There are some flavors that you meet in life and just completely hate. There are others that, even if they seem weird to others, are family traditions.
Two of mine are peanut butter and banana sandwiches, which my grandmother introduced me to as a child, and liverwurst and cream cheese, which was a culinary treat from my grandfather.
Today was a peanut butter and banana kind of day – I woke with a headache and was a bit hung over from having to take migraine medicine the night before, and then, in the middle of the night, having to chase THAT with an anti-nausea pill. When I finally slept it was fitful so I was cross and bleary, as well.
So I sought solace in comfort food.
I toasted multi-grain bread and slathered it in organic peanut-butter.
I sliced ripe banana onto the peanut buttered bread.
I drizzled a hint of honey over it.
And then I put the sandwich together, and cut it into quarters.
Because I was craving it, I had the sandwich with a glass of cold, non-fat organic milk.
It was delicious.
It was comforting.
It made me miss my grandmother.
She was born on September 21, 1914.
She would have been 98 years old today.
But in a sense, she’s always with me – in the fresh flowers I always have, in the way I sing when I’m working in the house, in the way I always set our dining table correctly, even though it’s just me and Fuzzy, and in my love of written letters and proper thank-you notes.
And if a little peanut butter and some mushy fruit can bring all that back, I think I’m very lucky.