Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Babyfied Comfort Food

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I found myself at home today, with not that much to do. At midday, the Nigella! program was screening on the Lifestyle Food channel. (Yes, that is Nigella! with an exclamation mark, which refers to her chat show). She had that Anthony Warrol Thompson dude on, she made these insanely rich chocolate chip cookies, and they guessed the prices of kaftans. It was quite entertaining. A really interesting fact though, is that Anthony Warrol Thompson was sent to boarding school at the age of three! THREE! How fucked up is that? I don't understand how kids that young could be sent to live away from their parents. Can they even talk properly at that age? Are they fully toilet trained? Who teaches them right from wrong, how to tie their shoelaces, how to eat politely at the table? Who gives them love??

Anyway, this spartan image of British boarding school, combined with the fact that I was still in my PJ's, really made me want comfort food.

259. Bread & Milk

This recipe, which is just a suggestion, really, opens the "Comfort Food" section of the One & Two chapter. Nigella describes it as "babyfied comfort food", rood to run to when you "lust for something soft and sweet". It's what she, following her mother, makes for herself to eat - white bread, torn up in a bowl, sprinkled with vanilla sugar and covered with hot milk.



I followed the instructions, and sat "in armchair, bowl on lap" to eat this. I was expecting warm vanilla scented fuginess, just like a hug in a bowl. But for some reason, it just tasted... wrong. It had some weird uninviting taste to it. Maybe it was the milk? Did I get it too hot? Or the bread? Too stale? Or maybe it was just the combination of ingredients that I didn't like.

Well, whatever. I only got about halfway through it before I couldn't handle any more and needed to get the taste out of my mouth, fast. So I went to the kitchen and got some McVitie's Chocolate Digestive Biscuits. They were good. Mmm'hmm.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, I have always wondered about this, and could never bring myself to eat it. I will reach for the McVities myself, thank you, Sarah, for being the test pilot.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, hot milk doesn't appeal to me at all (except drowned in cocoa ;) so I'll have the cookies instead too. ;)

Niki said...

I've always thought this recipe sounded pretty unappetising. I think it's one of those legacy memory things. I'm glad you've confirmed my opinion that it's not worth trying!

Anonymous said...

I never liked hot milk in Australia. But over this northern winter I´ve followed my flatmates lead and now I really like it.

Maybe its a climate thing...

xo