Mother's Day is the perfect time to show appreciation for our mom, grandma or anyone else who enriches our lives with mother-like qualities. If you aren't planning to take the special women in your life out for brunch, but still want to do something special, consider preparing brunch yourself. The frittata recipe can be changed a little bit if you prefer to add some sort of meat, such as Canadian bacon, ham or sausage.

Being that I love food, I appreciate any opportunity to celebrate and share in the foods and recipes of other cultures. I know that Cinco de Mayo is not all about the food, but this is a recipe column, so let's explore some treats that lend themselves well to a celebration of Mexico's traditions. Speaking of recipes, I was all set to share my favorite one for nachos, a recipe I put together on my own. But I now see that Emeril Lagasse came out with one almost exactly like it several years ago. In this case, it's no doubt just a matter of people putting together certain favorite ingredients that they know will blend beautifully, so it's no wonder there will be a match now and then.

How can anyone cook without rosemary? I don't think I want to even find out, as this perennial herb, native to the Mediterranean region, has been an integral part of my family's cooking for many generations. My grandmother had a large plant in her garden, and when I was a kid, I helped her do the watering. She told me at the time, that her rosemary plant was at least 50 years old. To this day, I have a large rosemary plant, started years ago from a cutting I took from the original. It is my connection to my grandmother, her love of gardening and cooking and my family heritage. It goes very well with garlic, and since I was born and raised in Gilroy (home of the Gilroy Garlic Festival), it's no wonder I couldn't survive without either seasoning. Rosemary, as with most herbs, has many types of uses, and can be found in shampoos, soaps, sachets, floral arrangements, teas and many more creative things.

I know there are people who dislike anything custardy, and I hope they will forgive my focus on bread pudding this week, but I am one of the many people who love custard! I even have an addiction to a delicious frozen custard at a place called Cali's in Clovis, but only the vanilla flavor. I was a kid in the '50s and '60s, when comfort foods were on most every family's dinner table, and bread pudding, made with custard, was a favorite.

Recently I shared a recipe for a smoked salmon and asparagus dish, but was lazy and didn't include any measured amounts of ingredients. I decided to rework that recipe and add some improvements. So, to save you time in the kitchen (if this dish appeals to your taste buds), here is a revised, improved version. I have a bad habit, when I am creating a dish, of not measuring exact amount of things. It's more of a toss this or that in type of procedure.

Ever since I can remember, there has been bread of some sort served at almost every meal. Most of the time, it was a French or Italian bread.

When there is no wizard to help us deal with too many hard-boiled eggs left over from Easter egg hunts, we have lots of great recipes at the rescue. Since I have covered pickled eggs in the past (my favorite way of using hard-cooked eggs), I thought it was time for something new. And if your kids or grandkids, nieces or nephews brought home only plastic eggs, you are on your own. If you come up with any good recipes for those, send them in! Of course, these days, community Easter egg hunts use only plastic eggs, but perhaps there are still people who hide real ones around the house or yard. I used to get up very early in order to hide eggs before my kids hopped out of bed. Sometimes they would find eggs that the ants had already discovered. That's just how it goes, what with Easter and ant colonies both being springtime traditions. Next year, if you hide any real eggs in the house, be sure you count eggs-actly how many you started with. You will eventually find the unclaimed, lost ones, but not by sight. You will smell them! Okay, I am getting out of control here, so on to the recipes before you lose your appetite!

It's funny how we disrespect the poor little lemon by using its name when referring to a vehicle that isn't any good.

I suppose it all came about because lemons are sour, and sometimes we get a sour deal. But I love lemons, and can't wait to share some favorite lemon-based recipes with you. When I was a kid, I actually ate lemons; I cut them in wedges and slurped on them, with no sugar added.

It's funny how we disrespect the poor little lemon by using its name when referring to a vehicle that isn't any good.

I suppose it all came about because lemons are sour, and sometimes we get a sour deal. But I love lemons, and can't wait to share some favorite lemon-based recipes with you. When I was a kid, I actually ate lemons; I cut them in wedges and slurped on them, with no sugar added.