comfort cooking

i firmly believe that when a girl goes to live on her own, the first thing she ought to do is learn to make her comfort food. when i first got to England i was still sad about ninang so i used to make her food for the gods. when i chopped the dates and the nuts and mixed all the ingredients by hand the way she did it, i felt closer to her. once i made her apple pie. most filipino food is too matrabaho and my flatmates can't really stand the smell, i think. but i can make garlic rice and that's really nice. :) while experimenting, i made cheese and broccoli soup. haven't made it in awhile.
but i'm most proud of my mashed potatoes. i've learned that the secret is to leave it boiling till all the water evaporates, that way the potatoes are really soft. then you mash them (sherry has a brilliant potato masher and i've been using that) and put lots and lots of butter-- not too much or you'll get sick but i've noticed that the more butter you put, the creamier the mash. then i grate lost and lots of cheese while the mash is still hot. it melts while you mix it all together and it makes a richer thicker mouthful. mmm...