Someone told me that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the ultimate comfort food.  That got me thinking about the foods that satisfy when I need a pat on the back, a kind word or a little treat

When I was a kid, it was always about something sweet.  A wedge of angel food cake with lofty white frosting topped with chocolate chips, a handful of bridge mix (and why is it called bridge mix?), a piece of lemon meringue pie, eaten in separate layers, or the ultimate: oreo cookies, broken apart, and devoured filling first. 

But as I got older, comfort related to more than the basic lust for sugar, and became both seasonal and situational.  After a big exam, nothing tasted as good as a slightly soggy grilled cheese sandwich, simply white bread with melted American cheese.  In the summer months, a big bowl of local strawberries in the afternoon was reward enough for working all day in the garden.  The forboding days of deep winter in the Pacific Northwest encouraged hot Irish oatmeal, steel-cut and topped with sliced almonds, dried cranberries and a dollop of plain yoghurt.

My comfort food these days is even simpler:  just one or two ingredients, easy to assemble and slow to eat.  I can linger over a toasted bagel, treating myself to a little peanut butter on top, after I finish a long jog.  Following a grueling drive in heavy traffic, I sit down to a piece of last night's homemade pizza, served cold, and feel myself wind down.  Food has the ability to not just nourish , but to satisfy on many levels.  Well, that's a pretty deep thought, and I'm feeling a little chilly, so I need a big bowl of lentil soup to keep me going. How about you?

This is a 50s-vintage recipe for leftover ham that always, as Mom used to say, "hits the spot."  If eternity, it's been said, is two people and one ham, then this is one good use for some of that!

Ingredients

Eight thin slices baked ham

Eight slices Swiss cheese

1/4 onion, finely chopped

Four Kaiser-type bread rolls

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Steps

1. Mix onion, mustard and butter together.

2. Slice rolls in half; spread mix on top of rolls and inside each half.

3. Sandwich in two pieces of ham between two pieces of Swiss cheese.

4. Place on baking sheet: bake at 400 degrees for about ten minutes, or until cheese melts and the topping turns golden.

5. Serves four.  Variations: you can use mini rolls for slider-style snacks.  Double the filling recipe for a heartier flavor.

The Markets are holding a job fair on Tuesday, April 14!

Join us as we begin hiring for our newest store, The Market at Birch Bay.  The Job Fair will be held at the Bellingham Airport Hampton Inn, Fox Hall, 3985 Bennet Drive in Bellingham, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Interviews will be held for positions including checkers, courtesy and helper clerks, night crew, deli and bakery staff.  Potential employees are encouraged to bring their resumes and come prepared to complete applications.

If you share our passion for great food and unmatched customer service, come see us on April 14th. 

These come together in a snap so you can get dinner on the table in a hurry.  You can vary the fillings to what's available in the frig, too!

Ingredients

1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into thin strips

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground pepper

1 tsp. cumin

cooking spray

four flour tortillas

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 green pepper, seeded and sliced

Steps

1.  Mix first four ingredients together; set aside.

2. Spray saute pan; heat to medium and add chopped onion and sliced pepper.  Cook until soft (about five minutes).

3. Add more cooking spray if needed: saute chicken until juices run clear.

4.  Warm up tortillas in the oven or microwave (just for a few minutes).

5.  Fill with chicken and vegetables, top with cheese.  Add bonus toppings like sour cream, guacamole or salsa if you like.

6. Serves four hungry people.

I don't follow soup recipes. They're more of a source for inspiration, serving as an amendable plan or a general aim. Although doing this has lead me to cook a few irreversibly damaged soups, I still find that the most enjoyable soup-making style is to simply build the flavor one ingredient at a time without a recipe (which is why you won’t hear me talking too much about exact quantities - I just eyeball everything!).

Last night, I had a plan to make a Thai-curry style soup. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere between a red curry with vegetables and a Tom-Kah style soup (my favorite). Each have complex flavors, and they take a while to build - but taking it one step at a time makes it very easy.

First I chopped a yellow onion and threw it into an oversized pot that I had heated up with a few ounces of butter. I let the onions brown while I prepped my veggies, potatoes and mushrooms. Then I poured in a large container of chicken broth, two cans of coconut milk, a can of fish stock and a few cups of water. I brought that to a boil and added chopped carrots and Yukon Gold potatoes. Then I added four cloves of garlic (chopped), a few ounces of red curry paste, and palm full of grated ginger. Things started smelling more soup-like at this point, but the flavor was still in the early stages of development.

Ginger in soup seems lonely to me without lime, so I zested two and squeezed the juice in with the zest. To balance out the citrus and ginger, I added brown sugar. It tasted a little oversweetened at first, but after adding soy sauce and some coarsely ground pepper, the broth was taking on a well-rounded flavor and aroma. Overall, it was still a little thin, so I added a few cups of quinoa to absorb some water and give it a thicker body - and a boost of protein.

Next I added chopped parsnips and sweet potatoes - ingredients uncommon to this type of soup, but I was feeling brave (and hungry). Then I tossed in julienned bell peppers and sliced shitakes. Five more minutes simmering and I finished it off with a handful of baby spinach leaves and some chopped cilantro.

In the end, the flavor had become rich and savory with a warming spice from the red curry. The sweet potatoes and parsnips turned out to be a risk worth taking. It was a successful new version to a comfort soup I can’t get enough of. If only all of my experimental soups could end on such a good note.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

In the details, or most likely, in the eggs.   Deviled eggs, that is.  For me, spring heralds the beginning of deviled egg season.  You have probably seen deviled eggs in their usual environment, adorning a picnic plate, sitting in all their half-moon glory, bright yellow creamy yokes topped with that bit of "devil", in this case, a smidge of paprika or red pepper flakes for a nice  bite. 

Deviled eggs are pretty simple and inexpensive to make.   Take as many eggs as you want to serve (but be warned, there are never enough!), and put them in a capacious pan, completely covered with water.  Bring to an energetic boil, and then, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let them sit for 15 minutes while they finish their work.  Uncover the pan, and  voila:  hard-boiled eggs.  To easily remove the shell, I run them under cold water, tap with a butter knife around the midpoint, and peel them, hopefully not losing too much of the white to the attached peel.  (By the way, anyone have a foolproof ---sorry, it's April 1st! --- method to peel eggs?  I'd sure like to try it.)

Slice each egg in half, longways (not around the midpoint), and scoop out the yoke.  Then, the fun begins.  You can mash up the yolk, add salt and pepper and a bit of mayo or creme fraiche, some soft chevre or even Greek yoghurt, and spoon back into the waiting eggwhites..  Top with the red sprinkles. That's the classic deviled egg, but I like to tinker with such simple perfection.

How about mixing in some jalapeno to your yolk blend?  Or tiny bits of chopped pickles?  Red onions, little capers or pimientos, pickled ginger or wasabi, shredded cheese, any spice that piques your interest: deviled eggs are like a blank canvas for creative cooks who like to dabble. 

But be warned: deviled eggs, once they appear in all their straightforward appeal, just don't last long, and you'll find yourself wishing you had doubled the batch.  Dare I say "no foolin'?"  Eggs-actly so!