Comfort Food. Mom's in the kitchen.

(Quorn cutlets with a mango, tomato, avocado, red onion, jalapeno, Modena balsamic and Ligurian olive oil salsa; Kale sauteed in coconut oil with cashews and raisins; red and white quinoa; and baked acorn squash)

I'm a big Anthony Bourdain fan and one of his constant themes is people being instinctively driven to comfort food. He doesn't mean what we as Americans might define it as (fried, fatty, gravy laden foods), but rather the dishes that our mothers cooked for us. Something about tradition and the home kitchen drives every culture in their daily quest for food.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like reviewing these restaurants around town, but really only eat out a few times a week. I try to cook dinner at home 5 nights a week and breakfast every day. Lunch is about half and half, but overall, I try to focus on knowing exactly what goes into my meals.

I bring this point up tonight because I cooked a delicious meal at home with my wonderful mother and equally wonderful wife. Unfortunately, due to some recently discovered food allergies, my Mom can't eat anything. No tomatoes, no avocados, no sugar, no bread, no pasta, no watermelon, no peppers, nothing traditionally found in our kitchens. I know it's been really hard for her to adapt to her new restrictions, but she's done it much like everything else in her life: with a strong commitment, impressive bravery, and an unwillingness to be defeated.

For the past few nights, we've eaten out or at home with her having to choose nearly flavorless dishes while the rest of us enjoy all the old favorites. It must be hard to watch a show on the food channel or just look at a menu in a tasty restaurant knowing you can't have anything of those wonderful things.

Tonight, we decided to create a meal around her food restrictions and tried to make it as flavorful as possible. You can see from the picture above that we succeeded wildly. She wasn't able to eat my mango salsa, but the other dishes were exceptionally good and we thoroughly enjoyed them all. A surprising byproduct is my realization that you can make a tasty dish without garlic, olive oil, or pepper (the holy trinity in my opinion). Here are the recipes from what we prepared.

1. Mango Salsa: finely dice a ripe mango, a ripe tomato, a ripe avocado, a red onion, and a jalapeno (de-seeded). Put all contents into a large bowl. Add a touch (1/2 tbsp) Modena Balsamic Vinegar (Modena balsamic is thicker and sweeter than traditional balsamic vinegar) and olive oil. Mix together in the bowl and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes

2. Quorn cutlets: If you don't eat meat, try these things out! They're pretty damn good. Made from egg whites and micoprotein, they replace soy based options with a flourish. To prepare any number of them, microwave them for HALF the recommended time. Lightly coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and heat at medium high heat. Brown/crisp the bottom and top in the oil.

3. Acorn squash: Buy a whole acorn squash and cut it in half. Microwave it for 10 minutes. Add a bit of olive oil to the "bowls" of each half and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Check to make sure it doesn't burn. Add light salt and enjoy!

4. Quinoa: 2 to 1 parts water to quinoa. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a small strainer or by running fresh water over the quinoa in a pot. Drain. Put quinoa and water in 1 1/2 qt. saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until all water is absorbed (10-15 minutes). When done, the grain appears translucent and the germ ring will be visible.

5. Kale: bring 4 tbsp of coconut oil to medium heat. Add cashews and brown them lightly. Add 4 large handfuls of kale to the oil and stir. Keep stirring as the kale should shrink significantly. Once you've sauteed the kale for about 5 solid minutes, remove from head and add as many raisins as you want. Add a touch of salt.

Cook it up!