April 27th, 2011
Comfort Food of All Kinds
I don’t have cravings very often, but every now and then one hits me hard. It got me thinking about how I have comfort food of all different kinds- especially when it comes to the first blogs I read.
My Comfort Blogs
I first got addicted to blogs when I was working at a summer office job where I didn’t have a lot to do and had lots of times on me hands. After listening to an entire Harry Potter audiobook and nearly dying of boredom I got totally addicted to two blogs: Nothing But Bonfires and City Wendy in the Windy City. I loved reading about Holly’s travel, and hearing about Wendy fall in love with Drew and get her job as a columnist. I used to comment on both blog’s every time they posted, and while I didn’t have a blog I got a big thrill from the idea that they might read my reactions to their posts. I was a total fangirl, and about once every year I remember them and can’t help but check in. It’s like visiting an old friend, only that friend doesn’t know me and the relationship is entirely one sided. Because before twitter the internet wasn’t so much about bringing people together ;)
My Comfort Music
Confession: I was a weird teenager, and didn’t ‘get’ a lot of the music that was popular when I was in high school. I was just more into books and movies. My taste in music is really varied and I love more bands than I can count (mostly indie rock or anything Pitchfork-y) but no matter what I always come back to The Rolling Stones & Bob Dylan catalogues. They just sound like summer to me, and I’ve collected enough of them that I can just let them play for days.
My Comfort Movies
Flat out, my relationship with The Royal Tenenbaums is probably a little unhealthy. I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen it, but it’s definitely more than 20 times, and if I’m being honest with myself that number might be closer to double that. I love the use of silence in it, I love the relationships and the tension. It’s kind of obvious and probably a little cliche to love it, but one of those movies that feels worn in and familiar to me, and I can’t help loving it for that.
Runner up? My romantic heart can’t help but still have a soft spot for Before Sunrise. This movie was the chance meeting I always wanted to have with the cute, talkative boy on a European train I always wanted to meet, followed by the all night conversation I always wanted to have with that cute boy. The first time I watched this movie it struck me… to the point that while I own it, I’ve only watched it twice! I’m afraid that it hasn’t aged well, and while I can take “Reality Bites” Ethan Hawke coming off as jerky to me in subsequent viewings, I really wouldn’t fair well if I “Before Sunrise” Ethan Hawke lost his shine for me too.
My Comfort Books
Without contest: Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I discovered Vonnegut in junior high, and read everything of his that I could get my hands on for over a year. I’m thankful that I bought most of my favourites and can re-visit them when I need inspiration! I’ve read Cat’s Cradle an alarming number of times, and it’s fun to take more out of it as time goes on.
Second to Cat’s Cradle, it’s a tie between almost anything written by Hunter Thompson for his inventive use of language and rhythm and Chuck Palaniuk for his imagination and making me uncomfortable as a reader- in a good way. I have very boyish taste in fiction, but I’ve been on a run of interesting business and memoirs recently and I’m really enjoying what I’ve found so far.
& My Comfort Food
Haven’t guessed it from my picture yet? Mr. Noodles! I lived on them in high school, and have just rediscovered my love this week. Runners up? Chocolate Pocky and any of the salty/sweet candy you can get in Mexico! My high school was a boarding school and lots of my friends were from Mexico and Japan- those tastes snap me back in time immediately.
What’s a ‘comfort food’ for you that never gets old?
I absolutely love this post! My favourite comfort food would have to be burritos with tons of guacamole on them. Uggh. It’s like the highlight of my week when I have them! My comfort read is Jurassic Park, as is my comfort movie. I also looooove Wes Anderson when I want to get all cozed out. My favourites are Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited. Comfort music really depends, but it’s usually something Pitchfork-y as well. And my comfort blog, well that’s yours of course!
You like Chuck? He’s kind of awesome.
Have you read Pygmy??? Or Haunted!?
Before Sunrise & Before Sunset were both on TVO (TV Ontario) Saturday Night at the Movies a few months ago, back to back, and after watching them again for the millionth time I can confidently say that they both hold up extremely well. No need to worry about Before Sunrise…it’s timeless and classic!
My favourite comfort movies are Annie Hall, Amelie, and Desperately Seeking Susan! Although now that I think about it, Before Sunrise isn’t far behind.
Comfort foods: homemade vegetarian chili, veggie sushi
Comfort music: Julie Doiron or any of the indie music I listened to in the 90’s
Fun post!!!
What a coincidence!
I was just FBing/ Tweeting about Ethan Hawke (and how the only one of his movies I, actually, liked was “Before Sunrise”) last night! :O
What a small, small…blogosphere :P
Okay I thought I already commented on this…
1. I love ramen noodles. LOVE. Oriental flavor.
2. You just listed my top three favorite authors. Nosrsly. I own every Palahniuk novel in hardback and I have a painting I did of Hunter S. Thompson on my wall.
