Mother's Day Picnic

Traditionally, my family goes out for pizza on Mother's Day. But this year, we decided to shake tradition with a lovely spring picnic at Lake Frierson State Park in Arkansas. The lake is a quick 20-minute drive from my hometown, and it's about an hour away from Memphis.

I have the best Mama, Me-maw, and Granny in the whole world ever! My Mama is a cookbook-collecting, live music enthusiast (country and blues) with a penchant for Harley Davidson gear and anything shiny (she calls it her "bling"). Over the years, she's done sooooo much for me. She's giving, humble, and probably the most self-less person I know. Here's my mom and me at the lake today (ignore my windblown hair):

My Me-maw and Granny are equally awesome. Here they are — Me-maw (my mom's mom) is on the left and Granny (my dad's mom) is on the right.

Me-maw is a church-going, animal-loving, avid reader with a heart of gold. And she's fiercely determined and stubborn as can be. After a recent shoulder injury, the doctors told her she wouldn't be able to lift her arm again. But she wasn't having that at all. Today, both arms are fully functional.

Any regular Crunk readers probably already know all about my Granny. She's been hard at work using her amazing kitchen skills to veganize many of her cherished family recipes for cakes, pies, and savory casseroles for my future cookbook. Granny can do ANYTHING in the kitchen. Seriously. Today, she even took me foraging for wild poke salad around the lake! Expect a poke salad post really soon.

The rest of the fam grilled meat burgers and hot dogs, but my daddy threw me a Tofurkey Beer Brat and a Boca Vegan Burger on the grill:

I had my burger sans bun since I was eating so much, and I topped it with a little Daiya cheese. Also on my plate are my mom's awesome baked beans, Granny's fabulous vegan potato salad with her homemade pickles, chips and guacamole.

The whole picnic idea was a lot more fun than our old pizza tradition. I think it's a keeper!