We tend toward lighter fare during the spring and summer months, and it always seems like we’re on a weight-loss quest. While I do like to monitor my diet, I just refuse to sacrifice seasonal freshness and an occasional treat.
Smoothies are a terrific way to satisfy nutritional balance with great taste. We often drink them for breakfast or a light lunch or supper. I don’t know about you, but when it gets really hot – not unusual during our Arkansas summers — I prefer not to be weighted down by a heavy meal. It’s not difficult for me to give up a hot kitchen either!
Arkansas ranks 10th in the nation in soybean production. As often as I can, I like to support that effort by using soy products, such as soy milk and tofu. You will always find edamame, shelled and unshelled, in my freezer. Soy foods are powerhouses of nutrition. While none of us is lactose intolerant, I still use soymilk in most dishes that require milk and I’m learning more and more about using tofu as well.
This is one of those recipes that can be prepared in endless ways to suit the preferences of your family. I’m not one to carefully measure my smoothie ingredients, but the ones provided can be used as guides to get you started.
Berry Banana Soy Smoothie
Makes 2 servings.
1/4 cup soy protein powder*
1 banana
1 – 1 1/2 cup berries of your choice (I used blueberries in this example. I prefer to use whatever is currently in season.)
1 – 1 1/2 cup soymilk or vanilla soymilk
1 – 1 1/2 cup ice cubes
2 packets sweetener, 1 Tablespoon honey or 1 Tablespoon agave syrup
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth. Add additional milk or water if the mixture seems to be too thick.
Leftover smoothie? No worries. Freeze in ice cube trays to use later in other smoothies. Or, mix with a little Greek yogurt and freeze in popsicle trays for a cool, summertime treat.
* I use two different soy protein powders. I purchase vanilla HMR 120 through Baptist Health (also available online) or vanilla EAS Soy Protein available at Wal Mart or local health food stores. Use whatever brand you prefer. The powder provides additional nutrition which is really beneficial especially if you are using the smoothie as a meal replacement.
I’d been away for ages because of work and school, so it felt like returning to an old friend. And in a way, I was; several of the farmers remembered me and mentioned they hadn’t seen me in a while.
One of those farmers was Ray Dailey, who sells his Dailey Dairy raw-milk cheeses at the market. He remembered me from the time I wrote an article about his product, one which is quite unusual in the fact that it doesn’t use pasteurized dairy, giving it an unusual, deliciously tangy flavor.
“Where have you been?” he asked. I replied about my crazy schedule the past couple years. He smiled a warm, grandfatherly smile and welcomed me back.
Turns out, Mr. Dailey has expanded his offerings a bit, at least from what I remember. I didn’t need any cheese this visit, but I picked up some fresh garlic and eggs. Marvelous, miraculous eggs with rich, golden yolks and thick albumen. More on that another day.
I walked among the 20-odd market booths, taking photos of the bounty that comes this time of year. Greens, flowers, summer squashes and berries were everywhere. One particularly photogenic table of blackberries called out to me and my camera.
At this booth, Dwayne and Shellia of Kornegay Berry Farms tended to the crowds. Dwayne, a little shy around my camera and notepad, said his wife “does all the talking for him.” I assured him it was no big deal and asked him for a quart of blackberries, asking him what he likes to do with them.
He stood a little straighter and told me about Shellia’s blackberry cobbler, then called her over for an accurate ingredient list. Both were excited to share the recipe, simple enough for her to recall by heart.
“It’s just one and one and one,” she said, “really simple. One stick of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of flour, one cup of milk.” For this foodie, it was a refreshing approach to highlight the fresh, firm berries, likely picked that very morning. But, I still couldn’t help add a few modifications of my own (see below); that’s part of the fun of shared recipes.
With so much growing season left, there is much more to be found at the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market, where every item is guaranteed to be locally grown. Come discover your own treasures and the recipes to go with them!
Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market
6th and Main, North Little Rock
Saturdays during growing season
7 a.m. – noon
Shellia Kornegay’s Cobbler
2 c. berries or fruit, rinsed
1/2 c. sugar
1 stick of butter
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven heats, put the stick of butter in a 8” x 8” baking dish and put it in the oven to melt.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the berries or fruit and the 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir over the heat until the sugar is melted and the berries are cooked down just a bit.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and milk. When the butter is melted, remove the dish from the oven and pour this mixture over the butter. Do not stir.
Add the cooked berries or fruit evenly over the mixture, and again, don’t stir. Place the whole thing back in the oven for 45 minutes. The batter will combine and rise over the fruit.
Add 1 tsp. almond extract to the berries after cooking.
Add 1/2 tsp. baking powder to the batter mixture to give it a bit more lift, or more, up to 1 1/2 tsp.
About 10 minutes before the cobbler is done, remove from the oven and sprinkle 1-2 T. sugar (regular or turbinado) over the whole thing and return to the oven for a crunchy top.
Christie Ison writes the blog Fancy Pants Foodie when she’s not wrangling her two kids and husband or teaching cooking classes. She is a Certified Culinarian with the American Culinary Federation and has loved writing and cooking since she can remember. She really likes to sleep and still doesn’t know what she wants to do when she grows up.
A few weeks ago, during our trip to Moss Mountain Farm for #Bean2Blog, we had some incredible food to eat along with the feast of beautiful scenery we took in with our eyes. Besides the delicious lunch of pork tenderloin, edamame succotach, potato with spicy tofu topping (I was scared of it but it was amazing!) and a fabulous apple cake, P. Allen Smith also demonstrated his favorite edamame hummus recipe.
Edamame hummus is not something new to the blogosphere, you see. It’s been around for a while, but I was always scared because the color – although admittedly one that I love – seemed a little strange to me for hummus. I tend to get in a rut with my food at times, and to me hummus always needed to be a dull neutral color to be good.
However, as is the story with most things I claim to not like, time wore on and my uncanny ability to both eat and love just about every foodstuff that crosses my lips reared its wonderful head. Plus I couldn’t claim to be a food blogger and then not eat what was put in front of me, right?
So on that fateful day a few weeks ago I went for it. I watched the hummus being made, saw that it was indeed good, and (after boldly – for typically introverted me – asking WHERE ON EARTH P. Allen Smith had acquired such a quiet food processor) devoured my little cup in a matter of seconds. Since then, I’ve been itching to recreate that delicious snack, and finally found my own little version of the original recipe that I can’t stop eating. This spicy edamame dip is high in protein and fiber and is best eaten with deliciously sweet veggie chips, carrot sticks or a spoon!
1 cup shelled edamame
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Serve cold or at room temperature with your favorite dippers!
Heather’s passion for food, writing, photography and travel led her to begin a food and life-based blog, Heather’s Dish, where she blogs on a daily basis. She also coordinates a blog dedicated to encouraging women to see their own true beauty, FacesofBeauty.org, which is run solely from individual contributions. In her free time you can find Heather working out, playing hide-and-seek with her son, kneading bread or hiking with her family. She is a wife, mother, storyteller, writer, hopeful crafter and all-around completely blessed person!
Creamy, eggy dishes served with cheesy grits and an excuse to eat pancakes smothered in syrup after noon. These are just a few of the reasons that I love brunch.
But, brunch can also get boring when you get in a rut of fixing the same dishes with the same flavors.
These Key Lime Donuts are sure to surprise your brunch guests with a zip of flavor and sweet, soft cake-like donuts. When I say key lime, I mean it. Every part of these baked donuts is livened up with the wonderful tang of summer key lime. The dough and icing are filled with a combination of lime juice and zest. And you get to make your own buttermilk by combining milk with lime juice. How cool is that?
If you don’t have a donut pan, I highly suggest buying one. They usually run around $10 and allow you to make healthier, flavorful homemade donuts easily.
If you want to put something new on your brunch table and share my love for the tang of key lime, whip up a batch of these Key Lime Donuts.
