I have been suffering with a severe case of gastroenteritis since Friday last and today is the first day I am feeling even half back to normal.  I don't think I've ever felt so sick in my life.   It began on Friday afternoon and rapidly went downhill from there.   I can't even begin to tell you how bad it was . . . but when I don't want to cook or eat . . . you know something is terribly wrong.



Today is the first day that I have gotten dressed or out of bed.  The poor Toddster had to cook his own chops the other night . . . he didn't seem to mind overly much and has been a real sweetie pie bending himself over backwards running back and forth to the shops fetching me Lucozade, Orange Juice, Gingerale, etc.  What can I say . . . the man's in love.  ☺



I was beginning to feel rather peckish today though . . . having only eaten one piece of toast and a small pot of yoghurt since Friday . . . I thought I better have something to eat, although I do admit to having been a little afraid to eat anything, you know how it goes . . . but the more I thought about my comfort foods, the more I wanted to make myself some. 





Comfort foods.  They aren't the same for everyone are they.  To one person it might be eggs on toast, to another beans on toast.  To me . . . comfort food is Macaroni with Tomatoes and Cheese, which is pretty much exactly what the title says . . .



Macaroni, cooked . . . and mixed with a big nob of butter, a tin of chopped plum tomatoes, some minced onion, seasoning and cubed cheddar cheese, sprinkled with some buttered cracker crumbs and then baked . . .



Until the cheese is a molten mass of ooze, slightly tinged with the flavour of tomatoes . . . I like my onion raw in it, because I am rather fond of the sharpness of it.  It goes rather well with the cheese . . . some people would like meat in theirs, but I just like it the way it is.   I had a small bowl of this for my lunch today . . . and I confess . . .  I will probably have another bowl of it for tea.




Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.   Butter a casserole dish and set aside.

Cook the macaroni until al dente according to the package directions.  Drain and return to the pot.  Stir in the knob of butter, along with the tomatoes, onions and cheese.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.   Stir in half of the crushed crackers and then pour the whole mixture into the casserole dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining crackers.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and the cheese is nicely melted and the crackers are golden.  Serve hot or warm.

Note - When I was a child my mom would have used velveeta, and by all means use this if you wish.  I can't get velveeta over here so I just use strong cheddar because I love it's flavour.



Comfort is different things to different people however . . . and I'm afraid Todd doesn't find much comfort in macaroni with tomatoes.   Macaroni pudding is a different story however.   A week or so ago we got to talking about old school dinners.




Todd actually loved school dinners when he was a boy at school all those years ago.  In fact, that was the only hot dinner he had most days, and he would have a simple supper of bread and jam or whatever when he got home from school, his mother relying on the school to have provided him with a sturdy and nutritious dinner.



One of the things he did love most about his school dinners was the pudding . . . it was his favourite part.  Junket, or Spotted Dick . . . perhaps an Eve's Pudding, or Rice Pudding . . . usually something stodgy and . . . yes . . . comforting.



He told me about a Macaroni Pudding they often had and that he remembered fondly.  Now for a man that hates pasta, this got my attention and I went on a search.  This is what I found.  It's quite similar to a rice pudding, except it uses macaroni.



It must have been good, because . . . the Toddster ate two bowl's full without blinking an eye.  Comfort . . . it means different things to different people aye?



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.  Butter a shallow casserole dish.  Set aside.  

Cook the macaroni until soft, according to the package directions.   Drain well and rinse.  Drain again.   Heat the milk over medium heat along with the butter and sugar.  Once the butter has melted remove from the heat.  Whisk a portion of the hot mixture slowly into the beaten eggs to temper, then whisk the eggs back into the warm milk.   Add the cooked macaroni, raisins, lemon zest and vanilla.   Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Pour into the buttered casserole dish.  Dust the top with grated nutmeg and then bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until set and golden brown on top.   Serve warm. 

I do apologize to anyone who is waiting on specific posts from me.  I will be on to them as soon as my tummy and time allows!  Sorry for the brief hiccup!