3. Soulmates?
Oh I’m SO GLAD it held up!! Now that you’ve so sweetly acted as my human shield against being disappointed by Ethan Hawke I think I’m going to watch it tomorrow :)
I saw Before Sunrise a long time ago but after reading this post, I went and rented Before Sunset. There is this part when she is on the boat talking and what she said just made me start crying so hard. It’s the first time I’ve heard those feelings articulated. Both of those movies are so great! I think I might buy them now too:-) My favorite romantic movies to watch again and again are When Harry Met Sally and Singles.
Now I’ll go back to lurking too;-)
i love your comfort things! city wendy is one of my favorites too. she was also one of my first blogs that i read!
“Because before twitter the internet wasn’t so much about bringing people together.” DISAGREE DISAGREE DISAGREE!!! I still protest Twitter and I’ve managed to come together with many online friends. =)
Oh I love Before Sunset and Before Sunrise- fantastic movies! If you like Royal Tenenbaums, Darjeeling Limited might amuse you as well :) Amelie is probably my go to comfort movie when I need to reassess life, love and all that good stuff. Love your blog!
Ramen noodles are my go-to winter comfort food. I lived off the stuff for quite a while. Other comforts include mac & cheese (of course – it’s the queen of comfort) and My Best Friend’s Wedding with Julia Roberts because it’s so fantastically cheesy and adorable.
i totally hear you about the royal tenenbaums! I probably shouldn’t admit this here, but i’ve seen it well over 150 times. I haven’t counted but there was a time several years ago when I would put it on every day – for months. The familiarity really helped me get through a rough time.
love this post.
i packed a ton of mr. noodles in my suitcase when i moved here to india. i’m savouring each one but my supply is running low! i’ll have to get a box sent from home :) so i guess that’s a comfort food for me too!
& my mom’s cornmeal porridge. i made her teach me how to make it so i can make it when the craving strikes and i really need to be reminded of home.
Hmm… my comfort food would have to be cereal. More specifically, Mini-Wheats. I also love Strawberry Pocky, pomegranates, and the occasional cupcake. :)
This is such a creative post, I love it! My comfort music is my Otis Redding station on Pandora.
J’adore Before Sunrise and Before Sunset-I’m pretty sure Julie Delpy’s character introduced Nina Simone to me. I loved the conversation and immediacy of their wanderings. I lived for the 60’s/early 70’s music when I was in high school., funny enough, now I’m going through a 90’s revival. Listening to Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Blind Melon… wearing docs, plaid dresses, you name it.
Ahhhh! I absolutely love Cat’s Cradle (and Kurt Vonnegut)! Today I actually posted a Kurt Vonnegut reading challenge for myself! I’ll definitely have to give Hunter Thompson and Chuck Palaniuk a go after I finish the Vonnegut list! Great post by the way!
A really bad day ends in either white chocolate or toasted onion dip! Sean looooves Pocky. Our class was very multicultural so we always had kids bringing in baklavah, seaweed wraps & pocky, etc – it was awesome.
for food, definitely stuff from when i was little, like my grandmother’s cooking. i’ve learned to make some of it myself, which comes in handy since she lives on the other side of the country.
i have comfort food books, too. i’m weird in that stephen king is my comfort food.
Howdy, I’ve been secretly reading your blog for two years now. So I figure after two years, I ought to comment at least once. :-) It looks like we have similar taste in movies. The Royal Tenenbaums is awesome (as is practically everything Wes Anderson does — I’m already looking forward to his latest: Moonrise Kingdom) and Linklater’s Before Sunrise — and Before Sunset — are both great as well. Anyway…I’ll probably go back to lurking now. Cheers!
I love the Royal Tenenbaums, too. Scott is helping me on a little project coming up with that, I really want to integrate in my blog more often. I can go on and on on why we love it, but I do agree, it is a comfort movie. Along with some cats at my feet, a cozy blanket, and some pizza, I’m sold.
tortilla chips and salsa are my comfort foods. they remind me of good times with family and friends.
have you ever tried the campells noodles? they have a thai one that is amazing and its vegan friendly :) with all the rain out here we go through a lot of comfort food, i don’t mind, its my favorite.
this is awesome kyla! Ive been thinking about posting my comfort stuff for awhile but always forget about it. lame. so glad you did this so I can get a little inspiration :)
xo moorea
I’m not big on comfort foods, but I definitely have comfort TV shows and comfort movies. Don’t ask me how many times I watched Sleepless in Seattle my first year of college when I was homesick!
my comfort book is slaughterhouse 5! my comfort movie is moonstruck with cher and nic cage. and i think my comfort food is nutella, straight from the jar. which is why i never have it in my house.