*Click on recipe to enlarge and save.
Grace Flack is a proofreader, writer and social media guru by career and a foodie and food blogger by love. She resides in Fayetteville, Ark., with her wonderful husband, Jason, and always has a mystery novel by her bedside.
Eighteen Arkansas Women Bloggers (and one lucky P.Allen Smith fan and her guest} visited Smith at his Moss Mountain Garden Home this last Tuesday for the second annual Bean2Blog event. We spent the day touring the farm and its beautiful gardens before getting down to the business of beans. Soybeans that is.
The event was sponsored by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (http://www.themiraclebean.com/). The board’s main purpose is to improve profitability of soybean production in Arkansas and to educate Arkansans of the many uses for soybeans. Did you know that farmers in fifty of Arkansas’ seventy five counties grow soybeans? Neither did I.
Soybean oil is used in the production of candles, lotions for personal care, cleaning products, and even in the manufacturing of clothing such as socks made from Soysilk. Probably the most well known use of soybeans is for eating. Tofu, edamame, soy sauce, and soy milk are just some of the food products of soybeans. Edamame is my second favorite {tofu being the first because I’m soy-timental about it-my fiance introduced me to it and I fell in love with him and with tofu!}.
After Bean2Blog, I was inspired to use up some frozen shelled edamame that I had stocked up in anticipation of the event. Thom and I spent the evening chopping vegetables and shredding cheese and whipped up a tasty edamame and spinach frittata. I hope you’ll enjoy!
Spinach Edamame Frittatta
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
S & P to taste
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, medium diced
2 jalapenos, finely diced
1 lbs fresh spinach, rinsed, torn, and stems removed
10 oz shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 shredded pepper jack cheese
Cook edamame according to package directions, drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. You’ll need a 10-inch oven proof skillet. Cast iron is perfect for this dish.
Crack eggs into a glass bowl. Whisk until lightly beaten. Add milk, parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
On the stove top, add olive oil to skillet over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and saute for about two minutes or until is just about to turn brown. Be careful to not burn. Throw in the diced pepper and jalapenos. Cook over medium heat until just tender. Add cooked edamame and the spinach. Cook down to wilt the spinach.
Pour egg mixture into the skillet, stirring to incorporate vegetables. Cook on the stove top, swirling the eggs and using a spatula to pull back the cooked egg and allow the wet egg to flow to the sides of the pan. Repeat motion as needed until the egg is set around the edges.
Place the partially-set eggs into the preheated oven to finish, 10 to 12 minutes. When almost firm, add sliced tomato on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded pepperjack cheese and place back into the oven to melt the cheese. Alternatively. you may place the skillet under a broiler.
Remove from oven when the egg is set and the cheese is melted. Slice into wedges and serve with a side salad or garlic toast.
Need even more soy recipes? Visit P. Allen Smith’s A Taste of Soy eBook (www.atasteofsoy.themiraclebean.com) for recipes and cooking tips using this miracle bean!
I don’t hear this question at market as often as I once did (thanks Michael Pollan, et al), but it often comes up when discussing food and farming in other arenas. As I wrapped up a delivery to Hillcrest Artisan Meats just the other day someone stopped me with a whole slew of questions that often come bunched together; “Why local anyway? I can’t afford it all the time and I mean, I like eating broccoli and tomatoes and bacon whenever I want, is that so bad?” I suspect many people grapple with this topic in the age of the locavore. Since the fine ladies here at Arkansas Women Bloggers have loaned me a soapbox for the day, I thought it would be fun to unpack some of the “local” dogma and explain why eating local is important to me as a mother, a consumer of food, and a small farmer here in Arkansas.
Let’s be real, no one, not even the staunchest locavore only eats local all the time. We’re real people who go out to dinner, need something quick midweek, and want to feed our kids something healthy they’ll actually eat, even if that means broccoli or green beans every night all year long. Besides, what would I do without coffee? The point is this isn’t an all or nothing situation. We can have our exotic fruits, our Midwestern grains, and our local okra too. But when we choose local, even for just a few items, a lot more than a bundle of green beans is involved.
