Familiar flavors

Since my grandmother died this summer, my dad has continued undeterred to imitate her voice. It's freaky to hear that strong Brooklyn accent now that she's gone.

I can't imitate voices, but I do have a knack for imitating flavors, whether or not I set out with the intention. It's comforting to work your way through a recipe (off-book or on-book) and end up with a flavor that is almost shockingly familiar.

This week it was turkey chili, cooked from habit, without a single thought or creative decision, that tastes exactly like dinner at home. What a way to hit the first of fall and mitigate the stress of lymph-heme. A couple of weeks ago, it was a Jewish apple cake from Smitten Kitchen. If Deb's mom didn't read the same recipe as my grandmother, then I don't know what. Could the same mutation have arisen independently twice?

Can we apply this to our patients? Is there anything we can do to offer a degree of familiarity and comfort in an otherwise foreign and scary situation? A story, a familiar word of advice, something cultural we share?

Embryological development of an apple cake