Today’s weekly recipe post diverts from the usual pizza, brownie or pasta recipe. This is much more crucial to feeding the human spirit.  It is a recipe for being a mom with children in college and an Italian mother at that.  Please don’t misunderstand me.  I am not excluding dads, I’m just speaking to the mothers right now.

I am not a novice baker or cook in this regard.  I have a college Junior in Rochester, NY at Rochester Institute for Technology (RIT), Go Tigers! She is confident, smart and focused.  She managed to get there despite my weekly calls, ok, nightly calls and texts for the first few weeks.  My doctors are at the University of Rochester so conveniently I see her at least every six months. I bribe her with brownies, funfetti cake and Moose Balls in exchange for a lunch and a few hugs. RIT is about 215.8 miles from home, but who’s counting.

Now I find myself once again starting a new recipe for being a college student’s mom.  My son has chosen the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa- Roll Tide! The University of Alabama is 1152.2 miles from home creating a serious challenge for a quick delivery of brownies, funfetti cake and Moose Balls! I have 227 days to hone my skills and to be prepared for this new recipe.  So, let’s begin:

What you need:

• 1 cup of strong will
• ½ cup of trust
• Pinch of luck
• Gallon of tears
• 1152 miles of apron string
• Crimson food coloring for cakes and cookies

What to do:

No need to preheat the oven or gather heavy equipment for this process.  It takes a light hand and a strong heart.

Combine the first three ingredients in your heart and let settle, careful not to over stir or the outcome will be hard and difficult to work with.

Encourage this little creation to grow on its own with some light support when needed.  Do not attempt to smother the dough. It will not rise because you willed it to do so. Hold the gallon of tears for now….

Let go now and watch it come together, and it will. It may not be as fast as you want it to or exactly in the manner which you want it to, but it will. That I am sure of. I think we can set aside the 1152 miles of apron string as well.

Support your creation.  Listen and look for signs of growth or struggle and be there to set it back on track if needed.  When all else fails, make cookies using the crimson food coloring and UPS them to your student. Food heals.

Enjoy what you have created. There will be other recipes that will challenge us as life progresses and moms, we will need dads, sisters, brothers, family and friends to tackle those recipes as they arise.

felice mangiare e buona fortuna (happy eating and good luck) Ciao.