Consumer Freedom & Farmer Responsibility We’ve all heard the countless, unending stories of dangerous bacteria making people sick (and worse), of pink slime, of terribly inhumane treatment of farm workers and animals alike. The halo of shock and revulsion around these stories is useful, since change must start with an awareness of the problem, but as soon as the next political scandal comes to light, we move on before the real message sinks in- these are actually stories of people being hurt by little or no corporate responsibility and abdicated choice on the part of the consumer. In plain speak, our giant food producing companies are no longer responsible to the consumer for the quality and integrity of their products, instead giving us exactly what we have chosen as consumers- cheap food at any cost. When something goes wrong with this system, it can take weeks or months to track down what happened, by which time hundreds or thousands of people have been injured. Then its up to some agency somewhere to dole out a punishment and reassure the public. Should we discover that we ate some of that same spinach or peanut butter, we have no recourse but to wait and see and maybe get a coupon for a replacement product, how do we know we won’t get the short straw next time? In this system, we’ve given up our power as consumers, and to me that’s not worth the gamble, no matter what the price of the cantaloupe was.
By contrast, when you shop with a local farmer (and here I’m talking about the ones that actually grow the items they sell), they are responsible to you from the very outset. They have just a handful of customers and every single one of them is vital to the successful livelihood of that grower. I’ve worked my own tail off to bring these things to delight and nourish you, I feed them to my own small children and my friends, and you know how and where to find me if something isn’t right. When you work with a local grower, you have the freedom, the right, to know everything you want about your food. You can ask me how I grew it, find out if my methods meet your standards, come by and see it growing if you like. This is something no seal or certification, no government agency can give you and something you won’t find in a grocery store.
Food Quality I’m responsible not only for the safety of the foods I grow, but also how good it tastes and how it performs in your kitchen. If my Animal Welfare Approved, pasture-raised meats don’t make you feel good or fail the taste test, then no matter what touchy-feely Organic-y thing I have going on, I know you won’t be coming back for more. Your local growers have a lot more than bargain prices in mind when they’re growing your food and this often includes real, nutrient-dense, richly flavorful quality.
The improvement in quality when eating locally is most obvious when produce is considered- flavor alone makes it plainly clear when a tomato was picked ripe within the last 24 hours versus the picked-green-and-gassed options in most stores. Often the difference is not as immediately clear with meats, and yet it is there. Nearly all of our meat is sold frozen, and yet it is still fresher and of better quality than what can be found in grocery stores. Our meat is frozen within hours of processing and kept frozen until our customers choose to unfreeze, it unlike store meat which are often frozen and thawed many times before reaching the end customer. Through this process vital juices and the micronutrients they hold are replaced by preservatives and who-knows-what else. Yuck, no thanks.
But what about the money? This is a top 5 question among market-going customers. They might be convinced on all the other reasons, but it still hurts to spend more than they’re used to compared to grocery store products. Boy do I get it, if I wasn’t the grower, we couldn’t afford to buy such high quality grass-fed and pasture-raised animal products and it’s taken me years to learn how to eat in line with local and “organic” ideals while not breaking the bank. From the other side of the table, I can tell you there’s no scheme or ploy, we charge the minimum that we need to make ends meet. As a small scale grower, and one committed to humane care practices, we don’t have the advantages of big guys in keeping prices down. We have no big machinery or automated feedlot systems. We buy our feed by the pallet, not on the commodity market. Our heritage breed animals grow more slowly than the Franken-meat-machines and take a little more feed to get there. We employ a local, family-owned butcher to do our cutting, not a dangerous, questionably staffed rendering plant. Our own sweat and muscle fills in when the ends don’t meet and it all comes together, penny by penny, to create a cost of production often higher than the retail prices in big box stores. There are of course, tricks to making each package stretch a little further, one of which is the recipe I’ve included below.
