COMFORT FOOD – MARGARET TANNER
Comfort food what is it? Of course, food
that makes you comfortable, happy and content. A reward for doing something
well, or a panacea for all the trials and tribulations you have had to put up
with? No matter what excuse we use, and I have used them all i.e. if something
good has happened to me, I reward myself with chocolate. On the other hand, if
something bad has happened to me and I need cheering up, I reward myself with a
chocolate.
What is my favourite food you might ask?
Well, being a chocaholic, you know what I am going to say - Chocolate, closely followed by biscuits (or
as American’s say, cookies). My hips bear witness to this addiction of mine.
My favourite chocolate is milk chocolate,
followed by dark chocolate, (which scientists are now saying is good for you, I
could have told them that), and white
chocolate. I have to confess I am not a great fan of white chocolate, and as
much as it pains me to admit it, I find it too sweet and sickly.
I prefer a plain chocolate bar, but I do
enjoy a chocolate bar with peppermint or honeycomb in it.
Now biscuits. I enjoy most of them,
particularly chocolate coated biscuits, but my favourite are ANZAC biscuits.
In 1915, these biscuits were
baked by mothers and sisters and sent in food parcels to troops serving on the
Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The
soldiers were members of an expeditionary force, the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps (ANZACS). Four of my novels are set against a background of World
War 1.
ANZAC BISCUITS:
Ingredients:
125g (4 oz) butter, 1
tablespoon golden syrup, 2 tablespoons boiling water, 1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate
of soda (baking powder), 1 cup rolled oats, ¾ cup desiccated coconut, 1 cup
flour, 1 cup sugar.
Method:
Melt butter and golden syrup
over low heat. Add boiling water mixed with bicarbonate of soda. Pour into mixed dried ingredients and mix
well.
Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture
on to greased baking trays, leaving room for spreading.
Bake in pre-heated slow oven
(150C/300F) for 20 minutes. Cool on trays for a few minutes, then remove to
wire racks to cool.
Store in an airtight
container. Makes about 45.
DARING MASQUERADE:
When Harriet Martin masquerades as a boy
to help her shell-shocked brother in 1916, falling in love with her boss wasn’t
part of the plan.
