I loved to cook, so I cooked. And then cooking became a way of saying I love you. And then cooking became the easy way of saying I love you. And then cooking became the only way of saying I love you. I was so busy perfecting the peach pie that I wasn't paying attention. p.135
I get Nora Ephron. The way she uses food as an expression of love. The way she can get lost in it without even realizing that that is what she's doing. Until she does. Until it hits her in the gut and causes her to send clumsily chopped onions all over her television audience.
Heartburn is a fictionalized account of Ephron's second marriage. Well, her second marriage leading up to her second divorce. Her counterpart, Rachel is a cookbook writer who finds out that her husband is in love with another woman when she is seven months pregnant with their second child.
Her use of food and humor are what have always drawn me to her writing, and somehow, she manages to use both to great advantage in what could be (okay, sort of is) a heart-wrenching tale. Rachel is torn while trying to decide what to do about her husband (forgive him and beg him to forget "her" or to push him in front of a speeding bus). And then there is her (totally legit) reasoning about why Thelma (the other woman) will never fit in with their friends like Rachel does (they are all food people...Thelma is not). And then there's that little thing in her head that, even while grieving, causes her to wonder if every man she interacts with is single (and would make a good husband).
And, knowing me, you've got to expect that there is some food inspiration coming up. You are no incorrect. There were several things that I contemplated making. Things that were mentioned in passing. Some were even written out in semi-recipe form. There was a joke about Kreplach which undoubtedly made me want to head into the kitchen to make some. You know, so that I could be in on it. But first to find out how to make it. But that was early on. My urges changed. I almost made a good old-fashioned sourcream-smothered cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. Or maybe something delicious involving capers - if only to prove that no matter what Ephron says, people really DO like capers.
In the end, I was torn between two of Rachel's (Ephron's??) favorite comfort foods. For a while, I just could not get the shrimp fried rice with Chinese mustard and ketchup out of my mind. It was something she loved to eat when "feeling blue". But what it really came down to was the fact that lately, I've been feeling shitty. Clogged sinus kind of shitty. It makes it hard for me to concentrate and really, all I want is something easy. Easy and soothing. And that came in the form of another of Rachel's "feeling blue" foods, Bacon Hash. Because really, how can you go wrong with crispy bacon and potatoes topped off with a runny yolk? It is pure comfort food.
Bacon Hash
by
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Keywords: breakfast entree bacon eggs potatoes
Ingredients (varies)
- bacon
- cooked potato(es)
- egg(s)
- black pepper
- Tabasco, or other hot sauce
Instructions
This is one of those non-recipe recipes. Use as much or as little as you like to serve as many people as you like.
Cut some bacon into small pieces and start to cook it over a slow flame so that some of the fat is rendered. Add some diced, cooked potato and cook slowly until the potato and bacon are crisp and golden.
Eat with an egg. And black pepper and Tabasco, if you wish. And a cup of good coffee.