30 minute Sausage Skillet
This my go-to skillet dinner. Serves 4. For an Asian flair, try sesame oil, ground beef or mild sausage, and toss in a handful of plain peanuts.
Ingredients:
2-3 tbl coconut oil, olive oil, or lard
1 onion, diced
a couple cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped fine
Vegetables! These are all great options: A Half bunch of kale, ½ head cabbage chopped, a cup of purple hull peas, large handful of green beans, one yellow or zephyr squash sliced, diced eggplant, any tomatoes. The more variety, the better.
½ lb sausage, Linguica, chorizo, and jalapeno are all good options.
2 cups quinoa, whole wheat couscous, lentils, or precooked rice.
Steps:
Begin preparing your quinoa or other base grain/pasta/bean
Heat a heavy skillet (I use an extra large cast iron one) over medium heat. Add the oil and brown the sausage. I usually cook a whole package and set at least half aside for another meal.
Once evenly cooked through, remove the meat leaving any sausage grease and oil that may have accumulated in the pan- remember, this is antioxidant-rich healthy fat from happy pastured animals. It will boost the flavor of your whole dish while passing along great omegas and micronutrients. Now add onions and garlic and brown gently. If you are including eggplant, I recommend adding it now since it can take a little longer than other veggies.
After a couple minutes, add all the other, and toss. Cook for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally.
Toss in your cooked sausage and stir.
Add half of your quinoa or lentils or couscous or whatever it is you have been preparing, reserving the rest for another time. I like to add it directly to the mix in the skillet and toss together, but you may prefer to serve your stir-fry over the top of your grains. Salt to taste and serve.
Katie grew up in Berkeley, CA where she always dreamed of farming. In 2004 she made her way to Arkansas and started Farm Girl Natural Foods with a small flock of sheep. In 2007 she married her very own Ohio farm boy and together they started a family. Today, she and Travis work together with their two lovely young daughters to raise woodland hogs, grassfed cows, and pasture-raised chickens on their homestead and leased lands in Perry County.
After a long winter of buying food that has been grown hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles from home, it’s a happy day for me in Northeast Arkansas when the ASU Regional Farmers’ Market opens again for business. The market is located at the corner of Stadium Boulevard and Aggie Road, just across from the beautiful Red Wolves Stadium in in Jonesboro. Produce sold at the market is grown by local farmers, and selection varies with the weather and time of year. In addition to seasonal produce, you can expect to find a variety of plants, honey, jellies, eggs, and baked goods. Shoppers enjoy live music, and there are also children’s activities available.
On my first trip to the ASU Farmers’ Market this year, I was drawn to these appealing jalapeño peppers. As soon as I saw them, I knew I wanted to take home a whole box of them for some weekend appetizers.
The peppers were large and fresh, so I took them home and found an old favorite recipe for Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños.
Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños
1 pound sausage
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound large fresh jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil; spray lightly with cooking spray. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, cook until evenly browned; drain grease. In a large bowl, mix the browned sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each jalapeño half. Arrange stuffed halves on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.
A batch of these little appetizers won’t last long, so grab a couple; just don’t burn your tongue!
I can’t wait to see what’s at the Farmers’ Market next week, the local produce is just so much fresher and tastier, and I’m pretty sure it’s more nutritious too. My taste buds are happy.
I’m Anita, and I blog at Aunt Nubby’s Kitchen where I’m always striving to make my house a welcoming home for friends and family. I’d love for you to visit and check out the recipe index and home organization tips. When the cooking’s done, I also blog about children and family relationships at The Family Dance. Stop in for a visit there too!
One of the many {many} things I love about food is that you can experience an array of memories around a certain recipe. The smell. The taste. It can all take you back so vividly to a time a place in your memory.
This recipe I am sharing today does just that for my family and me. My maternal grandmother, MeMaw, passed away 7 years ago. While we miss her dearly, especially on special days such as Sunday, her memory is still alive in our hearts and minds, and it is alive in our kitchens when we make some of her special recipes.
