Life is a funny thing – full of ups and downs, great joy and sorrow, heartache and love. A mother’s greatest gift to her child are roots and wings to navigate this sometimes bumpy life and I find myself using these tools more than ever these days.

I am grateful to be a mother today but I am even more grateful to the woman who taught me how to be a mother. It’s funny that at age 36, I need her just as much today as my 14 month old needs me.

We love you to the moon and back – Happy Mother’s Day!

Recipe:

1/2 cup almonds, dry roasted and unsalted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp butter

1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, fat free

2 eggs, separated

1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp sugar

strawberries and whipped cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grind almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Combine almonds with graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.

Press mixture into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Make sure to firmly pack the crust down with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 5 minutes and then let cool.

In small bowl, whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon zest and then set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form.

Fold egg whites into the condensed milk mixture and the pour into the tart pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until center is set. Let cool for an hour on a wire rack and then transfer to fridge and let chill for another hour before serving.

Serve with whipped cream and a strawberry.

I love to stumble across hole in the wall restaurants, that’s usually where you find the best food. I have two very favorites, one is a roadside joint outside of Austin, Texas that serves the best burgers on homemade sourdough rolls. The second is The Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Florida. For those of you who vacation here, your probably thinking that this is no hole in the wall because in the summer the wait is 2 hours or more for a table.

But The Red Bar does a hole in wall right. A simple 5 item menu presented on a chalkboard, only cash is accepted and you feel like you’re in a psychedelic den from the 60′s. My favorite dish is the panned chicken, of course that means fried and covered with a buttery sauce – here’s my take with out the psychadelic den.

Recipe:

1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced or pounded to about 1/4″ thick

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

flour for dredging

1 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup chicken broth, low-sodium

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp capers, drained

1 tbsp butter

juice of 1 lemon

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour. Place chicken in hot oil, cooking for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth to pan to deglaze, stirring up all the bits from the bottom. Let reduce for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, mix cornstarch and 1/4 chicken broth in a small bowl. Add to reduced chicken stock and stir until sauce is thickened.

Add juice of one lemon, capers and stir of butter. Add chicken back to pan and let simmer in sauce for about 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

If you prefer the sauce to be thinner, just add a little more chicken broth.

Notes:

I usually serve this dish with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and oven-roasted asparagus but the chicken is also good over a whole grain pasta.

Stay tuned tomorrow and I fill you in on how to make the mashed potatoes and asparagus.