Mother's Day Flavors
While we don't have very specific Mother's Day plans, I do have some strong associations with this day to certain flavors.
Hickory-smoked ham is probably the first and most predominant. My mother loved a good Smithfield ham, and special days like Easter, Mother's Day, Labor Day, Christmas Day, birthdays usually began with some kind of ham sending its fragrance into the bedrooms where sleepyheads lolled.
Cornbread, sometimes with bacon, has a slight acrid buttermilk smell to me because my mother's recipe incluced buttermilk and excluded sugar of any kind. It was a flat hoe cake too, not puffy muffins or pan bread. But slather it with butter, use it to push your eggs and grits onto your fork.... heaven. I once called her from North Texas to get the recipe, for which there was no recipe. She eyeballed how to make it in a distinctive yellow bowl. That bowl was the secret to the correct proportions. I later turned it into cups and spoonsful. And it's a secret recipe. Not too difficult but I'm going to keep it to myself. Somewhere I have that piece of paper where I took notes over the phone - somewhere in my collection of cards and post-its with recipes collected in pretty much the same way over the years.
Tomatoes, tarragon and cucumbers were my mother's favorite salad to make. Easy slicing, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (something she "discovered" via Jeff Smith the Frugal Gourmet - one of her dear TV chef loves), and then sprinkled with dried tarragon. Let it sit for an hour or so, turn gently once and serve VERY cold.
Lamb. Yes, lamb. For shish kabob, it would be cut into chunks and marinated for a day or two in olive oil, bay leaves, rosemary, red wine, black pepper, garlic cloves and thyme. OH. MY. GOD. Sometimes, we would do an entire leg of lamb, with little pockets cut into it where garlic cloves were tucked. She would use the little black-handled knife for this. The point was very pointy but the knife wasn't very sharp. It was meant to pierce the pocket and that was all. My father never understood why she didn't use a "better" knife. That one was the better knife.
My mother avoided sugar, as she was borderline diabetic for the last 40 years of her life. So desserts aren't really one of the Mother's Day flavors I recall from that family. But last night, Wonder Boy shared some of his ultimate rainforest chocolate ice cream (full fat!) with me. I had two large tablespoons and ate it slowly.... lovely! and only one point! (Yes, Weight Watchers points... more on that later when I recover from whatever this day has to offer.)
Hickory-smoked ham is probably the first and most predominant. My mother loved a good Smithfield ham, and special days like Easter, Mother's Day, Labor Day, Christmas Day, birthdays usually began with some kind of ham sending its fragrance into the bedrooms where sleepyheads lolled.
Cornbread, sometimes with bacon, has a slight acrid buttermilk smell to me because my mother's recipe incluced buttermilk and excluded sugar of any kind. It was a flat hoe cake too, not puffy muffins or pan bread. But slather it with butter, use it to push your eggs and grits onto your fork.... heaven. I once called her from North Texas to get the recipe, for which there was no recipe. She eyeballed how to make it in a distinctive yellow bowl. That bowl was the secret to the correct proportions. I later turned it into cups and spoonsful. And it's a secret recipe. Not too difficult but I'm going to keep it to myself. Somewhere I have that piece of paper where I took notes over the phone - somewhere in my collection of cards and post-its with recipes collected in pretty much the same way over the years.
Tomatoes, tarragon and cucumbers were my mother's favorite salad to make. Easy slicing, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (something she "discovered" via Jeff Smith the Frugal Gourmet - one of her dear TV chef loves), and then sprinkled with dried tarragon. Let it sit for an hour or so, turn gently once and serve VERY cold.
Lamb. Yes, lamb. For shish kabob, it would be cut into chunks and marinated for a day or two in olive oil, bay leaves, rosemary, red wine, black pepper, garlic cloves and thyme. OH. MY. GOD. Sometimes, we would do an entire leg of lamb, with little pockets cut into it where garlic cloves were tucked. She would use the little black-handled knife for this. The point was very pointy but the knife wasn't very sharp. It was meant to pierce the pocket and that was all. My father never understood why she didn't use a "better" knife. That one was the better knife.
My mother avoided sugar, as she was borderline diabetic for the last 40 years of her life. So desserts aren't really one of the Mother's Day flavors I recall from that family. But last night, Wonder Boy shared some of his ultimate rainforest chocolate ice cream (full fat!) with me. I had two large tablespoons and ate it slowly.... lovely! and only one point! (Yes, Weight Watchers points... more on that later when I recover from whatever this day has to offer.)