Day 195 -- Lipstick On A Pig's Foot

I had a discussion with my sister L. yesterday over comfort food.  More specifically over comfort food that really isn't good food but is loaded with so much mayo and cheese that you can't taste that it isn't good food. Exhibit One of One:  A recipe for Georgia Cracker Salad is from the suddenly notorious Paula Deen.

Georgia Cracker Salad


1   sleeve saltine crackers
1   large tomato, finely chopped
3   green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1   hard boiled egg, finely chopped

In a medium size bowl, crush the crackers, add all of the ingredients, mix well, and serve immediately.

Yes, that's right.  The main ingredient in this dish is a sleeve of crumbled up saltine crackers. Something that I wouldn't choose to eat plain.  But cover it in a cup and a half of mayo and the dish is elevated to one of the most popular recipes on Paula Deen's website.  I suspect that my cat's kibble would probably taste good covered in a cup of mayo.  So why bother with the saltines or the kibble?  Why not just eat a cup of mayo straight from the jar?  Or sour cream or Velveeta?

Yesterday I put together a dish made of three oven-roasted veggies and served that over cooked farro.  No dressing, no added spices.  A little chopped parsley was all that was added.  And the tastes were so good and clean and perfect.  Now, I'm sure if I tossed the ingredients with cheese, sour cream and mayo and baked it in the oven, it would probably taste delicious, too.  But then I'd miss the taste of the veggies and get nothing but the other overly-rich ingredients.

There is something to be said for tasting a really good Roma tomato.  Or roasted leeks that are sweetly caramelized.  Or artichoke hearts that are tangy and creamy.  If the SAD (Standard American Diet) requires that we mask our ingredients with these "comfort" condiments, then people are never going to grow to appreciate the taste of pure, unadorned, whole foods.  And that is what's really SAD . . . or sad.