The comfort of food
from Rural Roots, Prince Albert, SK
By RUTH GRIFFITHS

What began as a fund-raiser for a children's charity has blossomed into a rainbow of books for a pair of Calgary home economists.

Norma Bannerman and Laurana Rayne had helped to produce The Children's Cottage CookieBook (a national best seller).

They discovered that the memories associated with food can be particularly comforting. They put out a call to the public for comfort food recipes and asked each contributor to include a few sentences as to why they found their recipes to be comfort foods.

The flood of responses has been capably molded into a series of six mini-cookbooks that are heartwarming and useful in many ways.

"We began to see that comfort foods are more than good food - they also carry a loving message and, like love, they have many facets," they write in the preface to their books.

"They can be hot soup on a cold day, great grandmother's biscuits warm from the oven, rice pudding for someone ill, a hearty casserole for someone bereaved, a pot of stew for a new mother or a thoughtfully chosen meal for friends.

"In the preparing, serving and sharing, comfort foods connect us with others in a meaningful way; they become part of the glue that holds us together."

The 200-plus recipes in the series are organized into six small books. Each book sells for $5.95; the complete set with organizing folder costs $35.70. (ISBN096831654-9)

GOOD READING
The books are good reading because each recipe is accompanied by the story of why it the food is comforting. For example, atop the recipe for My Grandma's Date Rum Cake you'll read: "Every month when we visited, my grandmother served red salmon sandwiches on home made white bread and her delicious, moist date rum cake. Brings back wonderful memories."

Some of the stories are rather humorous: "My mother-in-law had a knack for making guests feel comfortable and for her, the purpose of having guests was to enjoy their company. If things didn't go quite right she was unflappable. For example, one memorable evening, with guests seated at the table, my father-in-law carried a roast into the dining room. As he approached the table, the roast slid from the platter and landed on the floor. Without hesitation Mom responded, 'Don't worry dear, just take that one back to the kitchen and get the other one."'

USEFUL
The books are double indexed which means you can find a recipe listed in the back of the book by name or by its main food ingredient. Each of the six books contains the index for all the recipes in all the books.

There are lots of tips at bottom of the pages, too. And, being home economists, the authors just couldn't control the urge to make these comfy recipes healthy, too. Where applicable, the recipes were tested using ground chicken in place of ground beef, yogurt in place of sour cream and light mayonnaise in place of the high-fat variety.

Every recipe was triple tested. The authors enlisted volunteers to try the recipes at home and The Alberta Home Economics Association, Calgary branch tried them all out too. The books are colour coded to provide a rainbow of comforting food ideas.

COLD DAYS
The red book is titled Comfort Food for Cold Days: Food that warms the body and soul. It has recipes for soup, stew, ribs, breads, puddings and pies that will bring back old memories and create new ones.

"Cold rainy weather, the first frost, a cold snowy day - these are days that call for food to warm the body and soul," write the authors in the preface to this 50 page book.

FAMILIES
The orange book is titled Comfort Food for Families: Food that nourishes and nurtures. There are homey recipes such as Celery Leaf Soup, meat loaf, lasagna and pizza. There's a recipe for stuffing made in a slow cooker because there's never enough room in the turkey. It makes 14 cups, enough for any hungry family. "The wonderful thing about food is that it nurtures as well as nourishes," write the authors. "Whether you live alone or in any type of family setting, good food can nourish, nurture and create feelings of contentment and well being."

COMPANY
The yellow book is titled Comfort Food for Company: Meals to share with friends. "A good meal shared with friends is one of life's greatest pleasures. This book is designed to enhance that pleasure by helping to make having company a fuss-free experience. Most of the recipes in this book can be prepared ahead aid reheated; many are cooked in one large pot; some cook in the oven for several hours with little attention."

This book also includes some sample menus using recipes found in the collection.

HERITAGE
The green book is called Comfort Food with a Heritage: Food that connects us with our roots. It contains recipes that tasted best with Grandma's special touch, such as Scottish Mince, Swedish Potato Dumplings, Vinatarta (an Icelandic prune-filled pastry) and Maritime Molasses Bread.

"Recipes passed through several generations have special meaning. We treasure recipes handed down through our families because they link us to the past."

CARING AND GIVING
The blue book, could help you and others through some blue times. It's called Comfort Food for Caring and Giving: Food to make for others. It's divided into three sections:

• Foods to share - food taken to pot-luck meals and to friends experiencing busy or stressful times
• Foods that say "I care" - food prepared with love to help heal those who are ill or convalescing
• Gifts of food - thoughtful gifts to warm the heart of the giver and the receiver.

A footnote on page 32 describes one such act of kindness:
"Recently I came home from being diagnosed with a severe but relatively short-term illness. I stood in my kitchen, tired and discouraged, trying to remember what I had in my freezer to thaw out and have for dinner. At that moment, my neighbour arrived at our door with a kettle full of delicious, hearty chicken soup. This thoughtful action lifted my spirits and improved my outlook.
"A couple of days later she arrived with tapioca pudding, perfect food for satisfying my finicky appetite at that moment. Then, a few days later, her husband brought over a large turkey breast and slid it into our oven. These acts of kindness were not only a great help, they also said, "we care." I truly believe these caring actions aided my recovery."

CONGENIAL TIMES
The purple book is called Comfort Food for Congenial Times: Recipes for relaxed visiting. It's designed for those times when house guests or unexpected visitors make extra meal preparation necessary. On such occasions, good food contributes significantly to everyone's enjoyment.

It contains recipes that can be prepared on short notice from ingredients on hand. Since guests are often part of the holidays such as Easter and Christmas, they have included recipes using turkey or ham leftovers. They've chosen recipes made from items that can be kept in your cupboard, so you'll be able to prepare most of these dishes without having to make a special trip to the store. All of the recipes were chosen to offer maximum enjoyment will minimum effort for everyone.

Reprinted with permission from Rural Roots, published by The Prince Albert Daily Herald, a division of Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.