Mondays with Mom- Mother's Day Without Her

I used to fear that my mom was going to get pulled over for drinking and driving. I didn't realize that the law referred to drinking alcohol (which she never did). All I knew was, whenever we went anywhere, our first stop was always 7-11 for a Diet Dr. Pepper (for her) and Dr. Pepper's for my sister and I. 

On Mother's Day this year, my second without her, I bought Diet Cokes for she and I and sat on her porch for a while, having a good solid cry. I sang the hymn I sang to her on our last Mother's Day together. Then I went and saw The Great Gatsby, a movie that she and I would have no doubt seen together. I missed her fiercely. 

If she had been here, we would have all had lunch together after church. Perhaps Dad would have grilled something, or perhaps we would have picked up barbecue. Whatever the case, the girls would not have cooked. Not on Mother's Day. 

I didn't follow that rule in my own home. I made my own breakfast. For starters, I was up by 5 a.m. and my husband slept until 8:30. So I cooked some bacon, made some coffee, and then wrote one of my most popular Facebook statuses ever: "There is NOTHING like waking up on Mother's Day to the smell of bacon and freshly brewed coffee. My husband will thank me when he wakes up." I made my own eggs, which is also fine- he doesn't know how to make them like I do! Then I added a slice of the cake I had made the day before. When my husband saw me taking pictures, he said, "So are you going to call that a 'Greek Yogurt Breakfast Cake'?"  I replied, "I'll call it 'It's Mother's Day and I can eat whatever I damn well please Cake'." (In jest, of course.)

The cake was the highlight of the day. 

Greek Yogurt Cake
from Mad Hungry Cravings

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
12 tbs (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 with a rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9-by-2-inch springform pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together the yogurt and honey in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the yogurt and beginning and ending with the flour.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cook the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and invert the cake; lift off the pan bottom and let the cake cool completely.

Slice the cake and serve plain, sprinkled with sugar, or with the topping of your choice, like fresh berries.