Comfort with Every Bite by Elizabeth Brown, MS, RD

For the Love of the Game…and my mom

The third week of June 2008, two very big events took place: the end of the NBA playoffs and my mom visited me in Santa Monica. Both events brought a little pleasure and pain. The pleasing part of the playoffs was watching the Lakers get to game six, the painful part: the loss. Ow! Sorry Laker fans.

My editor asked if I had a recipe to fix a broken heart. At first I thought, “Who hurt him? Poor thing”. But then he admitted that his heart was broken over the Laker’s, not over the loss of Love. So typical of a man, to be more upset over sports than a woman. I can’t really judge though, B-ball is or was my game. I played most of my young life until I hit high school measuring in at only a bit above five feet tall. I simply could not hang, so I hung up my “semi-pro” sneaks and opted for powerfliting. I still shoot hoops though, even perfected my three pointer.

My mom’s visit was mostly pleasant. The only painful part was the parting. During her visit I got to play tour guide. We went trekking to places I had not yet visited such as the LA Zoo where we saw lions and tigers and condors. What an amazing bird; looked like something from the Flintstones. We also went to the Getty Museum which we both thoroughly enjoyed. I loved viewing authentic works by some of my favorite impressionists such as Van Gogh and Monet.

I loved the photos by a man named Sander; pictures of people from various walks of life taken in the early part of the 1900’s. It was so interesting to see how certain livelihoods are truly reflected in a photo. The farmers looked, well, like farmers, kind of weathered as you would expect. However, if you visit the Santa Monica Farmer’s Markets or your local market, which I highly advocate, you will see very healthy, happy farmers selling you the food they grow. What an amazing job they have. Most of my recipes are inspired by what I select at the market each week.

I also took my mom to my favorite restaurant Real Food Daily. I love the RFD burger, made with Tempeh, a fermented soybean product and a protein source. I get it wrapped in collard greens and save my carbs for dessert, if I feel so inclined. On this visit, I felt inclined. There is something about having my mom around which makes me want some comfort foods. Chocolate pudding is my dessert of choice.

So for the lovelorn Laker fans and for those of you who are like me, and sometimes miss your mom, I will offer one of my personal favorite comfort foods: chocolate pudding. This recipe is more like a mousse, very rich, creamy and chocolaty. Now that I’m writing about it and my mom is gone and the Lakers have lost, sigh, I might need some more pudding. Perhaps I’ll join you and make some too. I hope you like it and it brings you the comfort you need for whatever ails ya; lovesick, homesick or heartbroken sports fan, simply eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding/Mousse

2-3 Tbsp honey or maple syrup (adjust to your sweet tooth)

(You can get honey from a local bee farmer at the farmer’s market so, yay! We are supporting our farmers!)

Throw it all in a medium size mixing bowl and blended it with a hand held immersion blender. If you don’t have one of those, a regular blender, food processor, or hand held mixer will do just fine. If you’re really motivated, I believe a good fork and some strong arms could make magic as well. Well, maybe just make chocolate mousse but if you enjoy it the way I do, it will taste and feel like magic!