Warms the heart, feeds the soul

Last week my cousin Fanny baked a batch of muffins (mango walnut oatmeal and apple walnut oatbran) and posted photos of her yummy creations on her Multiply. If Atsi Fan were still living a street away from us I would have dropped by to sample some (even without being invited, hehe), or at least hung around the kitchen to get a good whiff of the fresh-out-of-the-oven aroma. But Atsi Fan now lives in Zamboanga, so I can only salivate over the photos of the muffins she made.

For me, muffins are a prime example of comfort food. Even the sound of the word "muffin" evokes a warm, fuzzy feeling. And then there's the wonderful smell of wholesome goodness, and when I bite into one, it's like someone I love giving me a big hug. It's like... home.

That's the ultimate definition of comfort food, I suppose: food that reminds us of home. For example, my mom likes soup (more than any normal person should). She likes it so much that every single meal served in our house has to include soup, regardless of what kind. I think it's because when she was growing up, her mom served soup with every meal too.

But comfort food isn't limited to stuff our moms used to make all the time when we were kids. My mom never baked muffins (my mom never baked anything), and she actually didn't like it when our cook prepared sopas (creamy macaroni soup) or cheesy spaghetti because she's lactose-intolerant (that's why I had to make my own grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza toasts). Any kind of food that summons happy memories of childhood can be considered comfort food. Aside from the aforementioned, mine include tim neng (Chinese steamed egg custard), chicken "pie" (they were more of cupcake-shaped chicken a la king pastry) from DEC, my grandma's signature meatballs, crema de fruita from Goldilocks, native hot chocolate (kakao), and old school Magnolia strawberry ice cream (not the new crap Nestle makes now). And I could go on and on for hours, especially if my sibs joined me in reminiscing about the food we loved as kids.

What about you, dear readers? What are your favorite comfort foods? Go ahead and share your warm, fuzzy feelings. =D