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Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is one of my comfort-food fallbacks.

On rainy days, if I went out to lunch at work, we'd go out for some Vietnamese pho.

what jennifer said! i second that whole-heartedly.

I agree with the above, and go with soups on the rainy days. Today is overcast here as well, and I'm thinking about some matzo ball soup, which i haven't had in a long time.

A huge pot of Cabbage Borscht with flanken (short ribs) made the Russian way which is not sweet and sour

2 lb. flanken
1 large onion
1 (1 lb. 12 oz.) can crushed, peeled tomatoes
1 can large tomatoe juice
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
2 garlic cloves mashed

salt and pepper to taste

aproc 1 tb or more of sugar to taste slightly sweet and 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice just to taste

Place cold water into a Dutch oven along with tomatoes and juice till pot is 2/3rds full. Add meat and bring to a boil. Skim top of all foam that comes to surface. Add onions, cabbage, and salt and pepper to taste and cook at a simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Taste soup to test whether it needs to be made tarter or sweeter. Adjust seasoning with lemon juice or sugar.

Pho

It's 93 degrees today, and I'm happy because this is the coolest it's been all week, but I'll give it a shot. Tomato soup and grilled cheese. If it's a really bad day I call my Mom, make sure to sound extra sad, and ask her to make me some chili. It works every time. One of these days I'll make it myself :)

I think I might just have Jennifer's comfort food for dinner, it sounds so good! Even in the hazy, hot, humid days of summer here.

Typically, mushroom barley soup with lots of freshly ground black pepper does it for me.

I agree with your sentiments regarding the weather in London. I can't even deal with this stuff anymore.
I'm cooking a big lentil soup with red wine, thyme, carrots, onions and bacon.
You could also make a nice pot roast. Anything slow cooked!

B
Hand to Mouth

Chili or Tomato Soup and a grilled cheese

For when its dank and wet out and all you want to do is go back to bed...theres nothing like getting some ma yo ji going in the pressure cooker. The dish is basically chicken soup given a really hearty kick with sesame oil (ma yo) and lots and lots of thick slices of ginger.

If its available, we'll throw in some slabs of blood rice cake called ti hoeh koe. Its a popular Taiwanese product made from pig's blood and rice. Sounds disgusting , but its just about as flavorless and un-blood-like as you can get (just like most food products made from blood, I've found). As a matter of fact, when I was younger, I had no clue the stuff was made from blood. The blood cake is soft with a satisfying chew and a faint grainy sweetness from the rice. It absorbs the flavors its cooked in, having little of its own.

The ginger is what gives this soup its warming quality.
Boil up some thin rice noodles to throw into the soup and you have a really hearty meal for a cold, dreary day.

The soup is also popular in my household during winter because the parents believe that it bolsters and warms the blood. I think its just the ginger talking.

beans and rice! with plenty of cheese

In the Dairy Hollow House Cookbook, Crescent Dragonwagon included a recipe for Garlic Spaghetti. It's not something to eat before you go to the theater, but it's a winner when you're spending the evening at home.

Just melt some butter add lots of fine-chopped garlic, simmer it for a minute and pour it over your cooked and drained noodles. A little salt and lots of cracked pepper. I stir in a little cream as well.

Sorry it took a while to get back to you on this! I had to consult the mother to make sure I was getting all the details right.
The recipe is quite simple as long as you have the ingredients.

1 small whole chicken, cut up into chunks (or as big a bird as you like, as long as you have room in the pot! Just make sure its a flavorful bird)
1 large ginger root (young or old, doesn't matter)
Black sesame oil (not the kind you find in little condiment bottles for use in salads and such, black sesame oil is generally used in cooked dishes and comes in large plastic or glass bottles, like soy sauce does.)
White rice wine

Slice ginger into thick slices, you don't need to bother peeling the ginger.
Coat the bottom of a pan generously with the sesame oil and sear your ginger slices until they begin to turn golden brown and the skin begins to crisp up.
Sear off the pieces of chicken in more sesame oil.

Put your seared ginger and chicken and a little of the sesame oil you used to cook with into a sizeable pot and add enough water to cover. Add a slug or two of rice wine.

Simmer on low to medium heat until the meat is tender.
Salt to taste.

That's it! Super simple!
The weather's actually turned quite cold and wet this week and I've talked my mother into making this soup. We're just beginning to make the soup now and it will be done by bedtime.