This year’s Mother’s Day has me dancing with joy. It is the first time that I will get to be with my mother on Mother’s Day in almost 20 years. My mother lives in Florida and I live on Mercer Island. So, I will not be taking this Mother’s Day for granted. I love my mother as I love my best friend. She is my rock, my confidant and my sister. Since I do not have a sister, she and her sisters (my aunts) fill that role. I plan to cherish every minute of my mother’s visit while she is here.

I have decided to give you a wonderful pound cake recipe for Mother’s Day. This cake is special to me, as it is my great Aunt Hannah’s pound cake. My Aunt Hannah gave it to my grandmother, Jeanette, who gave it to my mother, Ida Raye, who gave it to me. There is a lot of love in this recipe. This is a very simple cake to make, with few ingredients. It travels well and freezes well. You can serve this cake with sliced strawberries, fully taking advantage of the strawberries still in season. You can also slice the pound cake a little thicker; place it in the toaster to toast it. Put cream cheese on top of it, like you would a piece of toast.

Aunt Hannah’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3 blocks butter or margarine (three sticks), (1½ cups)

8 ounces of block cream cheese (not whipped)

3 cups white sugar

1½ teaspoon vanilla

Dash of salt

6 eggs (large)

3 cups cake flour (or regular flour)

Cream butter and cream cheese, add sugar and cream (see glossary) well. Add eggs one at a time. Add rest of ingredients. Pour into a well-greased tube or bunt pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 1½ hours.

You can also place in two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Invert on cooling rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve with fresh berries. Enjoy.

I think of how I like to enjoy Mother’s Day. I will try to never go to a restaurant on this day. The food, the lines, the buffets and other people’s screaming, hungry children are not my idea of a good time. I prefer to sleep in (undisturbed).  Every year my kids and husband have made me breakfast in bed. They carry this breakfast to me on a folding tray that was a gift when my first child was born. They place a flower in a bud vase that was a wedding gift from one of my husband’s classmates. The inscription on the card read: “So that you never forget to bring your wife flowers on Friday night or Mother’s Day.” My girls, even when they were too little to really understand what it meant to let me stay in bed for a few extra minutes, knew that breakfast in bed was a huge deal. The menu is fairly easy: scrambled eggs, sometimes with cheese, coffee, ice water, toast and some type of fruit. Nothing fancy, just loving. Oh, let’s not forget the Sunday paper.

The Mother’s Day activity is my choice. This generally involves some type of field trip. We might go for a bike ride on Bainbridge Island, or stroll around West Seattle. Perhaps we will go out and hit tennis or golf balls. Maybe even go for a hike with a great picnic.

I am sure that you are wondering if I ever received gifts on Mother’s Day. I have. Please do not purchase your mother chocolates, a new vacuum or microwave. You can make a gift from love. Writing your mother a loving and meaningful letter is the best gift of all. If your mother is no longer with you, but is in spirit, remember that she never left you. Her soul is still near you and your heart.  You can still do something special on Mother’s Day to remember her.

I wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.  May all mothers, step — mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters and motherly figures have a wonderful, peaceful day, with no dishes left in the sink for Monday morning!

Glossary

Cream: this term means to blend together in the mixing bowl until light and fluffy. It should take about 3-4 minutes and the texture should be smooth. The color is very light, pale yellow.

Food columnist Cynthia Shifrin will no longer be writing the On Food column for the Reporter. Lisa Katsman’s column will appear once a month.