Happy Mother's Day from the Sisters Fierce

In honor of Mother's Day this year, we thought we'd reprise one of our favorite posts ever. That's right, it's dedicated to our awesome mother. We love you Mom!

- - - Originally posted May 7, 2010 - - - 

Have you mailed your mother's day card yet? Better get to the post office, kiddos!  Your mom is waiting!  And if you forgot, oh boy. Call up the flower shop immediately.

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day at The Sisters Fierce than to dedicate a post to our fantastic Mama Fierce? She's obviously influenced us in many ways, not only genetics and the remarkable ability to turn any sentence into a pout. (Trust us on this one.  Just ask our boyfriends.)

 

Look at those babes! Mama Fierce on the right, and our amazingly gorgeous Grandma Ruth, whom we miss very much, every single day.  And we also wish they had held on to their wardrobes - yes, those are little anchors on Mama Fierce's dress.  Ahoy!

Mama Fierce taught us how to drive stick shift, why you should always always ALWAYS wear earrings (you'll feel naked without them), and many other Very Important Life Lessons.  But since this blog revolves around food, we thought we'd share some of the many tips and tricks Mama Fierce taught us in the kitchen.

1. Confectioner's sugar is not flour. Mistaking one for the other does not a good broccoli soup make.
2. The electric cooktop is not the best place to leave a cordless phone (or two or twelve).
3. Come to think of it, the microwave is also not really a great spot for a wire-framed basket. Oops.
4. Don't be afraid to make substitutions. Lasagna will probably be just as good if you realize you don't have enough ricotta so you use cottage cheese instead. (See #1 when you are curious as to what substitutes well for flour.)
5. Don't be afraid to stay out of the kitchen for an evening or two. Use up your leftovers. We both inherited the penchant for finishing off random small bits of dinners past from Mama Fierce: occasionally skipping a whole meal and replacing it with a snack when you've eaten well all day is just fine. This is called "grazing."
6. Stave off the pre-dinner munchies with a pile of crudites. We think slicing a bunch of veggies was a diversion tactic meant to keep her four wild, ravenous, hungry children out of her hair. It worked and we ate more veggies. 
7. Does your kitchen stink because you burnt something? This never happens to us, just so you know. But in case it did... Bring about a cup or so of water to boil on the stove and throw in some cinnamon, cloves, or other aromatic spice. Let that simmer away for an hour or two and presto chango - stinko gone-o.  
8. Sometimes, simply setting the table does wonders for your mood. When we were in high school and had free lunches, each and every Wednesday, Mama Fierce would make us lunch at home. It could have been blue-box-mac-n-cheese or a plain turkey sandwich, but she always set the table. Flowers from our backyard garden, real napkins and placemats, too. Taking the time to make things a little nicer is always worth it. Our mom always makes sure to tell us she loves us, but more importantly, she always takes the time to show us she loves us, too.

Of course she's also imparted to us some absolutely killer recipes. We drool just thinking about Mama Fierce's famous summer strawberry pie - and her Texas sheetcake is just absurd. Stay tuned this week for those recipes.  We can't wait to share them with you, and in case she thought we forgot ...

Happy Mother's Day to the greatest mom on earth.  We love you Mama Fierce!