Comfort Food? Check!

Sometimes life just starts to get the best of you.  It becomes overwhelming to the point where you feel suffocated - afraid to do anything because it seems like nothing is working.  Luckily for me when I feel like that I am blessed with a sister who's always there to listen and a husband who understands that I'm not insane, just need some time to feel like it and then I can get back to normal.  The last few weeks have felt like walking through a fog.  The motions were there, the intent was there but my heart was missing.  It's funny, as I was struggling through another day yesterday I read a quote that made me really pay attention.  I can't find the actual quote now that I want to find it but it essentially said that if you can't put your heart into what you're doing, then it's worthless to be doing it.  Wow.  Like a splash of cold water to the face I woke up and started to really think.  What was I doing?  Was I doing anyone any good just pretending to be okay?  So I prayed and thanked God for the millionth time that I am blessed with the life I have, and thought about each word and meant it from my heart.  I truly felt the fog lifting around my heart and was more thankful than I'd been even a moment before!  What does this have to do with comfort food?  Everything.

Comfort food is food that comforts us.  It's a dish that reminds us of love, whether it's a dish at a restaurant that holds memories or something that was made by a relative for you as a child.  Whatever it is, you feel loved when you eat it.  It means something to you.  And when I was struggling through, heartless (for lack of a better word)  I am not sure how much comfort was felt through my foods for my family.  They were healthy, homemade and sustained them, but there is more - there should be more - to the foods we create and nourish our bodies with.  So, what did I make today?  Comfort food at it's finest!  Sausage, Kale and Potato soup as well as Homemade Cherry Pie for my awesome hubby.



Soup is always a comfort food.  There's something about a steaming bowl of it that just takes the warmth of love and wraps you up in it.  Another plus to this soup?  It reminds me of Olive Garden where so many of the hubby and I's dates.  It's all good memories.  And the cherry pie?  Well, it's only the hubby's FAVORITE dessert ever.  Before lava cakes, brownies, no bake cookies...all of it pales in comparison to cherry pie.  But this pie is even more special.  It is the first, yep, you read that right, the first ever truly homemade pie for me. Not only did I make the filling from scratch (super easy!) but I also made a lattice top crust. I was determined to come back with a bang!



So, if you ever start feeling like nobody cares what you're doing remember that you always matter to the people around you, and they care more than you know!  Be thankful for the little things in your life and don't let the stresses start to overwhelm you.  Here's to cooking with love and lots of heart!