11:11 and a little gift from Mom

With Mother's Day upon us, those of us who no longer share time with our Moms on the physical plane are faced with displays of cards we don't send, ads for flowers we don't whip into a bouquet, visits to gift and whatnot shops where we stroll through aisles of candles, scarves, jewelry we don't meticulously pick out and wrap up as a special little something for Her Day.

But the thing that is worse than all that, is that we just don't get to say, "I love you, Mom".  We don't get to touch her, to kiss her, to hug her, to feel her warmth and hear her voice say, "Thanks, Best Pal".

But, on occasion, she still reminds you of her never-ending connection with you.

I hopped into my car this morning to take Ivy (our dainty beaglette) to the sitters and run a bunch of errands. Upon turning on the car, I saw the clock on the dash read "11:11".  Now, anyone who follows numerology knows that 11 is a Master Number, and that double Master Numbers are often a sign of angelic intervention.  I then got a really strong feeling to turn on the radio.  No, more of an order, loudly and clearly stated in my mind's ear.

So I turned on the radio and what was playing was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAzMRKFX3c

Bette Midler's iconic song, "Wind Beneath My Wings" was THE song that I would equate with how I felt about my Mom, especially in her last days, battling skin cancer. She supported me, held me, fostered a safe place in the world for me.  She was my hero in that, when she was strong, she was unstoppable.  She also taught me that depression need not render you helpless - sadly, not by example, but due to the fact that she often succumbed to the disease; I saw how it immobilized her and I knew she wanted something better for me.

I love you, Mom. Thank you for your undying love, support, and encouragement.

Mother's Day, my Mom, and the perfect daiquiri

 It's interesting.  Since I lost my mom back in 2001, I really don't focus on Mother's Day that much anymore.  Not that I don't love my mother-in-law, because I do.  Not that I don't have tons of friends who are moms, because I do.  It's just that, well, I have no kids.  The only real celebrating of Mother's Day that I recall vividly was taking Mom to Oakbrook to the Stouffer's Hotel, riding the elevator to the very top floor, and having dinner there, the glass windows providing a superb view of the lovely Oakbrook mall and surrounding areas.  And that's where Mom would order her favorite cocktail, a daiquiri (ONLY if they had fresh limes), and she'd sip it slowly while gazing out the window wall, always looking put together, nicely made-up, and just a little wistful.  Every time.

 Today, the building which was formerly Stouffer's has a fence around it; the wrecking ball is probably a scant few weeks away.  That chapter housing my memories of Mother's Day will be wiped away, bulldozed away.  And I could cry.  But I won't.

What I will do is share the daiquiri recipe I found from Alton Brown.  And the reason I will share his recipe over all the others I found on the Internet is because Mom liked Alton and his show, "Good Eats".  She got a kick out of his theatrical antics, his shirts, his little beagle dog ("Anyone who likes dogs can't be all bad," Mom would say), his wit, and how he made cooking and baking fun.  Alton didn't do much mixology back in the early years of his show, so Mom wouldn't have seen him shake up the perfect daiquiri.  But if she knew the process by which he concocted his version, she'd be pleased.  She'd say, "Now THAT is worthy."

I give you Alton Brown's very "worthy" daiquiri:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/daiquiri-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed ice, plus extra for chilling glass
• 2 ounces light rum
• 1-ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, strained of pulp
• 1/2-ounce Simple Syrup, recipe follows

Directions

If your glass is not chilled, do so by placing some crushed ice in it and set it aside while you prepare the cocktail.
Place the 2 cups of crushed ice into a cocktail shaker. Pour the rum, lime juice, and simple syrup over the ice, cover, and shake well. Remove the ice from your serving glass and strain the drink into it. Serve immediately.
 

Simple Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the saucepan and allow to cool completely. Syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Yield: 3 cups

Note how Alton uses simple syrup rather than superfine sugar, which some recipes indicate.  Simple sugar works a lot better and it's worth it to make your own.  On the website, it says the time to make this cocktail is an hour and five minutes; that's counting in the time to make and cool the simple syrup.  Mom would approve of the attention Alton gives to the process.

Now, the one thing Alton neglects to mention is to make sure the sour-to-sweet ratio is to your liking.  My Mom enjoyed a slightly sweeter drink (she must've consumed a few daiquiris while she was pregnant with me, by the way.  I can drink daiquiris 'til the cows come home and they won't affect me.  But they must be a little sweeter, rather than too tart.  Yep, she was pregnant with me in the mid-60s.  Yes, she was rather "Betty Draper" that way).

If a daiquiri was too tart, Mom would send it back.  She'd take a sip and, essentially, do a full-body shudder and scrunch up her face.  Then she'd get the waiter's attention and tell him, politely-but-firmly, that the drink was too sour and not drinkable.  Sometimes she'd say, "This drink made my eyes water."

So, this Sunday, tip a glass to Bea Turlow's memory by mixing up the quintessential cocktail.  She'd deem you very worthy.  Very worthy indeed.