuba let them in. She contributed Arroz Con Pollo.

I published a Zimmerman Family Cookbook & my boys have well-worn copies. It was such a fabulous project.

 My Four Comfort Foods of 2020 are:

1) Chicken Soup: Of course I love my mom’s, but I also loved Ely’s mom, Pearl’s (may both of their memories be a blessing). She added chicken feet, which make it delicious (I make Ely put them in thepot so I don’t have to touch them.) She also added parsley root, in addition to celery root. I combined those two recipes, and now our boys make MY recipe. It never fails to bring light into my life.

2) Risotto in the Instant Pot. Ultimate comfort food, so easy to make.

3) Potato Latkes – thin and crispy. YES, there is the unfortunate oil smell that last for days and days – but still. I love them with applesauce and sour cream. Here’s my recipe.

4) Butternut Squash Soup. This anti-inflammatory soup by Dr. Karen Lee for the instant pot balances out the gluten-full eating I’m doing (I hope).

*HONORABLE MENTION: Sourdough bread & seeded rye. Can’t seem to get enough gluten during this pandemic…

Now it’s YOUR turn. What are the four foods that bring you comfort and light?

Now it’s your turn. What 4 foods are comforting to you this year?

One candle has the power to light up the darkness. One person has the power to light up our lives.

— I’ll be posting a new question each day with a photo of our precious #Bo, our Labradoodle. For my favorite potato latkes recipe click here.  For the Chanukah candle blessings, click here.

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