Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Nancy Ruth Crofts Hayes

When we were kids, my stay-at-home mum always had time for a board game or an endless game of War, even if it meant that housework didn't get done, much to the (mostly feigned) chagrin of my dad. She taught me the basics of cooking and how to bake, and many of her recipes (some of which were her mother's, or her grandmother's) are in my recipe box.

Her sewing machine was going constantly, whether to make curtains for the house or something for us. She sewed a playhouse out of an old yellow sheet and dark blue bias binding; it fit perfectly over a card table. I loved that house, down to the flower garden she drew on the side of the house. She made most of my clothes through elementary school, costumes galore, from witches to clowns to gorillas, and numerous prom/Winter Ball/formal dresses.

She also did (and still does) various needlecrafts: counted cross-stitch, knitting and crocheting, which she couldn't teach me, as she's a lefty. She and I learned together how to make jointed teddy bears; she's made dozens of them, for herself and as gifts.

Though Mum's degrees were in Spanish and teaching, she stopped teaching Spanish when I came along. Her passion has always been music. Since I was a kid, she's been a church organist and piano teacher. Even a stroke at the age of 57 didn't stop her; eight years later, she still climbs the spiral staircase to the choir loft at her church (her family's church for generations) every Sunday morning.

Mum was thrown into the role of single mother to a teenaged daughter and pre-teen son when she was only 41, when my 44-year-old dad's two-packs-a-day habit caught up with him in the form of esophageal and stomach cancer. With the help of a very loving and supportive network of extended family and good friends, she guided both of us through high school and into college.

She has always been there for me, no matter what I've needed: Raspberry Kool-Aid or a band-aid, a piano lesson or help with my Spanish homework, holding me close when I needed it, and letting me fly when it was time. Mum made my first wedding gown, and was there for me with open arms when that marriage fell apart four years later. She happily welcomed Chuck into the family several years later, and is very excited about her impending grandmotherhood.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone.

Here's one of my mom's dessert recipes. We always just called it "Lemon Dessert," until we saw the recipe in Yankee Magazine, entitled "Fluffy Ruffles." Who could resist a name like that?

Fluffy Ruffles

1 can evaporated milk
1 small package lemon Jell-O
1 cup sugar
juice of one lemon, plus grated rind from half
1 cup boiling water
1 /2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, divided

Chill unopened can of milk in refrigerator overnight or for a couple of days.

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Chill until partially set. Add lemon juice and rind, and whip until light and fluffy.

Whip chilled milk; add sugar and vanilla, and fold into gelatin.

Line bottom of 9 x 13” pan with half the crumbs. Pour the gelatin mixture over crumbs, and top with remaining crumbs. Chill until firm.