Comfort Foods in Two Places I Call Home

Last October, I got my conversation class pondering the idea of comfort food, which led to some interesting discussion. I explained that comfort food is something that typically has a lot of carbs or calories, may need only simple preparation, brings feelings of nostalgia, and is especially craved in cold weather. We started brainstorming Brazilian comfort foods, and I shared a few American examples, as well. That led us to decide to have a class potluck the following week, and that's the week I got some wild reactions as I introduced them to the North American cult of pumpkin spice, but that's another story.

February, while unbearably hot and hazy in Saint Joseph of the Fields, has recently brought just enough cooling rain to make me want a cup of tea. The February of a parallel universe--or, really, another hemisphere--typically envelops my old home of Boston in layers of dirty ice, snow, slush, and sludge. While the sun creeps around the clouds and glares angrily here, bitter winds try in vain to blow away the heavy darkness of a northern winter. It's a good time in both places to return to some of the comforts of childhood.

Of course, the region of a country greatly influences the comfort food that is embraced. My history starts in the northeastern United States, and brings me to the southeastern part of Brazil. 

Photo by Megan Roca

When I think of comfort food, I immediately think of soup and pasta. I have a Brazilian friend who spent time in Boston and requests that I bring her a box of macaroni and cheese when I travel. It's not something I would think to crave when I'm far away, or eat much of when I'm near--it's full of artificial colors and flavors, and my time in Italy taught me that such processed pasta dishes are an ugly sin. But the cold of a few weeks of winter in my hometown made me wish I had indulged in it one more time while there. Or brought a box back for myself--white cheddar, and organic.

There is a kind of chicken soup here. It's called canja (ˈkɐ̃ʒɐ, or "KAHN-ja"), and is very similar to the chicken soup that miraculously heals head colds in North America. There's a heavier soup--I suppose more similar to stew, called caldinho,  (kaɫˈdiɲu, or "kal-GEE-nyu").  There are various kinds--white, brown, or black bean-based, often with pork or other meat, yucca based, often with chicken, seafood, and many others.

My favorite is pumpkin with chicken, and I dump a whole lot of hot sauce and sprinkle extra green onion on top. The pumpkin used here is slightly sweet, and I adore the combination of sweet and spicy, even though I'm seen as a weird foreigner. In the northern part of Brazil, however, my taste might not be so out of place. There's a place we go for all-you-can-eat caldinho (pizza can be added for a slightly higher price, and there's ice cream, too--who would have thought of that combination?). You can go back for cup after cup, and sprinkle as much cheese and green onions as you want, and there is plenty of bread to accompany it. If Boston had a place like that (with or without pizza), winters would be much more bearable. 

Photo taken from http-//flickr.com/eltpics by @PátriaMinasRestaurante used under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial license, http-//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.jpg

After pigging out on multiple cups of caldinho, we go back for some sweet options--hot rice (arroz doce) or large corn kernels (canjica) with heavy, sweet cream and cinnamon, and they're one of the best things on a cold night, but not too bad in the summer, either, when served chilled.

Most Brazilians I know miss rice and beans desperately if they are away from home. It's more of a staple than a comfort food, but there is a strong wave of saudade that hits hard when away from the kitchen of one's childhood. But perhaps a more traditional comfort food is feijoada (fɐjˈʒwadɐ, or "fay-jo-WAH-da"). It's a heavy black bean stew with pork, often served with rice, mustard greens, pork rinds, with yucca flour sprinkled on top. And perhaps orange slices and a cold beer on the side. 

The legend goes that enslaved Africans developed the dish by using scraps of leftover meat. However, that idea has been countered by historians who insist that the dish was enjoyed by the elite, who, influenced by European culture, saw parts such as tail, feet, and ears as delicacies, rather than leftovers. Either way, it's the national dish of Brazil, a true soul food, and perfect on a cold day, but also amazing in the summer.

