Comfort and Joy

What is it about the food we grew up with that makes it so appealing? As adults, we fervently search out trendy restaurants, memorize names of sushi, and gush over our favorite zinfandel.

All fine and good, but there’s nothing like going home and having mom prepare something you grew up with. If you’re Polish (like one friend of mine) it might be duck-blood soup. If you’re from small-town Wisconsin like Miss Healthypants, it might be lasagna made with ground meat, scant spices, and lots of cheese.

The day before I flew back to Chicago, my mom brought back lots of great memories by making a particular meal for me – one that I grew up eating. She had been a working, single mother, so this was standard fare throughout the 60s and 70s while I was growing up.

Tuna casserole, canned peas, canned tomatoes, and for dessert, canned pears (not pictured).
It may not be fancy, but I really did love this meal, mainly because it brought back so many memories -- Of eating dinner on the aqua formica dinner table with my mom, grandmother and brother. Or, if it was a Saturday night, we’d be on TV trays watching Mary Tyler Moore.

But mainly I enjoyed this meal so much because, at the age of fifty, I still have a wonderful mom to go home to.

Tuna casserole, canned peas . . .

I am truly blessed.