Comfort Me Dinner

I'm just going to come right out and say it -This week I have been insanely crabby (and tired!) The mornings have consisted of losing battles between me and my bed. My runs have been rainy, which have rendered my running shoes soggy and stinky. The work days have felt like an eternity. And each evening I crash, and crash hard. On Tuesday when I busted out the Dungeness Crab as the ingredient du jour, The Boyfriend asked if I was making crabby cakes? Apparently, my crabbiness was palpable.
My ornery response - "NO - I'm making crab and country ham pasta!" (It was good, but I was still crabby.)

So why so fussy? Hmmm ... I don't know .. or do I?

A-#1. I'm still tired from last weekend, and honestly that's probably the root of my problem.
However, because it's what I like to do, I'm going to over-think the other things that are messing with my mood this week.

#2. I've put on some poundage. So, I asked the oracle of Google - "Why I am gaining weight while training for a Marathon?" The oracle led me to About.com, which with all it's unauthenticated wisdom, told me that my body was in the process of storing glycogens, hydrogens, and everything else possible needed to complete long runs. So that explains the sudden growth of a marsupial pouch in my mid-section - must be fuel storage. Note and ladies, beware! Marathon training does NOT equal weight loss, in fact you might need to invest in a whole line of period pants during the latter part of your training. And your hamstrings will become so tight you could play Cotton-Eyed Joe on them!

#3. The leasing office at my apartment building has been calling, leaving messages, sending emails, and dropping papers under my door once a day with less than convincing cases for why I should sign up for another year under their dictatorship. Not happening! Freaking deal with the month-to-month!

#4. School is back in session in Kiddieland a.k.a. Naperville. This means reckless newly licensed teenage drivers, slow school busses, and crossing guards galore, which inadvertently means impeded, harassed and delayed morning commutes.

#5. I really miss my friends and I have failed to complete the "To Do" list item, "Make New Friends." So Lo disguised as Debbie Downer likes to dwell on the fact that sometimes it's just me, myself and my virtual friends, which is less than ideal.

With crabby Lo in full form, I decided that I needed a comfort-me-meal that would be equally comforting and satisfying for The Boyfriend. He was skeptical at first when I emailed the grocery list ....
"And what do these ingredients add up to be??"
"Why, Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese of course!"
[Crickets on the other end of my blackberry ... ]
But when I got cooking and all was said, done, served and consumed, I got a resounding,
"THAT WAS DELICIOUS!"
Which put a smile on my face and a pep in my step. At the end of the meal, I didn't know whether it was the tomato soup that actually was the right consistency for once, the grilled cheese that reminded me of being a 6-X, or the way The Boyfriend made fun of me while I lit up his kitchen floor with a time step or two, but the meal made my day and I was laughing again.

Sometimes it takes some comfort food (and these recipes are winners in that category.) But most times, it takes someone you love telling you to stop taking yourself too seriously to knock the crabbiness out of you. Cristine, here's a comforting recipe for you, Kevin and the watermelon that should have you thinking nothing but happy thoughts!

Tomato Soup for 2 (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, juice reserved
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon brandy
Salt

Directions
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Carefully cut open tomatoes and remove seeds with your hands. Spread halved tomatoes in one layer in the bacon pan and sprinkle with brown sugar. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the juice has dried up. Remove from the oven and let cool.

In a medium sauce pan melt butter and add the minced shallot and tomato paste. Saute, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until shallot is tender. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the chicken stock and then the reserved tomato juice, whisking constantly. Add the roasted tomatoes and mush into the mixture. (It's okay that it's chunky at this point.)

The Boyfriend doesn't like chunks in his soup, so he was a little worried at this stage in the game.

Get out a strainer and place it over a bowl. In two rounds add the liquid mixture to the strainer and mash down the solids to drain out all the liquid. (Look at the smooth and creamy soup underneath .. oh la la!)

When you haven't been through the wedding registry process yet, you make do and find recipes without blenders!

Add the cream, add the brandy, add a little salt, and DISH UP!

Grilled Cheese for 2
Ingredients
4 slices thick white bread
Softened butter
8 slices thinly sliced cheddar cheese
6 slices thinly sliced prosciutto

Directions
Butter yo bread.
Place cheese and prosciutto in between buttered slices. (Maybe even a little Arugula!)
Toast in the bacon pan over medium heat 5-6 minutes per side.
Dip in the soup!
Be comforted.

Satisfied ... Grilled Cheese converted to Glycogens!

Bon Appetit!

Lo.