Mother’s Day has never been about being a mother to me. Sure, I relish in the eggy brunch, the greeting cards adorned with x’s and o’s, fragrant flower arrangements, and handmade macaroni necklaces as much as any mom, but the day has always been more about being a daughter. I can remember many Mother’s Days I’ve celebrated for my mom yet, rarely can tell you about any Father’s Days. Maybe that’s because, as we like to tease my husband, every day is father’s day, and only one day is set aside to recognize the one person who spends the other days recognizing and celebrating us.

My mom and my son – Grammy & Griffy

This Sunday will be my fourth Mother’s Day since my mom passed away. This is not meant to be sad because my mom taught me – in addition to how to fold a fitted sheet and the secret to a flaky piecrust and that church laughter can happen outside of church – she taught me to accept hardships and pain because they are as much about life as the triumphs and happiness. read more

Spring (& love) is in the air bringing long-awaited fruits and vegetables to market, including fresh garden peas. And there’s no more appropriate time to celebrate the English pea than on the eve of the British royal wedding. Although two billion+ of us are not admitting that we will set our alarms and our DVRs if for no other reason than to watch Matt Lauer belabor the difference between tulle and organza, we will tune in to see the pageantry, the romance, and the fashion to witness another where-were-you-then moment in television history.

For now, let’s cook an easy royal side dish – we’ll call it Prince Harry. read more

I am giddy over this red onion and rosemary jam that I have plopped on top of everything from eggs to steak to turkey sandwiches. The jam is novel and rich, and it’s a secret weapon against boring dinners.

Don’t feel like marinating chicken tonight – jam it up. Can’t look at another steamed vegetable – jam magic. Tired of the same old peanut butter toast for breakfast – onion jamalamadingdong. Giddy or maybe it solitude insanity ever since my husband and daughter entourage headed off to Coachella while the Fourth Grader traveled through the caverns of Sacramento on a class trip only to arrive in the wee hours tonight in Burbank of all places. The house is quiet and I am putting onion jam on everything in sight. Look out Pepper, you’re next.
Here’s why you need to make onion jam. First, you will impress the hell out of yourself. Second, it makes everything taste better. Third, it honors the crunchtime credo – make it fast, make it real. Suddenly, leftover something, becomes new something else.

I beg you to make this seared flank steak topped with Miss Jam, if you’re nasty. In the pan, on medium high heat – 5 minutes or less each side. Let sit for 5 minutes and slice thinly against the grain.

And jam at it!

To some, a bake sale is the public calling they been waiting for just to unleash Grandma Flavia’s cookies with that secret family ingredient (ham) and make peopleswoon. For me, it’s an OCDer’s worst nightmare; do I make fat laden items that sell like, well, hotcakes, or do I try something on a healthier side? Then there’s the packaging dilemma. Thanks to those amazing home bakers, cooking shows, and cupcake stands on every corner, we have to present our foods in packaging that rivals a princess Barbie gift-emporium. And then, if you’re anywhere close to the sale itself, you watch how fast your items go – or not in the case of my brownie pops. “We better mark your brownies ‘sugar free,’ because most people get upset stomachs from Splenda,”said the mom running the school’s bake sale. Why doesn’t that crunchtime woman just make chocolate chip cookies like the rest of us?

You followers know that I made caramel apples forThe Bake Sale.

Let’s forget that there are buckets of sugar in these and focus on the Granny Smith’s. Even though I didn’t get a true assessment of the fundraising value of my apples, the whole bake sale (for Japan) in Los Angeles raised $15K. I’d like to think I was responsible fornone half of that.

These caramel apples are well worth the trouble. Picking up on the sea salted caramel craze and the goodness of chopped walnuts, I believe we made a guilt-free prize worthy of a bake sale display. Truthfully, these are so good and good for you, I urge you to make them at home and sell them to your kids. College fund or wine fund?

The trick as I learned through my trial batches, is to heat the sugars to a very precise temperature “firm ball”. But, if you can read and you own a candy thermometer (husbands will make a last-minute store run for these), it’s like a magical science experiment that you eat.

I found the cellophane sleeves at Surfas in LA, but there are online sources too. A little bakers string (all the rage this past holiday season), a tag, and now you’re in business.

We can balk at the packaging (do I hear moans?), but you gotta ‘present’ the food if it’s going to move off the table. Look at these genius ideas below and who wouldn’t spend a fortune to carry home the treats?

This is my all-time favorite banana bread recipe fromBetty Crocker’s Cookbook.I’ve completely revised it to be 100% healthy, but 118% full of flavor. My kids think it tastes better than the original. Let’s start withbananas which are high in potassium and low in salt. I use carrots in the form of organic baby food in order to reduce the butter, yet keep the bread moist. read more