Comfort Food Weather

Photo: crepes with warmed summer fruit from the freezer, by Yasemin

This is the season for comfort food. Soups are on the menu, especially hearty ones. Last week at our house it was Scotch broth, and this week lentil soup cooked Afghani style. Warming meals like chicken cacciatore and curried lamb provide excellent winter fare.

Salads are chunkier now, with red cabbage, cauliflower, cooked beets and carrots taking over from summery salad vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. Cheese or stuffed olives can be added.

Cooked summer fruit from the freezer served with warming crepes, pictured above, evoke August fragrances, as well as satisfying the palate, the tummy and that old sweet tooth.

The peaches in the photo are cooked with a bit of lemon juice, sugar and tapioca to make a chunky warm jam for the crepes, and the frozen blueberries are heated in the microwave.