On Mother's Day and Dirty Rice

My mother has been a mother since 1962 when my oldest brother Steven was born. She was at home caring for her two young sons, Steven and Vincent, when Walter Cronkite interrupted the live broadcast of As the World Turns to deliver the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated. By 1970, with the addition of Lisa and Brian, my mom and dad were raising their four children in the small town of Madison, Illinois, an eastern suburb of St. Louis. Like most women of the era, my mom stayed at home while my dad worked and life was filled with parish picnics, backyard pool parties, and family summer vacations. Then, nineteen years after her first child was born, she gave birth to her last - me in 1981. Her family now complete, my mother watched her children marry, graduate college, begin careers, and have children of their own.

Today we’ll gather at my brother’s home, all fourteen of us, to eat, drink and celebrate with our mother on Mother’s Day – her fiftieth.

Mom and me, celebrating my 30th birthday in 2011

One of the recipes that my mom has handed down to me is her recipe for Dirty Rice. She serves it at nearly every family gathering and with only a few ingredients even new cooks like me can make it.

Kathy’s Dirty Rice

2 cups of Minute Rice

1 can of Beef Consommé

1 can of French Onion Soup

1 can of mushrooms (optional)

1 stick of butter

Mix and microwave, covered, for 15 minutes

Serves 6