15 Cozy, Stress-Relieving Recipes to Cook Right Now

Roast chicken with za’atar, lemons and shallots is as easy to make as it is comforting to eat. Image by Liza Schoenfein
I have a blog called Life, Death & Dinner, so named in an attempt communicate the idea that whatever happens — good or bad, celebration-worthy or stress-inducing — you have to get dinner on the table, and you might as well enjoy it.
That notion really resonates with me today. I tend to turn to the stove during hurricanes and other hard times because I find it soothing, both the process — chopping and stirring, smelling and tasting — and the notion that I’m doing something that offers sustenance for my family and friends as well as myself.
Last night, watching the returns in my living room with my kids and our neighbors, we ate pizza, cheese and crackers, ice cream and store-bought cookies… but today I feel the need to cook. I hate the cliché, but I’m talking about comfort food here: simple and satisfying dishes like soups and stews, roasted chickens, homey cakes… Here are some of my favorites.
Delicious Main Dishes
Satisfying Soups
Cozy Cakes
Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] and on Twitter, @lifedeathdinner.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 3
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 4
Culture How two Jewish names — Kohen and Mira — are dividing red and blue states
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ‘Another Jewish warrior’: Fine wins special election for U.S. House seat
-
Fast Forward A Chicagoan wanted to protest Elon Musk — and put a swastika sticker on a Jewish man’s Tesla
-
Fast Forward NY attorney general orders car wash to stop ripping off Jews with antisemitic ‘Passover special’
-
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.