And Happy New Year back at'cha! Wish you all the best in these next months. :) Pit Update: Saturday a friend of a friend came and took both of them. She's mature, got a good job, owns her home with a big yard. She's keeping Bobby (aka puppy-boy) and her neighbor is taking sweet Maggie (aka puppy girl). These were the happiest, sweet dogs. Turned out to be clean, trained, house broken, curious, and just joyful. Someone dumped them, I'm sure, but they were house dogs. Perhaps breeders, but definitely house dogs. It was interesting. All the time they were here, they never left the yard. When I went out, they were right beside me. Bobby, would play catch with a 6' 4x4. Throwing it in the air, standing on it and trying to pick it up. Made it difficult for me to sort out a load of reused lumber, which had nails in it. It had to wait. He was a JOY. What a energetic puppy he was. He'd sit and kinda roll backwards with his feet stuck out in front of him, like puppies do. Didn't quite lift his leg. Hasn't earned his man card yet. Although they always wanted to ride in my car, they didn't want to go with her. (Leaving me? Awwww) But once in the car, they settled in, with their heads poking out between the seats to look out the window. The only time I'd see Maggie get excited was when wheels turned. Cars, trucks, bikes. She'd bite at them from underneath the door, vs. from the front. Scared me she'd get a tooth stuck and be crushed. I mention this, because the week before I had to get 2 new tires. Saturday night when I came out of work, I had a flat. Grrrrr. Had myself towed to my car place. He called me the next morning and asked if I'd hit anything, or was out in the field, etc. [wait for it] There were 2 puncture marks, one torn, in the sidewall of my new tire. So.... I guess Maggie is successful in her mission of killing All Things Tire. Got my living room painted. It is Beeeuuuuttiful. Even moreso without the crap stacked to the ceiling. Ceiling is Glidden 'Natural Wicker' and the walls are Duron/SW 'Tinderbox.' I just picked up the paint for the bookshelves. All this room needs is trim. and maybe some curtains. Well, maybe not. So I have 2 rooms done, -trim. This is very, very exciting! Leaves 7 rooms to go. Drywall, finishing, paint, trim. As a dear friend once said, "Baby Steps." Well, it's only 10 years this year from that stupid fire! Baby enough? Have a great, warm day. Eat those beans and rice if that's your thing, or just watch football. (Got my MI State U sweat shirt on, just for my sisters.) Take care!

We also were dirt poor so there were no elaborate dishes for us. Mom was a plain cook but she could do some things well - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy (or potato salad) on Sunday. Sometimes we'd pack it up and take it to the "pasture" which was simply a cow pasture owned by Dad's boss and we'd spread our feast out on a blanket on the ground and eat. If Dad had an extra dollar, he'd stop on the way and buy a gallon of ice cream for 99 cents. If he was really feeling rich, a six-pack of Pepsi. Bottles, of course. After our feast, us kids would run up and down in the grass and wade in the creek. Mom could make a great goulash from hamburger, elbow macaroni and homegrown tomatoes, tall fluffy cinnamon rolls with lots of gooey brown sugar on the bottom and minimal icing, and a lemon meringue pie she was extremely proud of. After I watched her make the meringue once, I wouldn't eat it. But the lemon part was good and she was great with piecrust from scratch. My grandma, Dad's mother, was a very plain and unimaginative (English) cook. But her sugar cookies were wonderful. We lived with grandma and grandpa for a short while when I was a kid and when we got off the school bus and ran inside to smell her sugar cookies - bliss! I make her recipe now and it is probably my most memorable comfort food. Tall, soft and cakelike - she didn't use any icing, but I do!

I always thought ”puddin' pie” was just two sweets put together to make a doubly sweet thing to call a loved one. :) But at Thanksgiving time my cousin said she thought she'd make something like the chocolate pudding pie JoanM described to please herself, but just said ”chocolate pie” and I didn't think ”pudding pie”. Since I wasn't making my chocolate crust pumpkin pie with chocolate drizzle, I offered to make the chocolate pie with chocolate crust, but the recipe was for an enriched ganache, like a light, whipped fudge, so still no ”pudding pie”. ;) I do believe that ”pudding” to most Americas is cornstarch pudding (or similar starch thickened goop more on the road to mousse, though heavier, than anything solid or structured), though the banana custard with Nilla Wafers mentioned by Patricia was very popular for awhile. I think the recipe was on the box. I know someone who makes it. But Nilla Wafers are just cookies. No mystery. We liked eating them as such when we were kids. My father liked Nabisco cookies in general, though he could have had any kind. IMO, what makes the bread soaked in custard bread pudding so good is the (softened) structure of the bread with the creaminess of the custard. It's wonderfully satisfying, especially if it's not overly sweet.

I think my idea of comfort food changes based on season mood or whim. I went to the Farmers Market on Saturday. There were bunches of baby beets with greens. I sauteed them with lots of garlic and lemon. This time of year specifically greens are a comfort food. In fall I start wanting heavier foods. I find soups to be a comfort food. Lately I have been missing New Jersey diner soups - chicken soup generally and matzoh ball in particular. Here in Maine I find most restaurant soups to be made creamy and thickened. Not bad but not what I have been craving. Also the hot and sour soup that I would dash across Montreal to get after the library closed in my college era.