The Royal Tennenbaums is definitely a comfort movie for me as well. I will always have a crush on Richie. Sigh. Also I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I’m sad. As far as real food goes, pizza and chocolate! This is my first time reading. You have a lovely blog!
Hmmm.
This isn’t easy.
Probably a plain old bagel and butter; toasted of course, just so, with a glass of chocolate milk.
Loved reading about your favorites. Had no idea you’ve seen The Royal T’s so many times. The things we learn! ;-)
I adore The Royal Tenenbaums. I have watched it over and over and over again like whoa. Another one I always return to – Keeping the Faith. Ed Norton, Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman – what more could I need? My all time favorite comfort food is eating tortilla chips with beans. I just love it so! My comfort music is John Legend. His voice, at times, feels like it can hug me.
Mine is tomato soup with egg noodles. It sounds weird, but my mom used to make it for me and it just feels like home in my tummy. I tend to eat it off my coffee table while sitting on my living room floor. I have no clue why, but it just feels GREAT.
Oh creamy mashed potatoes with melted butter on top! Really goodd homeade macaroni and chees is a close 2nd!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
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Before Sunrise (and the perfectly awesome sequel) is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s one of the few movies that I own on DVD, because I only own movies on DVD that I can watch over and over and over again (and I must have watched Before Sunrise at least a dozen times. It never gets old and the Ethan Hawke from back then still makes me swoon.
My comfort food is without a doubt a recipe I made up for salmon potatoes. I grew up on the Mobile Bay in Alabama, so seafood was a big part of my childhood. Salmon potatoes has horseradish, lemon, chives, butter, cream, and of course, salmon & baked potatoes. When I pop it in the oven, it’s like I’m seven years old again, eating at an oyster bar on a marina with my dad.
Whenever I need to get life figured out, I watch Before Sunrise and Before Sunset in one sitting. Comfort food for me is homemade mac and cheese or frozen yogurt. Mmm.
When Nathan and I first got married, we practically LIVED on Mr. Noodles – now I can’t stomach them! My comfort food is rice – nothing fancy, just the 5 minute white rice with soya sauce. Mmm …
Comfort foods: peanut butter on toast or cinnamon & sugar bread. They remind me of being a kid.
I might steal – erm, borrow – this idea from you. Is that OK? I love it – I’m all about comfort things, & I have a lot of them. You could say I get stuck in comfort ruts, even.
I will have to come back to this because I’m supposed to be “at work” (I work from home), but- I’ve never read those blogs before. I just fell in love with Nothing But Bonfires in about 2 minutes! Thanks for the recommendation. I’d say my ‘comfort food’ blogs are yours (yay!), keikolynn.com, ohsheglows.com, healthytippingpoint.com. I check you ladies out regularly to read new posts!
My comfort foods are definitely toasted everything bagels with cream cheese. Mmm, I’m getting hungry :)
Comfort food movie- Practical Magic and 10 Things I Hate About You. I feel in love with those in my high school days, and always go back to them when there’s nothing else to watch.
Chocolate Pocky is the best EVER!!
And I think I figured out the trouble I’ve been having with your site freezing up – it only happens on computers where I’m using IE; Firefox works fine…
Proof that we are soul mates: You love Before Sunrise. I adore that movie – and the sequel, Before Sunset. i really should own one. And the fact that it’s set in Paris? Be still my heart. There is this monologue at the end of the 2nd movie and it is like the actress took the words from my mouth. Such a great flick!
Great post! My comfort music is Brandi Carlile, Ray LaMontagne, and Amos Lee. My comfort foods are baked potatoes, macaroni with ketchup, and mashed potatoes (hello, I’m a carboholic). My comfort activities are running (when I am in shape), knitting, and reading!
Chocolate pocky – yes! I’ve never seen The Royal Tenenbaums or Before Sunrise – will def. netflix them both!
A comfort “food” for me would be hot chocolate – even in the summer, if I’m feeling upset at all I’ll make myself a mug and feel better.
AH YES!!! Hot chocolate! Long ago, when Jen and I first started dating she told me about hot chocolate being a mood-picker-upper and sure enough. ^_^ She also would send me tons of different hot chocolate and now our sisters send US hot chocolate!
I was just taking a break from The Sims 3, hit my GReader and saw you posted. Yay! :D
For me, a big bowl of mac n’ cheese (Jen make’s tis extra creamy with butter instead of milk) is one of the comfort foods *ever.* I also love toast with butter and cinnamon sugar and grilled cheese. I have many more, but those are my feel good, pick me up, feel better on a great day, kinds of foods. ♥