Comfort food

Wobbly tummies aren't easy to feed and trying to come up with nourishing food that sits well is turning into a major preoccupation. After my first bout of chemo, I overdosed on chicken soup, so the second time around I tried for a little variety in the comfort food department.

I think most of us have foods we associate with feeling icky, ingrained in us from when we were children. Take the BRAT diet. Pretty much universal: we had it in England and in Italy, and then I came across it here when my kids were little. BRAT, of course, stands for Banana, Rice, Apple Sauce and Toast....... nice bland foods that keep you going when all you really want to do is curl up and die!

Comfort food comes in interesting forms, depending on where you're from. Take Marmite. You've probably never heard of it, but ask any Brit and they'll tell you they were brought up on the stuff and if you were sick, you ate Marmite soldiers. Marmite comes in a black jar with a cheery yellow and red label. You can find it in the supermarkets over here, though I expect sales are limited to ex-pat Brits. Open up the jar and have a sniff......hmmm. Just the thought makes my mouth water. Smells like concentrated bouillon. It's actually all vegetarian, basically concentrated B vitamins, so really, really good for you.


To make Marmite soldiers, you toast and butter a slice of bread and then spread the Marmite VERY thinly. It even says "Spread thinly" on the label. It's pretty salty. Cut the toast into four soldiers and you have a fantastic, nutritious snack that's easy on the tum. Try it, though I warn you, it's an acquired taste. Once you're feeling better, you might try cheese and Marmite sandwiches, a staple of the British sandwich repetoire. Two slices of buttered bread, smear of Marmite on one piece of bread, add a slice of Cheddar or any other hard cheese and enjoy! Pickled onion on the side would be good..... but I'm getting ahead of myself. Pickled onions aren't on my horizon for a while.

Soft boiled eggs are another classic nursery food that's helping me keep my protein intake up. If you want to get creative, you can combine the egg with the Marmite soldiers, that way you don't need to salt the egg!

I must say that these days I find myself standing in front of the open refrigerator, sounding like my kids. "There's nothing to eat in this house!" So yesterday, I was gazing blankly into the fridge when a container of freshly cooked chickpeas and an avocado caught my eye. Oh my..... I whipped up a concoction that I just have to share with you.

1 cup of cooked chickpeas
1 ripe avocado
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
Tabasco to taste

Put the whole lot into the blender and whiz until smooth. Add more water or olive oil if you need it. I buy dried chickpeas and cook them in the pressure cooker. You don't need to soak them, just rinse and make sure there are no stones hiding among them. They'll cook in about 30 mins. If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak overnight and boil the next morning. Save some of the cooking water to use in the recipe.

We ate this with chips, then we added some of my home-made wine vinegar and used it as a salad dressing, and finally I have to admit that I polished off what was left with a spoon. Delish!