Actually what most moms want on mother's day is not some more jewelry or even worse something more to dust. What they are really hoping for is some great memories with their kids.
By that measure we had a really successful mother's day. We had agreed on Saturday before the big day that we didn't want to face the inevitable crowds in a fancy restaurant. We're probably still traumatized from that long ago experience when we tried to have a Mother's Day meal at the Homeplace only to find that over a thousand people had the same idea.
So Saturday night we indulged Erin, our oldest daughter, in her once a year need to have some microwave Mexican food. Sunday was going to be me cooking some steak on the grill. Sometime along the way to making that happen, we figured out that wasn't a very mom-like meal. My wife, Glenda, the mom of the moment, happens to be a member of a neighborhood luncheon group which I profiled in "Born to Lunch."
Their most recent event had featured a menu of Cheese Grits with Shrimp and Tomato Tarts. It just sounded like a lady-like meal so Erin and I headed off to the grocery to get a few key ingredients that we were missing. We had also made the decision to make some Strawberry Freezer Jam at the same time.
We added some asparagus for our green veggie, and the meal turned out to be a great one. As is often the case with great meals it didn't take nearly as long to eat it as it did to cook it and clean up after the fact.
Erin and I could have probably done it by ourselves, but some guidance and a little help from the expert mom of the day made things go a lot smoother. Glenda would have been miserable if we had made her sit in the living room all afternoon while we destroyed her kitchen.
We had a great time cooking together and we did create one of those memories that will be around a lot longer than the strawberry freezer jam.
If you have never had Strawberry Freezer Jam, you're missing a real treat which everyone should try once in a while just to remind them how much sugar ends up in jellies and jams.
Basically the recipe is mash up a bunch of berries, mix with lots of sugar, and some Certo which helps the mixture to jell. We put the results of our efforts in jars which sit at room temperature for twenty four hours before going into the freezer or the fridge. If you want to try making some, the recipe is on the Certo box. Strawberry Freezer Jam is about as close as you can get to eating fresh strawberries without actually eating strawberries.
There is one exception to that rule, and it is Strawberry Shortcake, which of course ended up being our desert for Mother's Day. Glenda made some fantastic homemade shortcake which she warmed up for the finishing touch to our Mother's Day meal of memorable proportions.
By the time we had dessert and got it all cleaned up, it was time for a late afternoon nap since we had managed to have dinner at 3:30 pm so Erin wouldn't be on the road so late heading back home to Northern Virginia.
We made some great memories, and they were topped off by both other children calling and telling us about their week.
Sounds that all the family had a great Mother's Day.
The recipe looks yummy!
Posted by: Sonia | May 18, 2006 at 03:59 PM