I know today is Cinco de Mayo.  I know I’m supposed to blog about mexican food, beer, tequila.  But I figured that since everyone else in the blogosphere is doing that, I’d take  a slightly different path today and talk about something a bit nearer and dearer to my heart – college graduation.

My second son just finished his last class at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.  (Whoo hoo, go Michael!)   So that got me thinking about a lot of different things.  One of those things was that I needed to get a bunch of college graduation gifts because it means that his friends are also graduating this month.

I randomly and totally unscientifically surveyed a number of graduating kids, and here’s what I heard about getting them a gift:

The #1 gift request is MONEY.  Surprise.

The #2 gift request is something that will help them live on their budget as they head off into apartments next year for grad school or work.  Shamelessly, I asked them about the Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe box.  YES!! They proclaimed, something great like that.

The #3 gift request is for something fun – like DVDs or music downloads or a whole bunch of movie tickets - something that they’re going to really want to do/see/listen to but won’t have any extra money to spend.

The #4 and #5 gift requests are money.  Again.  A recurring theme. Big surprise.

So why not do whatever you can to help these young adults fend for themselves in the real world next year, and give them something they really want – like a chance to feed themselves, stay on their budgets, have a little extra pocket change, and have a great time doing it.

Create your own escape

Lines at HandF Bakery – Peachtree Farmers Market Atlanta View at Picasa Lines at HandF Bakery – Peachtree Farmers Market Atlanta12-Sep-2008 21:00, CASIO COMPUTER CO.,L EX-Z600, 2.7, 6.2mm, 0.005 sec

Mama Lynn…looking forward to Sunday morning. After several weeks of tough economic news and the seemingly endless campaign, I’ve promised myself a day free from talk shows, news programs, and the like. Tomorrow will be my day to get caught-up on reading, organizing and some fall gardening.

I plan to start the day on the screened in porch with a cup of coffee and my favorite sections of the paper (I’ve been setting them aside all week). On the top of the stack are the Wednesday food sections from the New York Times (NYT) and the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC).

I’ve been following the Dinner Dare feature in the AJC. In this new feature a local chef is dared to create a dinner in 30 minutes. This week, the AJC Dinner Dare is with Linton Hopkins (he’s part of the team behind H&F Bread Company, Restaurant Eugene and Holman & Finch Public House). For the dare, Hopkins created a one-pot dish of braised chicken thighs. Can’t wait to read the details; I love one-pot meals and one-bowl dinners!

And since, it is Sunday, I will make a beeline for the New York Times Magazine to see what food is profiled while hubby dives for The Week in Review.

Have you been following the buzz from Mark Bittman’s October 8th blog Bitten No-Knead Bread? The recipe is receiving rave reviews, which leads this experienced brick-maker to believe that this recipe will be the cure to my inability to make a decent loaf of bread.

View at Picasa Granville Island Public Market – Vancouver, BC06-Sep-2008 07:02, CASIO COMPUTER CO.,L EX-Z600, 2.7, 6.2mm, 0.017 sec

A quick note of thanks for your emails regarding the Mama Says, No More Frozen Pizza! recipe collection. We appreciate the feedback and are thrilled to hear about how your nieces, nephews and recent college graduates are enjoying their gift.