683 Strudels Later: Happy Mother’s Day

I was spoiled with love this weekend and extra special gifts from a homemade candy and cookies bouquet, homemade cards, apple trees, pear trees and rose bushes.  Over the past ten plus days, I have had some ongoing medical issues. It’s a long story for a different day. I’m going to be okay but on Friday afternoon Nathan went with me to the big town on the prairie, Bismarck.  My appointments were complete and my doctor specifically told us to go on a date. And so we did! I hadn’t eaten all day. So we ate and ate and visited longer than we had in months.  Saturday morning I awoke with Miss E at my bedside and specific instructions to STAY in bed. With only help on the coffee and bacon from Nathan, she pulled off her surprise. Breakfast in bed and she said, “This is for taking such good care of me, Mama and I even made a Mickey Mouse out of ketchup.”

It melted me and was a moment I will never forget. How lucky am I to have Mickey Mouse on a plate in ketchup? 

Miss E reminded me of myself at that moment. I used to make a disaster in the kitchen but I loved making breakfast in bed for my mom. I still make disasters in the kitchen. But it was for my mom that I started.Life was easier when I was my mama’s little girl.

I didn’t get to see my mama and grandma this weekend. But I talked to them to both while soaking in some prairie landscape. After our small town church service this morning, we drove eleven miles to tiny Lehr, North Dakota, population 79, to Marie’s Kitchen, the town’s cafe. It was crowded but my organized husband had made reservations. Because you need reservations at Marie’s on Mother’s Day. I sat with my favorite girls. Our son, Hunter is on a school trip which is why he is missed in the photos and in the day. Nathan snapped the picture of the girls and I and it encompasses so much of the atmosphere. Visiting and anticipation for an authentic prairie meal.

There were no menus handed out at Marie’s. The questions from the waitress were:

“Coffee?” Yes.

Anika wanted Sprite and she shared a bottle with Elizabeth. 

The next question was a “Whole or Half?”

Half orders for Elizabeth and Anika. My in-laws, Carol and Eldon, along with Nathan and I all had whole orders. 

Of what you wonder?

Strudels. A German Russian food tradition of thin rolled dough, rolled up and cooked with meat. 
Today’s Marie’s menu was Strudels, Creamed Chicken and Potatoes, Gravy and Corn. 

As we scraped our plates clean and sat in our dough haze of complete full tummy happiness, I asked our waitress just HOW many strudels did Marie make for Mother’s Day? She went back in the kitchen to ask. 

683 and soon the last were to be served. 683. 683. In a town with a population of 79. Strudels are a big deal on the prairie! People drove from a four county wide radius is my guess. Logan, McIntosh, Emmons and Dickey counties and maybe even LaMoure, Stutsman or Kidder County were represented. All to have a few of the 683 strudels on Mother’s Day.

In case we weren’t all ready filled enough, then the waitress brought out plates of an array of desserts to complete our Mother’s Day feast.  My mother-in-law and I were spoiled, full and ready for naps after the strudels feast. 

We also had a good laugh over dressing alike today. Carol and I spend time almost every day together. I often dress like my mom but now I am starting to dress like her. Without knowing it, I bought a spring coat like hers. Pink coats for the Pinke mamas. 
We are blessed by love and extra strudels on the prairie. 

Happy Mother’s Day to mamas I love dearly. I hope you had strudels. Or at least come for a visit next  year and I will share with you.