Grilled PBJ

Ingredients: Sliced bread, peanut butter, strawberry preserves, butter

Directions: Heat pan high, spread peanut butter on one slice. Strawberry preserves on another slice. Press together like a typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Next proceed to butter the PBJ. Grill sandwich like a grilled cheese sandwich. Serve hot and brings lots of napkin.  Enjoy.

It’s a simple variation on a sandwich classic. With all the extravagance one sees on the Food Channel, it is refreshing to have something simple and yummy.Never been a foodie, but I enjoy a good meal. My waist band can attest to this. However, it took some time to understand what the fascination with the gustatory choices people make.  I would take mom to Filipino restaurant down in the Valley. Never thought it was great food. It was fried, sitting under a heating lamp for a minute and I found it bland.

A Little Goes A Way

Next to it is a Thai place. Its alright, but not my favorite, either. Nopgow on Rancho Vista Blvd would be the place I would go for my last meal. Actually thinking about the food we eat is difficult task. It’s so simple, yet the combination and sequence of preparation are vital. Sure, one can place a two slices of bread in a toaster, spread butter and jelly on them, poof one has sustenance. However, if given a choice between the PBJ I just described and a grilled PBJ, 9 out of 10 will choose the latter.

Rose Buds Come in Many Variations

Our taste buds are peculiar. Most reports say there are mainly four distinct tastes: Sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.  According to webpage from livescience, Tongue map Most scientists agree that there's a fifth distinct taste, called "umami. . .This is the taste of glutamate.  It is common in Japanese foods, particularly kombu, a type of sea vegetable similar to kelp, and in bacon and monosodium glutamate (MSG), which Ikeda isolated and patented.  There's considerable debate about the existence of a sixth taste receptor for fat, too.”

It All Counts

We too often do not consider the incredibly complexities that it takes to feed us. Think about the simple PBJ. I knew one lady ate only PBJ if it was crunchy peanut butter. Another family member hated if either peanut butter or jelly was disproportionate in spread. My nephew prefers just jelly. I like copious amounts of spread on both sides.

Moreover, we often overlook the environment in which our meal is served. It’s quite an incredible balancing act. Think about last time you went out. Did you wait in line to get served? Too long and you get frustrated. No line makes you wonder if the food is good. Did the restaurant have a view or were your sitting in a crowd of people? Was the server nice and did he/she refill your water? Or were they rushed and inattentive? How about the company you kept? A wonderful date or people from work?

Eating is an experience and one we take for granted. Talks of comfort food never really registered until recently. We go to certain restaurants because it builds on good memories. Usually, the food must be good, memorable. Next the service has to meet a certain level of expectation. Everything else, like ambience, mood, company will add and or detract to this memory. Made-with-love post 

Food Memories

It took some time understand why Mom would prefer to eat just Filipino food. My guess is that it brought back memories of home. With the food landscape, Mexican, Chinese, and hamburgers, a nice variations is something other. I mean the food was not the greatest and she admitted this, but she still returns. Like lemmings to the top of the mountain, ready to fall.

Started thinking of my own food comfort zone. When I lived in Boston, there were two places I enjoyed eating. Union with a grilled cheese, tomato, and bacon sandwich. Second place was a pizza place called “A Place To Eat” Their Stanches were incredible. Stanch (pronounced Stahhnch) is a simple Steak and Cheese. Take the first two letters of each word and you get ST(eak) AN(d) CH(eese)—STANCH.

When I left for school, I found myself getting lunch and dinner at these places often.  I was catching the Simpson on the big screen at the Union. Or I was getting home from a late night carousing with friends and the only place open was at the “Place to Eat”

More than Just the Food

Our memory banks fill with good memories with family and friends. When we eat we quickly associate food items to good experiences. Maybe this is the reason for the epidemic of obesity. We long to feel happy again. Certain places, certain foods triggers our happy signals in the brain.

For Me, going on a late night Tommy’s runs I think of singing Air Supply songs with Tammy, Brad, and Corinna on Roscoe Blvd. Rampart Original Tommy’s makes think of Dad original-tommys-simply-best post. Late night Denny's--Its Marc, Brian, Kathleen and others. Nopgow makes me think John Cusack, graduation, and family get-togethers. Roscoe Chicken and Waffle, I think of Jason. Pinks, its Rodney and his family. Odyssey, its high school football and my brother Kevin. Fish Market on 6^th Street makes think of Michelle and the last goodbye night. Cheesecake Factory and Dr Hogly Wogly BBQ stirs memories of LA Fitness. Steer N Stein, its Brad. Farmers Market, I think of my childhood.

Why Ask Why
Now, I’m not so opposed to taking Mom’s to Filipino restaurant, even though it is not the greatest. Just knowing it may bring her good memories I will never understand, I will just smile and go. I can relate because I have my own special restaurants and my own comfort foods.What are your favorites comfort foods? Where are you favorite places to go? And Why? I’d like to know.