Mother's Day - A Great Day with my Honey and A Wonderful Memory of a Mother's Day Past

SBCP and I spent a great day together today for Mother’s Day. She has been working really hard studying for her classes and getting ready for her Graduation and the VA. State Exam. Which she is taking next week. SBCP spent the day taking and re-taking practice tests on-line. I made her the Mother of the Bloody Marys’ in a 27 ounce mixing glass garnished with 2 U-16 Shrimp, celery and speared olives. Over 20 years of tending bar I have made a few Bloody Mary’s in my day. Sunday afternoon at the Blackwater Inn I would burn through 2- 3 gallons of BM Mix. It was homemade of course. And it was not for the timid palette. My man Big Tom was responsible for consumption of at least a gallon every Sunday. He would “troll” the Boulevard and was usually successful. But that’s a whole other Blog Post. I may explain someday. It the interim –I offer Blackwater Inns’ Sunday Bloody Mary Mix- circa 1992. Makes enough mix for 10 – 10 ounce Bloody Marys’ or enough to get Big Tom to noon- thirty (maybe)

• 2 46 oz. cans Sacramento Tomato Juice
• 8 Tbsp. prepared horse radish
• 4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 30 hits of Worcestershire sauce
• 30 hits of Franks Hot Sauce- Tabasco or your choice of hot sauce
• Celery salt – to taste
• S & P - to taste
• Make mix up to 24 hours prior
• 3-4 ounces of good vodka per 4-6 ounces of mix.
• Mix well- shaken or stirred.
• Serve with marinated olives, a celery stalk and a couple of shrimp- perched
• Garnish glass with lemon and lime slices

The Mother of all Bloody Marys'  -

Now todays Mothers ‘Day was awesome....

I made Shrimp Cocktail – my honey’s favorite. 2 beautiful Rib eye steaks with sautéed mushroom and onions.

 


  However I think back to a previous MD posting. SBCP was not home most likely scooping up the grand babies.



It was Mother’s Day 2010. Our neighbor Marilyn and I were both going to be alone so we planned to spend the day together. Church- Lunch-and conversation. I offer you all a flash-back to MD posting May 10 2010. A truly memorable day. Good food- great conversation – unforgettable stories and unconditional love and respect from what would normally two strangers brought together by chance and circumstance.

Reposted - FROM MAY 10 2010-

I spoke through proxy to the infamous UD yesterday and he was eagerly waiting and salivating for the next TFN entry. I explained I had no real fodder for the blog. No great meals, no blockbuster recipes, no great restaurant reviews( another mental block mis- spelling spell, Imagine a guy in the food service industry for 17 plus years that can't spell restaurant ) . UD says Blog about Marilyn's cookbook. (Which will come in a later issue. So then I sit down and begin to ponder the crux of the meal itself. Not the content, not the venue, not the cost, or the dessert but the concept of the meal itself. The conversation, the camaraderie (which I can spell), the ritual of breaking bread. The ability to be at rest with those you care about and take in nourishment. A life sustaining effort, both on a physical and emotional plane. I mention this because I had a wonderful meal with my 70+ year old neighbor, Marilyn yesterday. It was Mother's Day, and we were both home alone. My Mom has been gone for a great while and Marilyn's daughter is far away. So it was a healing and bonding surrogate experience for both of us. I was originally scheduled to take her to dinner after we went to church together on Saturday night. But a surprise visit from my man LUMPY for volunteer car repair ran into the evening hours and I had to cancel. So I get up Sunday morning and call her… she says “I have some really nice hamburger meat, how about we just eat here" Now let me explain Marilyn. She was born the oldest of 14, in Colby Wisconsin. A farm girl who could drive the tractor, or birth a calf, or bake a wonderful loaf of bread from scratch. She has described a great visual of her Dad hanging onto the side of the tractor loaded with too much hay to offset the load from spilling over her dad hangs onto one side saying " Go Blondie Go… whatever happens don' t stop." Marilyn is also a smart business woman and a true spiritual soul. We feel blessed to count Marilyn as part of our family. We realized last year that fate and divine intervention had put us across from Marilyn and Jim to nurture both families. I would be remiss to mention that Jim is no longer with us and plants a huge void in our hearts every day. However during lunch the front door closed by itself as it grew a little colder which I attributed to Jim watching over us. So Marilyn and I have a great Mother's Day Bruncheon (my word). Fresh cooked hand formed burgers on the grill - 93/7 ground beef, some potato salad, beans, and a great salad with blueberries. Now the highlight of the meal was the conversation. Marilyn told some stories about business, camping, traveling and family that took us in all different directions. I countered with comparable anecdotes. We recognized some very similar tales that made me realize we experienced some shared circumstances. Useless purchases of unused trailers and campers that although well intentioned were bad decisions.

Marilyn had a great memory of renting a camper and driving to Wisconsin to see her family. (Because Jim always had to make an entrance) They rent the RV from a guy in Gainesville, they pick it up in a field behind a house where there are other campers. They pay the guy a couple thousand dollars cash, and he says drop it off here when you are done, and I will check it out and get back to you if there are any issues. They have Marilyn's daughter, her husband and two grand kids with them. They drive the camper without incident to Wisconsin. Jim makes his entrance and they head back home. On the way back the RV develops an equipment issue. They stop at an RV dealer in Minneapolis to get the part installed and make their way home. They make it back to Virginia in one piece and launch the grandkids home. The RV gets dropped off and they recommend this RV rental guy to a friend a few months later. They get a call from the Virginia State Police and are informed the Winnebago they drove to Wisconsin was stolen. The catch is the unit was stolen from the same dealer in Minnesota that they stopped at to get the part fixed. The whole family could have landed in a Minnesota jail if the dealer ran the VIN number. A great story on all levels. Shared over an impromptu meal shared by two souls brought together by fate or luck or serendipity. (Look it up). So no major recipes or big food revelations. But just an opportunity to speak to the human nature, spirituality and bonding of the MEAL . A MEAL…. the breaking of bread, the staff of life which keeps us grounded to the importance of the little things. I spoke to Marilyn about the publishing of this blog, and asked if she was ok with it. I thanked her for the company, and the meal. Marilyn says “spending time with you was like being with the son that I never had". I tell Marilyn “you are like the Mom that I no longer have “ The MEAL ….. Sometimes - it's not about the food. I thank you all for your support. My heart is with all of you.

Thanks for the attention- please don’t lose interest. I will keep you well fed.

Marilyn has since moved to be closer to her daughter in Pasadena Ca. We miss her every day. However a great young family has moved into her home, I love to hear the kid’s laughter echoing throughout the neighborhood.

I would like to pay tribute to all of the Mothers out there. It’s a full time – underpaid – under – appreciated job. You all shape the future – please keep it up!


For Rita – I love you Mom~TFN