Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble

Hello beautiful people, yesterday was my mom’s birthday and so our yummy recipe that we made was fruit-heavy and had strong almond flavor because that is what she likes.

My mom my came to visit to take care of the kids so that we could take a short trip to Boston for a work party. I am so blessed to have her in my life – not a day goes by without talking to her and then feel so thankful that she is there to listen to me (whine, talk about the baby and the kids, share in my happiness and wallow with me when I am sad).

She is always there for my and for my kids – she loves them unconditionally, plays with them, makes them things and is always thinking about them. But, there is much more to her. Maya Angelou said, “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.” This is my mom.

She came to this country as an immigrant, did her residency and then we moved to California. She had three kids, worked worked a million hours a week (seriously most weeks she worked 60+ hours a week), cooked and cleaned, made crochet bedspreads from scratch, and dealt with our massive sibling fighting. But, that is only half of the story. She started working in addiction medicine when it was not mainstream to do so and helped countless addicts in that role. She rose in her Community Health Center where she cared for migrant farmworkers and eventually became CMO, expanding their services and improving care for so many people. She did this while raising us, planning our weddings, and flying out to help me when my kids were born. When Amy Chua said ““Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery”, I am pretty sure she was talking about my mom.

Well, for this amazing lady, the least we can do is make a delicious birthday treat! Diya (who doesn’t like to bake) made sure that I was clear that SHE MADE THIS and she insisted on being in the pictures so that I didn’t take the credit. We found this recipe on smitten kitchen and it was perfect for us (we have TONS of plums on our tree so we are always looking for ways to use them). It was a hit. We ate it with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Happy birthday Mumma! We love you!