Food can help ease homesickness: An ode to my mom

Mama and me on my 25th birthday (cake
recipe below)

I feel like I can't talk about cooking without first talking about my mom. 

In addition to being a wonderful human being, mother and wife-- my mom is an excellent cook. She taught my brother and I to cook when we were small children. She jokes that it was so she could sleep in and we could cook our own breakfast without her-- but that lady was onto something. By the time we got to middle school we each had quite a repertoire going. I wish I could remember the first thing I personally cooked, but I don't. It was probably breakfast or grilled cheese. 

I do remember sitting on the counter while my mom made homemade funnel cakes and she had me scoot to the far side to avoid any spritzes and splashes from the hot oil. She said if the hot oil got me I'd end up like Fire Marshall Bill (Jim Carey's best In Living Color role).

One of my favorite stories is from when my brother was about 9 and made pancakes for a friend that stayed over. The kid's mom came to pick him up and he told her Adam made pancakes, the mom said, "Sweetie, don't you mean Adam's mom made you pancakes?" And my mom was like, "No, Adam seriously made pancakes." Because baby bro was a damn good cook at 9 years old, making pancakes better than I do now. 

Mom cooking one of my all-time favs on a trip home (recipe
below)

Mom's a recipe follower, unlike myself who changes at least one thing if I'm trying to follow a recipe. Her friend has a great saying, "If you can read, you can cook." Mom illustrates this by relating a story from when she and my dad were first dating and wanted lasagna. My mom told my dad and their friend she would make one even though she had never done it before. She left them in the car while she got the ingredients at the grocery store. Luckily for her the recipe was written on the back of the lasagna noodle box. The only thing that wasn't included was which layer went first. So my mom found an older lady who told her to put the sauce first and she was golden. She's been cooking like a rock star ever since. 

My mom will alter old favorites to make them healthier. Mom is really into healthy eating and cooking, which had it's ups and downs while I was growing up. Once she decided to cook mostly vegetarian (down) and once she needed to gain weight for a job (she's a model and actress-- up!). Although I often craved soda, Doritos and Gushers, I was grateful once I was on my own and maintained a healthy diet. 

The Fluff and me 

Luckily, my mom (who I lovingly call Fluff) has started typing up all her recipes and storing them on her computer, so anytime I crave an old favorite I just have to email her and she sends it to me within an hour. 

There is so much I could say about my mom. The lady taught me most of everything I know about life. Today, I'd like to share two of my favorite recipes from my mom, which help to heal my homesickness and are coincidentally in the pictures above. Enjoy!

Fluff’s Red Velvet Cake with Fluffy Frosting

Cake Ingredients:

½ cup butter (one stick)

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tbsp cocoa power

½ tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 ounces red food coloring (two big bottles)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp white vinegar

Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9” round pans or one 13”x9” rectangular pan. Cream together butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in eggs. Sift together flour, coco, & salt. Add sifted ingredients, buttermilk, & red food coloring alternately to creamed mixture. Dissolve baking soda into vinegar and fold in. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Ice with Fluffy Frosting.

Fluffy Frosting Ingredients:

5 tbsp flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Directions:

Combine flour and milk and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens, stir constantly. Let the mixture cool completely in the fridge before continuing.

Combine butter and sugar and beat on high for 10 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat for an additional 10 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combine.

Frost the cake once it has cooled to prevent the frosting from melting.

Skewered Beef Bundles

Ingredients:

½ cup soy sauce

2 tbspsugar

¼ tsp ground ginger

1 pound beef round about 1” thick cut into strips (put meat in freezer for about a half hour to make it easier to slice thin)

½ lb fresh green beans

4 large carrots cut into 3” sticks

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Marinade meat in soy mixture, covered, 2-3 hours at room temp. Meanwhile, cook green beans and carrots separately.

Wrap meat around bundles of carrots and beans (about 3 or 4 beans and carrot sticks per roll) and secure with a toothpick.  Do not discard the marinade.

Grill over medium coals, broil or a grill pan over high heat for 4 minutes on each side.

While the bundles are cooking, pour the leftover marinade into a pan and bring to a boil then turn it to simmer to reduce. Pour the marinade over the cooked bundles once they are done for extra flavor.