Mom's birthday

My brother Dave and his wife Linda live in Kansas City. They asked if we wouldn't bring Dad and Mom up to celebrate Mom's 85th birthday.

Dave has these unusual rock formations in his yard.

Aren't they fun?

Dave grilled salmon for us.

Linda snipping herbs for the rice dish.

This is Dave's rice pilaf recipe:

2-3 cups of wild or brown rice blend (if you can't get it pre-mixed no problem - just throw together any combination of whole grain rices you can find but avoid black or purple rice as it'll turn everything black) into the rice cooker and cook as normal for a relatively dry, not mushy rice (use the regular water that you would for regular Japanese rice but keep it on the steam cycle at least an hour)
1 slice of thick cut applewood bacon diced
1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
about a quarter to third of regular head of cabbage
mushrooms (4-6 sliced)
table spoon or more of olive oil
half a cup or so of frozen corn, thawed
half a cup of frozen peas, thawed
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 - 1 tsp curry powder
salt to taste (I use very little of this)

Render the bacon bits until they are crispy but not burned
Add a little of the olive oil to the bacon
Toss in the chopped onions and garlic and saute until glistening
Add the mushrooms and toss until they sweat
Add the cabbage and saute the mixture until glistening and the cabbage looses just a little of its crunch
Mix in the rice, adding oil as needed to keep the mixture glistening
Add the cumin, curry or any other spice to provide a suggestion of curry ... we're not making curry rice just providing a subtle curry flavor
Toss in the corn and peas and turn well

(I do not like mushrooms at all, but Dave chopped these shiitake mushrooms up very, very fine and they didn't taste bad at all!)

And here is Linda's boden kuchen recipe:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
2 c. flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. milk

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and mix well. Sift flour and baking powder together. Add dry ingredients alternating with milk and vanilla.

Pour into two 9-inch well-greased and floured flan pans (a cake pan will do).
Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Topping (for 2 flans)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
Cream sugar and cheese together. Spread half on each cake. Top with fruit. Take a couple of TBSP of apricot jam and microwave until it is thin enough to brush on the fruit with a pastry brush. Glaze.Garnish with whipped cream if desired.