My Mom's Mother's Day 2012

Yesterday, was Mother's Day and I wanted to share a little piece of our day.  Holidays for my mom are kind of difficult because I can never figure out what she wants.  If you dote on her, she'll say that's too much and if you do nothing it's like why didn't you remember.  And above all, she hates eating out in restaurants on those occasions.  So, every birthday or special holiday like Mother's Day is kind of hard.

I knew I would get a card.  That's standard, but what to do next?  After working on my gardening project (you'll read about that this week) and reading this Mother's Day craft post, I decided that my mom also needed a plant - a house plant.  Specifically, a house plant that requires low light.  So, I got her an Exotic Angel Plant named Fittonia (a.k.a. "Juanita").  This plant originates in Peru and there are 400 of these angels in the collection.

Then, I decided to cook dinner for her after church.  I already heard her talking about making dinner on Saturday, but I didn't say anything until Sunday morning.  She was so surprised over the phone.  I could tell that she was excited.  Really?  She kept asking was I sure, etc. etc.  So it was official, my parents and my aunt were coming to dinner.

I ended up purchasing a Rotisserie chicken and Hawaiian rolls, but I cooked everything else.

The meal?

• Rotisserie chicken
• Collard greens seasoned with smoked turkey
• Confetti rice
• Japanese-style sesame green beans
• Fresh tomato slices
• Lemonade and water

Everyone was pleased and it was nice to see my mom smile.  And now she has a meal (from what she cooked on Saturday) that will last them this week.  Another smile.

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Ok, so here are a couple of recipes.

Confetti rice

Source: allrecipes.com via Libby on Pinterest

This photo is from a rice I made before, without the peas.

Ingredients:

• Jasmine rice
• minced garlic
• sweet onion, chopped
• 1 package of Herbox chicken bouillon (no salt)
• frozen peas and carrots
• water
• olive oil
• salt

Directions:
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a sauce pot.  Saute onions, then add garlic and rice and saute until the rice is a bit translucent.  Quickly add the water for the amount of rice you are preparing, the bouillon, and the salt.  Add the frozen vegetables.  Stir.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until done.  Fluff with a fork and serve.

*You may need to add about 1/4 cup more of water to accommodate the addition of the frozen vegetables.  Also, I often add chopped cilantro at the end.

Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans

Source: allrecipes.com via Libby on Pinterest

Ingredients:

• Fresh green beans, whole with ends removed
• canola oil
• sesame oil
• sesame seeds
• soy sauce

Directions:
Heat both oils in a large skillet.  Add green beans and cook until they are bright green and a little browned in places.  Add a splash of soy sauce and the sesame seeds.  Reduce heat, cover and steam until done.

* What I did is not what the recipe says exactly.  I know me and I know my family.  We are not fans of crunchy green beans, so I opted to steam mine down a bit so they were soft but not mushy.  I also did not toast my sesame seeds.  Too much extra work.  lol

Bon Appetit,