Birthday Bouquet for Mom!!!!!!
Today is my dear Mom’s birthday – she would have been 90! Happy Birthday, Mom! She is the person, more than anyone else, who ignited my passion for cooking in general, and baking in particular. I owe her a tremendous “Debt of Gratitude” – the title of the cookbook I began when she was in the throes of Alzheimer’s Disease. I hope I will finish this book someday and close that cathartic experience. I am FEDEXING a cake to you in heaven today, Mom – share it with your friends as you did yours all of those years!!!!!
As I sat with my computer earlier this morning, I was thumbing through the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market Cookbook, looking for fun recipes. Then, I began flipping around on the internet in search of cake recipes. More than anything else, I think my Mom was a cake person. It was her choice of offering to anyone she wanted to present with a gift. My Mom was not a person who cared about material things – she was a person of spirit and faith, who preferred gifts from the heart. How I miss her. I don’t think I have ever met anyone else like her – I am not saying that just because she was my Mom. She was the most unselfish person ever, kind, sweet, loving and dedicated to others. She loved her children and would do anything for them. She loved animals and often talked to them (as I do), and I felt she sensed an affinity for the creatures of God. She was truly beautiful.
In thinking about her today, I have created a mental picture of her in her small and modest kitchen, working with her mix-master and old colored pyrex bowls. She loved to bake – as a hobby and as a creative outlet for herself. I have so many memories of her delighting people with her offerings – especially those who were not inclined to bake themselves and felt that her pursuits were some mysterious magic that they could not perform. For others, a cake was something purchased at the grocery store or mixed from a box with boxed pudding mix. But, my Mom was a master of the “scratch” cake, as they were referred to back then.
The internet and my cookbook collection can become an overwhelming source of recipes. But I stumbled upon a nice list of cakes this morning at Epicurious.com – their 30 favorite cake recipes. This is a good list to peruse when you have a few minutes and I will definitely add some of these cakes to my recipe index. I particularly loved the Mascarpone-Filled Cake with Sherried Berries and the Cherry-Cornmeal Upside Down Cake. These are two I have already added to my files and I will definitely make very soon, being that we are in the cherry and berry season. I bought my first cherry-pitter the other day – so I will try it out. I imagine this cake can be made with blueberries or blackberries as well, or a combination of both. So, happy trials to work on!
Last night on Create, I caught an episode of Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen. I particularly loved his recipe for Morton Bay Bugs with Ginger-Mint Butter – aka Grilled Lobsters with Ginger-Lime-Mint BBQ sauce!!!!! This could be dinner tonight! (Oh wait, I’m not killing the lobsters! Ugh, this is really a sticky situation.) I love watching Steven Raichlen and all bbq oficianados should tune in if you don’t already know him. He has the BEST recipes!!!!!!
By the way, all of you masters around the kitchen, I don’t recommend dropping a pot of boiling water on your wrist as I did during last night’s dinner any time soon – ouch!!!!!!
So, as I go along today, I will carry with me, memories of my Mom in the kitchen, where she was, perhaps, most happy!
Garden photos today – all dedicated to Mom!
These pink hydrangeas are especially beautiful this year!
Loving apricot/orange this year!
Been watching this nest from my desk for weeks!