Are mothers and food (almost) synonymous?

Mothers take on all sorts of roles in a family's life, but certainly purveyors of food are tops on the list.  Although many dads are equally adept, involved or active in food prep for their families, since Mother's Day is upon us, I'm going to talk moms and food.

Think of your mother and the food she served you and your family.  In my home, it was meals she learned from her own mother, sturdy, hearty foods that included meat, potatoes and something green.  Meals were simple and predictable:  if it was Sunday, it was pot roast.  Friday was the fish fry.  The (dreaded to me) meatloaf emerged mid-week, along with the ubiquitous chicken and the chicken-casserole-leftovers following. There was usually a pressure cooker full of chili or a vegetable soup in there, too.

Desserts were for special occasions, and featured made-from-scratch lemon meringue pies, a peach-stuffed pastry and a sheet chocolate cake, loaded with double the chocolate buttercream frosting.  She made almond-flavored cookies we called pink ladies, due to their pink frosting, that disappeared within a day.

In the summer, we would pick cherries, can peaches, put up other fruits for the long, snowy winter ahead.  Sometimes, Mom would get an inspiration, and we would eat something far distant from our Midwest table:  say, an Asian-themed noodle dish.  Once, she and a neighbor spent the better part of a day cooking up bubbling pots of Italian "gravy", or what we know as the Italian red sauce.  It simmered all day, and we ate the gravy atop all kinds of dishes well into the following spring.

This brings me to my question:  what kind of food did your Mom cook for you?  Another question:  what are your memories of the kinds of food associated with your mother?  Finally, if you will be with your mother this Sunday (hint: Mother's Day), what will you feed her as a small thanks for all the care and feeding she's done for you?  (I'm cooking for my family, and it will be grilled fish, a green salad, homemade sweet potato fries, some broiled garlic asparagus, and perfect oatmeal cookies.)

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil for frying

We recently had a customer wondering what the difference was between our Washington grown and “southern grown” poultry. And we admit, “southern” is a bit vague. Here’s the low down. Our southern grown chicken comes from a handful of Southeastern states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas. The southern farms include Sanderson Farms, Pilgrims’ Pride, Tyson, Wayne Farms and SmartChicken. These farms produce quality poultry at great prices. We also offer Washington grown chicken, usually from Draper Valley Farms. Draper Valley, although no longer locally owned, is locally operated – shortening the trip from the farm to your shopping cart.

If you’re looking for a great, locally grown chicken – go for the Draper Valley option. If you’re looking to stock up on chicken at a great price, choose our southern grown chicken. Many of the southern growers, such as SmartChicken offer hormone-free, organic and certified humane chicken.