Mother’s Day is such a sweet celebration of one of the most important bonds on earth. It is a great idea to take the opportunity to show your mom you love her. And it is important that small children learn to show their appreciation for their moms as well.
We had a tradition in our family when my children were young. On Mother’s Day morning as I lay in bed, I would hear my husband and 3 boys giggling and banging pots and pans in the kitchen. After the enticing aroma of burnt toast brought me to a fully conscious state, I would hear a knock at the door and see smiles on the faces of my little boys. They would proudly show me the tray of eggs, bacon and well-done toast along with juice, coffee and a bud vase with a flower one of them picked from our yard with a homemade card.
It was a tradition that we all enjoyed and in the process my husband taught the boys to show their love and appreciation to their mom. Keep it simple and watch how enthusiastic your kids will be to serve their mom in this special way.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who labor every single day to do the best for their kids.
Happy Entertaining!
Host a Mother’s Day Brunch!
If you are on a tight budget this year consider hosting a brunch at your home rather than taking your mom out to a restaurant. Brunch is generally less expensive than dinner but that does not mean yours cannot be a luxurious meal you will all enjoy. Purchase an exotic fruit juice such as guava or passion fruit and champagne and serve guava mimosas in sugar-rimmed stemmed glasses. If you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage, simply mix the juice with lemon-lime soda for a refreshing spritzer. Serve croissants, cinnamon rolls or muffins with butter and jam. Add a platter of sliced, fresh fruit and freshly brewed coffee.Try this absolutely delicious recipe for my Tuscan Sunrise Omelet and Italian Sausage Crescent Roll for this special occasion.
Tuscan Sunrise Omelet
Makes 2 omelets
1 red pepper
3 tablespoons pesto sauce, purchased
¼ cup sliced brie
4 eggs
2tablespoons milk or half & half
4 teaspoons butter or oil
Cut the pepper into 4 slices, wash and remove seeds. Place the red pepper quarters, skin side up in baking pan under broiler for 4-7 minutes until peppers are roasted, skin is blistered and somewhat blackened. Remove and place in brown paper bag & close tightly. Let steam for 5 minutes. Remove from bag and with a paring knife, remove the clear skin from the peppers and discard. Chop pepper quarters coarsely.
For each omelet: Using a fork or whisk, slightly beat 2 eggs with 1 TBS. milk or half & half. Add egg mixture to omelet pan coated with 2 teaspoons melted butter or oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes and carefully turn. Immediately, spread ½ of omelet with 1 ½ tablespoon pesto sauce, 2 tablespoons roasted peppers and 2 tablespoons brie. Fold omelet in half. Remove from heat and plate. Prepare 2nd omelet in the same manner. Season both with salt and pepper to taste.Shortcut: You may use ¼ cup purchased, roasted red peppers instead of roasting your own.
Toast your Mom!
Giving a toast to the person of honor at any special occasion adds a meaningful element to the day. Sometime toward the end of the meal, simply stand up, raise your glass, and announce that you would like to make a toast.You can briefly share what you appreciate most about your mom, a special memory you have of her, or attributes that you admire about her in her presence with your guests. Everyone will in turn raise their glasses and say, “Cheers!” I can guarantee it is something your mother will never forget. It seems as though we always mean to tell people why we admire them, but all too often those things aren’t shared. Even if you are not accustomed to speaking in front of others, I encourage you to try. You are in your own home, with those you care about in attendance.Use a 3-by-5-inch card to write down some notes if you need to. Your toast does not need to be long, but say what you want to say to honor her. We are alive today. Make the most of every opportunity to build others up and share your generous hospitality.
Italian Sausage Crescent Roll
Serves 4
½ pound bulk sausage (spicy or regular)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ cup purchased pizza sauce
1 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg, beaten
Heat oven to 350 degrees and brown sausage in frying pan and drain well. Add garlic powder, oregano and pizza sauce; mix well.
Unfold crescent roll dough onto ungreased baking sheet. There will be 8 triangles of dough. Pinch all seams together to make 1 large piece of rectangular dough. Spoon sausage mixture down the middle of the dough and roll. Pinch long seam together and place seam side down on middle of baking sheet. Cut 3 slits on top and brush with beaten egg and bake for 16-18 minutes. Slice and serve hot.
Free Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Coupons for Mom: Go to www.mothersdaycentral.com to print out free coupons that you can customize for your mom.
Act of Love:Wash her car, clean the house, play an instrument, write a poem, act out a skit, share a special memory. Take the opportunity that you have THIS Mother’s Day to express your love and gratitude to your mom.
Fun Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Customized Photo Album: Take a trip to your local craft store. Most stores have a great selection of scrap booking supplies and many carry kits to make a special album. Assemble one for your mom with a theme. Your theme can be: Grandmother, Childhood Memories, Mom as a Young Woman, Special Vacations, etc. She will cherish it.
Personalized Gifts such as Birthstone Necklace I have one and I love it! www.ThingsRemembered.com
Warm Weather Shawl: Shawls are beautiful, inexpensive and functional gifts. You never have to worry about the size and lightweight shawls dress up casual outfits and take the chill out of a spring or summer evening. Most discount stores have a wonderful assortment of absolutely beautiful shawls.
Dinner-of-the-Month Club:www.AmazingClubs.com has many great clubs that you can enroll your mom in. They deliver a gourmet meal with specialty pasta and have a month-to-month Dinner-of-the-Month Club for $24.95 per month, a 3 month club (delivered once a month) for $71.85 or a 3 month Dinner-and-a-Movie Club (they deliver a movie with dinner) for $89.95. They also have other clubs such as: Dessert-of-the-Month, Tea-of-the-Month and Wine-of-the-Month.
A couple of weeks ago, I appeared as a guest chef on Torrance Citicable’s cooking show, Community Cooking. I think it is interesting to see how these shows are taped. This is the third episode I have appeared on and this appearance was a lot of fun!
Then, it is on to prepping the kitchen and setting up all the ingredients for the recipes. I demonstrated how to make Coconut Salmon with Pineapple Salsa, Aromatic Herbed Rice and Broccoli with Parmesan.
tape the show. The food is plated and photographed and then the crew gets to sample!
Do you need some easy tips for fall entertaining? Check out this article in the Chicago Tribune written by their Food & Wine Critic, Bill Daley. I contributed tips and recipes to this helpful article. Click 
Our friend, John grew up on California’s central coast and knew the region like the back of his hand. He introduced us to little, out of the way historical places like a stagecoach stop from the 1870’s. The folks there were rustling up some mean smelling barbecue with live music under the shady live oaks. Thankfully, the heat was mild and the grilled veggie salad with lingonberry vinaigrette delicious. It’s a little out of the way place that lots of bikers stop at.
