Comfort Food

It will be a different sort of Christmas this year. Decided to celebrate my Million Mile Club membership and my son-in-law completing his three-year Occupational Therapy Program with using my miles for a family trip to Hawaii—for 7! Wife, two daughters, son-in-law and grandkids. We’re off to the “Big Island,” anticipating more rain that we would wish and beaches further away than we would wish—but still, should be fun.

So this morning, in an effort to clear the refrigerator, my breakfast was red rice heated with raisins and a touch of milk. Not my usual fare! But while eating it, I remembered food I had eaten often as a kid and a young adult that not only hadn’t I eaten in a while, but completely forgot existed—buckwheat groats. Also called kasha. Does anyone eat that anymore?

And then came memories of some of the unique foods of my childhood—almonds and raisins, sour cream and bananas, milk and molasses. The first is the only one that stuck, but thinking that the next time I’m feeling a bit lost or disgruntled, I should prepare a meal with them all—including buckwheat groats.

And what is a groat anyway? Don’t think I’ll find it in Hawaii. Aloha!