 

Then there is cuscuz--similar in name to couscous from the Middle East, but here it's made of corn flour or yucca four. It takes different forms in the north and south, but what's most common here is a savory dish with corn-based cuscuz. Sometimes it's pressed into a mold and served as a cold dish garnished with slices of eggs and tomatoes, and maybe peas. Other times it's a light, warm dinner for children (or nostalgic adults) soaked with butter or milk.

When I go back to the U.S., there's something immensely comforting about a simple bowl of cereal in my parents' house. It's something I rarely ate for breakfast during my adult life, always being on the run, but, it's a cold and crunchy relic of my childhood that, day or night, makes me feel better about the world.

Pancakes are also a comfort of home, but only with real maple syrup, tapped from a tree, not flavored cornstarch. I tried to bring maple syrup as a gift to some Brazilians, but those who hadn't previously enjoyed fluffy American pancakes (versus the flat savory meat-filled ones here) didn't know what to do with it. One dear lady poured some in a glass and insisted that her guest take a shot of it, telling him it was from the American apple tree. (She thought "maple" and "apple" were the same, confusing the vowel sound).

And why not throw some marbled brownie in the background? It matches the pancakes and my parents' new counter top!

My Brazilian students have this image of a heavy American breakfast, with eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes eaten every day--an oddity when a light breakfast of bread is the norm here. I tell them that it's only a special leisurely breakfast, enjoyed best on the weekend, only once in a while. For me, it was rare during my adult life in the U.S., but now, I'll enjoy it twice a year in my mom's kitchen. Bagels, with lots of cream cheese, however, are another comfort food that I have rarely been able to resist adding to my American morning routine, at least weekly, when I'm there. I miss the texture of the warm, toasted round bread, flavored with "everything," with cool cream cheese oozing out of the sides.

I also miss American sweet potato fries. I've never seen an orange sweet potato here. The ones we have are white and taste extra starchy and crumbly, and wouldn't work well as french fries. But the naturally-bright orange ones I know from back home kept me company over many winters, often with wine or a Sam Adams beer.

And they pair well with nachos! Bar food and comfort food are close cousins!

There are so many other Brazilian fried finger foods--pastel (thin fried pastry dough stuffed with whatever you like), coxinha ("little thigh"--chicken meat in thicker fried dough), and various kinds of savory salgadinhos (meat or cheese or anything you can combine with flour and fry or bake in a small form--even vegetarian options with jackfruit!), that liven up a party or make a bad day better.

Pastel! Photo taken from http-//flickr.com/eltpics by @earlysparrow, used under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial license, http-//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.jpg

It looks and tastes like chicken, but it's a coxinha made of jackfruit! Photo by Carolina Arai.

Vegetarian salgadinho made from jackfruit! Photo by Carolina Arai

People ask me all the time what food I miss most from United States, and, strangely enough, my answer is nothing traditionally American, but instead, Thai or Korean dishes that I could find in nearly any city on the East Coast. I regularly found respite from brutal New England winters in bowls of spicy, steaming hot tom yum soup or tteokbokki. Living in Brazil, I miss having more vegetarian or fish-based options, and I really miss the spice and flavor of these dishes, which my students in Boston introduced me to.

Korean rice cakes in spicy sauce! Photo taken from http-//flickr.com/eltpics by @roboppy, used under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial license, http-//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.jpg

Sometimes comfort food is found only in a childhood home, with a dish made in a particular way by a particular person. Other times, travel and cultural exchange open up new realms of comfort, with special foods for special seasons, rife with memories of exciting experiences and cherished friendships. I was super-impressed when some of my students in Boston, during a Brazilian culture day, decided to make a vegetarian feijoada so that their Muslim classmates could enjoy it without pork. Some thought it wasn't authentic, others thought it was just as flavorful; I saw it as an extension of the table--and perhaps an extension of the blanket of comfort--to our neighbors. I think that's why comfort food is so comforting--it brings people together.

Pie Night! (I barely talked about sweets this time...will save that for another post...) Photo by Megan Roca

Brazilian, American, or other, what are your favorite comfort foods? Share your story here!