comfort food.

Why is comfort food so well, comforting? I used to think it was because it was something I'd eaten alot as a child: Spanish rice, ham & apples, macaroni & cheese and the biggie for me: CEREAL.

Tonight I was comforted by a dish my sister taught me: a bowl of pasta topped with butter, garlic powder (NOT salt), regular salt and parm cheese. Well, I only had a sliver of butter so I made up for it with some extra virgin olive oil. That's EVOO to Rachel Ray on The Food Network (aka my porn). And I used grated pecorino romano cheese instead of parm but it was SO GOOD.

I could never give up carbs. Never live my life without bread, pasta, potatoes, fruit or, heaven forbid, sugar. I like bite size pasta (penne or rotini) better than noodles (spaghettii or fettucini). Farfalle (Italian for butterflies) are my favorite. At restaurants, I always fill up on bread before my meal comes.

Melt some cheese between two pieces of bread for me and I'm yours. Add a little salt and some tomato slices and you won't get rid of me. Ever.

In our house, when there's absolutely no other food in the fridge there's ALWAYS cheese. Here are a few currently living in my cheese drawer: Pecorino Romano, white American, pepper jack, extra sharp white cheddar, those spreadable Swiss wedges (can't think of the name), grated mozzarella, grated Mexican blend, feta, garlic herb goat cheese, and that's without even looking (trust me). Cheese makes everything better. Didn't your mother ever melt cheese on [insert random vegetable here] to get you to eat it? In Italy they eat cheese with fruit- pears and pecorino is my favorite. Cheese and crackers.

Good for comfort and to help the kid "buck up."