 But I so wanted to get it, to enjoy it too.  I was not ready to give up on it just yet.  I couldn't understand why so many people waxed poetic about it. I wanted to be able to do the same. 

And so I kept with it, persistently.  Periodically trying a new recipe to see if I might not come up with something that I enjoyed. I so wanted to be able to taste what it was that other people were tasting.

 A few weeks back I saw a video on Tasty for what looked like a really pretty ratatouille.  It was composed of a sauce that was cooked first on top of the stove and then layered in a dish.

Next they added layers of thinly sliced rounds of vegetables to the top. They were arranged so prettily. It looked like a picture. 

They drizzled a basil oil over top and then covered it tightly and baked it, until the vegetables were meltingly tender. It looked quite promising.

 This week I added all of the vegetables to my grocery order so that I could make it.  I bought myself some fresh yellow and green courgettes (zucchini) and ripe roma tomatoes.  I also bought some baby aubergine (eggplant). 

I did not want to make a full recipe, as I knew it would be far too much for us to conceivably eat. We do not have the appetites these days that we used to have in the old days.

 Instead of their suggested topping for the vegetables I created one of my own using basil pesto, olive oil and a splash of Balsamic vinegar.  I cannot think of anything that doesn't taste much better when having added a bit of Balsamic vinegar to it. 

It looked as pretty as a picture before it went into the oven. I was so pleased with how it looked. I was almost dancing around the room. If this tasted even half as good when done as it looked before baking, we were in for a real treat!

 I envisioned this beautiful pie dish of ratatouille coming from the oven. We eat first with our eyes after all, and it did smell quite lovely when it was baking. 

Hmmm . . .  it came out looking a bit like a dog's dinner I am sad to say. LOL  I had to laugh when I saw it. Where was the visual appeal?

 Anyways, I dutifully scattered some fresh basil over top and took some photos. If I am honest, and I always am, I wasn't feeling very hopeful. 

To say I was more than a tad bit disappointed in how it looked is a bit of an understatement. The proof of the pudding is in the eating however, so I was reserving my judgement for that.

 Even though there was a huge part of me that was thinking that if this looked this nasty, then it was going to taste nasty also. Admittedly it looked quite a bit better once I broke through and spooned some of it onto a plate.

But how would it taste . . .  I held my breath. I had some lovely fresh French Bread that I had been saving to dip into it when it was done.

Admittedly, I hate to waste food.  Fresh vegetables are somewhat expensive, even at this time of year when they are plentiful. If you don't have a garden, you are at the mercy of the shops. 

I have to say the fresh veg I have been getting from Ocado have been really nice. They cost a bit more than Asda, but quality speaks for itself, and I have been more than happy with everything.  They have now partnered with M&S and M&S is quality.

 I spooned some out onto the plate. It didn't look half bad. It smelled gorgeous if I don't say so myself. I was feeling rather hopeful. 

I had my crusty bread at the ready.  Was I going to be happy?  Was I finally going to see why people wax lyrical about Ratatouille?

I was pleasantly surprised just by what it looked like spooned onto my plate. It actually looked so good that my tastebuds started to tingle  . . . 

It was filled with colour and texture. It smelled amazing. I was beginning to be hopeful.

I spooned some onto my bread. I did not butter the bread. I did not want my palate for the ratatouille spoiled by my love of butter. I wanted to try it completely unadulterated . . . 

I did toy with the idea of toasting my bread, but in the end, I left it in its natural crusty state.  I am happy that I did.

 This was amazingly delicious!  I was really pleased.  The zucchini and the eggplant were properly tender.  The tomatoes melted in the mouth  . . . 

There was none of the bitterness that you can sometimes get from both zucchini and eggplant. Both were somewhat buttery, almost sweet and somewhat indulgent.

 The flavour of the sauce that was on the bottom perfectly enhanced and had flavoured everything. The pesto/balsamic mixture I had sprinkled on top had done its job perfectly.

The crusty bread was perfect without butter. It did a beautiful job of mopping everything up. I did what I had not done in a very long time. I went in for seconds.