Milk and Molasses

In the bread aisle of Trader Joe’s, I saw something I hadn’t thought of for years—crumpets! There used to be a dedicated crumpet shop on Irving Street, my neighborhood shopping district and it was our family custom to shop there and get some lemon curd to go along with the crumpets for either breakfast or lunch. Yummy! It closed long ago and I forgot all about it until yesterday. Naturally, I bought the crumpets and thought that Cost Plus would certainly have the lemon curd but …aww, as mentioned in an earlier post, Cost Plus closed. Still good though with a topping of butter and maple syrup or cream cheese and jam or even peanut butter and honey. 

 

A few weeks ago, I felt another urge for another old San Francisco comfort food and went in search of mochi, those squares that you cut and put in the toaster oven and watch them expand and puff up. Then take them out and cut open and fill its sticky interior with some of the above crumpet toppings or cheese or just eat plain. But hadn’t seem them for sale anywhere until I discovered them at Rainbow Grocery—different brand and four times their old price. Still I bought them and they held up.

 

Comfort food is a real thing and this got me thinking about certain unique combinations I used to eat as a kid, some of which I still do and many of which I’d forgotten about. Almonds and raisins. Sour cream and banana. Apple and cream cheese with poppy seeds on top. Celery and peanut butter. Buckwheat groats and raisins. Milk and molasses. 

 

This last perhaps my compensation for not being able to drink chocolate milk as a kid. (My Mom’s idea.) Hadn’t tried it in decades, but this morning, I gave it another shot. Not bad. I even tried a version with oat milk and molasses. Perhaps even a little better. 

 

Crumpets, mochi, milk and molasses—I’m on a roll. Thinking about the apple/cream cheese/ poppy seed for lunch. Care to join me?