Regina Charboneau
To try Regina's recipe for an easy tomato-mint marmalade to accompany Easter lamb, click here.
There is nothing better or worse than a strong-willed Southern woman. I know what I speak of. I am the daughter of one and I am one. As strong willed as we both are, I am lucky that there have been very few times in my life that my mother and I have disagreed in a big way. We have always gotten along quite well: she is one of the most even-tempered and happy people I have ever known (but still strong-willed).
Being a mother of nine children, she would have to be that way, I guess. She used to say that when she told people she had nine children, they would look at her with pity, as if she were a simpleton. She was always amused that people did not understand how much she loved being a mother and I think she has been quite good at it. Amazingly enough, we are all fairly well-adjusted and functioning in society. I hope I can continue to say the same about my two boys.
But there is one divide for my mother and I ... it is the "holiday ham." Our disagreements are almost always centered on her "Liberty Hall" holiday traditions and my newer "Twin Oaks" traditions. I refer to this as the Ham War.