Mother's Cookies is a brand that originally had a bakery based in Oakland, California, that operated from 1914 to 2008. A sister company, Archway Cookies of Battle Creek, Michigan, was founded in 1936. Both Mother's Cookies and Archway declared bankruptcy in 2008. At its height, the company distributed cookies throughout the United States, and was one of the leading cookie makers in the country. The Kellogg Company acquired the Mother's Cookies trademark and recipes in December 2008 and brought the brand back to West Coast grocery store shelves on May 14, 2009.

Mother's was founded in 1914 when Woodrow Wilson declared that Mother's Day would be a national holiday in the USA. The founder was N.M. Wheatley, a newspaper vendor. The company was sold to Artal NV, a Belgian company, then bought by Specialty Foods Corp., a conglomerate formed by the Bass Brothers.

Archway was founded in 1936 by the Swansons, a husband-and-wife team who baked soft-batch cookies in their garage. The Swansons expanded their company nationwide in the 1940s, changing its name to Archway to avoid conflict with Swanson, a maker of frozen dinners. In 1962 the founders sold the company to their vice president, George Markham, who bought most of the franchises back over the next several years. Markham in turn sold the company to two employees, who operated it from 1983 to 1996. The company was sold to Specialty Foods in 1998, reportedly for $100 million. The transaction made Specialty Foods the third largest cookie maker in the United States after Keebler and Nabisco.

The two companies then went through a succession of owners. Specialty Foods sold Mother's and Archway to an Italian firm, Parmalat Finanziaria in 2000 for $250 million.[citation needed] As of 2002 Mother's was baking 17.5 million cookies per day. Cookie sales began to decline after 2000 due to low-fat and low carb diet trends, although sales improved when the company introduced low fat cookies, and accounted for 10% of the United States cookie market as of late 2004. Parmalat filed for bankruptcy amidst a scandal involving illegal sale of corporate bonds. Parmalat in turn sold the companies to Catterton Partners, a private equity firm in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 2005, The new operators closed the Oakland factory in 2006, laid off all 230 workers without warning, and moved baking operations to Ohio and Canada. The company suffered an accounting scandal in 2008 and in October 2008, the company became a victim of the financial crisis of 2007–2010 when the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laid off all of its workers.

In December, 2008, Lance Inc. bought the assets of Archway, and soon reopened the former Archway factory in Ashland, Ohio. Also, the same month Kelloggs was approved to buy the assets of Mother's Cookies with plans to return the products to the shelves in mid-2009. In May 2009, Mother's Cookies returned to store shelves, including Kellogg's launch of a website for the product.

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Wow folks. I feel like this project has really turned a corner. I don't think I've consistently cooked such good food. Forty days and I really feel like this 'making dinner' thing is not so hard. What was all the anxiety about anyways?

I still have to get around to some of the recipes friends and family have sent me. I am focusing on recipes that include whole foods, locally grown organic produce and meats, and nothing too processed (I make an exception for veganaise, my love). Tonight I found another gem from allrecipes.com. And the whole time I was cooking, I listened to Rupa & the April Fishes (shout out!)

Ahi Fish Burgers (makes 4-5 patties)

1 pound fresh tuna steaks, minced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
2 eggs
1/3 cup panko crumbs
1 tablespoon veganaise
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together tuna, carrot, onion, chives, eggs, panko crumbs, and mayonnaise. Season with garlic salt and black pepper. Form into patties.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Arrange patties in the pan (only as many as will fit easily in the pan). Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

I paired this with:

Strawberry Spinach Salad

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.


Good. Lord. The Ahi Burger was perfection. You don't have to cook it for so long- just blackening the outsides will heat up the middle just enough. I got the freshest steak at Bi-Rite so I'm sure that helped a lot with taste, too.
The Salad was a great compliment. And the dressing was out of this world. The orignal recipe called for white sugar, I used brown. The Worchestershire and paprika really kicked it up a notch. I might use shallots instead of onions next time.

Try this one, you'll love it!