When we talk about comfort food, we almost always mean something that will keep us warm and cozy inside when it’s cold and bleak outside — a hearty stew, savory potpie or pot roast.
Food that brings us comfort is important year-round. While we may welcome a warm dish in the litany of salads, cold soups and sandwiches, cold-weather comfort foods are usually not all that appealing when the heat index soars.
When I think of summer comfort food, what comes to mind is blueberry pies, cobblers and crumbles. When I was a child, hunting for blueberries in the North Carolina mountains was a rite of passage. It was a chore demanded of the young ones so that everyone, young and old, could enjoy the fruit of our labors, literally. Though now all I have to do is venture into my yard and pick from the bushes I planted a few years ago, I still treasure the memories of my childhood blueberry hunts.
Summer fruit can offer a measure of comfort that doesn’t ask too much of the cook, such as an icy slice of ripe melon, a fragrant, juicy peach eaten right out of hand or a bowl of berries dusted with sugar and enriched with just a drizzle of sweet cream.
(READ MORE: A blueberry a day won’t keep the doctor away, but 75 of them might)