Ok, so we’ve dealt with record breaking snowfalls, restaurants haven’t fully opened as of yet (truth be told – I don’t feel comfortable eating at a resto just yet!), and all I want to do is curl up on the couch, watch reruns of The Office and Schitt’s Creek, and dive into some serious comfort food.

I love comfort food – who doesn’t, right?  It’s the type of food that you indulge in once in a while. It might remind of the simpler days of your youth, or it can simply just make you feel better.

There are tons of foods that I like (donuts, burgers, bbq, anything Vietnamese), but there are only a few things that soothe my soul.

Here are my top 3 comfort foods

Bake and Saltfish – also known as Bake and Saltfish Buljol

This is my ultimate comfort food. It is a dish from the Caribbean (you remember I’m Trini-Canadian, right?), and is usually eaten for breakfast, but I can eat it any time of the day.

First of all, “bake” is fried or baked dough. It can be light, but also have some weight to it.  It can be eaten with just about anything (fish, meat, cheese, or even plain old butter), but my fave pairing is with saltfish.

Saltfish is salt preserved codfish.  It’s tender, flaky, salty and extremely tasty!

To prepare the saltfish for your “hot out of the frying pan (or oven) bake”, you need to soak it in water for a few hours (or overnight) and then boil it for a few minutes to get rid of the excess salt. After it’s boiled, you can add onions, tomatoes and olive oil. 

This is my childhood in a dish. Just writing this reminds me of when my mom would slice up the steaming hot bake (my mom usually baked it, not fried) and portion out some saltfish on our breakfast plates.  Best breakfast ever.

Click here for a recipe on how to make bake and saltfish.

Pancakes

Pancakes comes in second on my list, but I treasure them just the same. Pancakes feel like warm hugs, sweet memories, and pure joy.

I love pancakes. Seriously, I don’t care if they’re made from scratch or from a box, I’m gonna eat it.

Just like bake and saltfish, this dish brings me back to my childhood.  On the weekends that we weren’t eating bake and saltfish, I remember waking up to the buttery smell of pancakes.  Nothing got me out of my bed like the sound of the sizzling frying pan. Ah, such bliss!

My love for pancakes is still strong that whenever I go to a diner and I spot all-day breakfast on the menu, guess who’s getting pancakes…..? This girl!

Chips

Seriously, who doesn’t love chips? They are crispy, salty, and satisfy all my snacking needs. 

This is the only comfort food that doesn’t make me think about my childhood.  I eat chips because they are yum and they give me tons of comfort.

I’ve been known to leave work and buy a few bags for my coworkers and I to snack on. Yes, I have no shame!

Since they are far from being healthy, I try to limit my intake. But when I do indulge, I usually buy Ruffles, Miss Vickies or Kettle Brand.

Those are a few foods that bring me joy. What are your comfort foods?