Comfort food

Most of us take food so for granted in the U.S. I know I do, I'm ashamed to say. The plenty we enjoy has allowed food to take on a much different meaning than it has in many less wealthy places on earth. For most Americans, food is far more than sustenance and nutrition - it's entertainment, business, even passion.

Memory and comfort, too. I'd bet that everyone reading here has a favorite comfort food. Mine is a dish called sarma, Slovenia's version of cabbage rolls. If you're Slavic you may know it or something like it by a different name. It's homely peasant food, and I'd rather eat a dish of it than anything else on the planet.

What about you? What foods conjure up memories and comfort for you?

For those who think they might like it, here's Mom's recipe. The photo is actually of the Bosnian version, but it looked the most like Mom's of any I found.

Sarma

1 large head of cabbage
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
2/3 cup rice, uncooked
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 beef bouillon cube (optional)
1 medium or small package sauerkraut
2 tbl flour (for roux)
2 tbl butter (for roux)

Core and parboil the cabbage. Separate the leaves to cool, trimming the tough veins from the outer leaves. Saute the onion and garlic. Mix them, the ground beef, rice and egg well. Roll up the meat mixture in the leaves, securing each roll with a toothpick. Chop all the leftover cabbage and mix it and a medium can or package of sauerkraut in the bottom of a large soup pot. Layer the cabbage rolls on top. Mix a can of condensed tomato soup with water and a bouillon cube (use two cans of soup if you want a lot of sauce) and pour the soup mixture over the rolls. Either simmer on the stove or bake in the oven until the rolls are tender. Make a roux from the butter and flour, and use it to thicken the sauce. Be sure to remove the toothpicks before serving. Serve with good crusty bread.

My Polish relatives and friends add sour cream at the end instead of the roux. My mom's first cousin uses cream of mushroom soup instead of tomato. Both variations are delicious, but I love Mom's best of all.