Italian Cream Cake was one of her “go-to” dessert recipe. She often made it as birthday cakes for her family and as our dessert for holidays and family gatherings. This was even the recipe you will find next to her name in the church cookbook. You know if it’s “your recipe” in the Baptist cookbook, then it’s a special recipe!
In honor of Mother’s Day Weekend, I thought it would be a special treat to team-up with my mom to make and share my grandmother’s recipe with you all. We got together this past week and made MeMaw’s Italian Cream Cake.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! It would be a great dessert to share at your Mother’s Day celebration this weekend.
Italian Cream Cake
Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 can coconut (3 ounces)
1 cup chopped pecans (plus extra for topping)
Icing:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 lb confectioners’ sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening until mixed well. Add in sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time and beat well.Sift in flour and soda; mix well. Add buttermilk and 1 tsp vanilla; mix well.
Fold in egg whites, coconut and 1 cup pecans. Pour into 3 greased and floured 8″ round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cakes test done. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Combine 1/4 cup butter, cream cheese, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl; beat well. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.
Top cake with chopped pecans.
Jennifer is a wife, a momma of a 4 year old boy and 2 year old girl, and Director of Women’s Ministry at Cross Church Fayetteville.
She and her crew are the family behind TheFrancisFamilyBlog.com, where Jennifer blogs about the crazy daily-happenings of their life. Some of Jennifer’s favorite things (aside from her adorable family) include working out, Sonic Cokes, and cheering on the Hogs in their hometown of Fayetteville.
Janis is a wife, a mom to two grown girls, and “GiGi” to Brody, Jillian Kate and Elliott (arriving this summer). When she isn’t working in the business office of their church, you can find her spending time with her family and grandbabies, or riding around NW Arkansas with her husband in their classic Corvette. Although Janis doesn’t blog, she is an avid blog reader, and especially enjoys reading food and recipe blogs.
As a member of the Herb Society of NWA and as a farmers market vendor selling herbs, people frequently sing Scarborough Fair to me. I’m not really sure why. It is a lovely song, though. Have you heard the song, Scarborough Fair?
“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
For he once was a true love of mine.”
Do you know the herbs listed in that song will create a delicious recipe? A verse should be added about garlic, though, to make the dish complete!
All of these herbs grow either in my garden or in my greenhouse. ‘Not a gardener? No worries! Fresh herbs are available in the produce section of most grocery stores. Try this recipe and your entire family will be singing!
Scarborough Fair Butter
A small handful of fresh parsley
2 Sprigs of Sage, about three inches long
2 Sprigs of Rosemary, about three inches long
1 Sprig of Thyme, about two inches long
1 clove of garlic
1 half cup salted butter, softened
Remove herb leaves from their stems and finely chop. The pieces need to be tiny. Once chopped, the herbs should total about 1/4 cup. Stir the herbs into the butter until well blended. Re-shape and refrigerate. The mixture will need to rest at least overnight before serving.
There are many ways to use the tasty butter. It can be melted over vegetables or used to cook poultry, breads, rice and even cornbread stuffing. Of course, any Arkansas girl knows how to butter a biscuit! ;-)Use Scarborough Fair Butter to make a scrumptious grilled cheese sandwich. Here’s how!
Butter two slices of bread with this yummy concoction. Place one slice of the buttered bread in a hot skillet and top with your favorite cheese. Once that side is toasted, top with the other slice of bread. Flip the sandwich and continue cooking until both slices are toasted and the cheese is melted.
Your family will think you have become a chef!
Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Will you please pick up some chicken and cheese? That song makes me hungry!
Remember to visit my Stone Cottage each week as I give tips on simple ways to bring herbs into your everyday life. Look for the posts titled “A Place to Begin”.
Hello! My name is Marci. Our home is an old rock farmhouse built in the 1930s. There are two greenhouses, a vegetable garden, herbs, several flower beds, lots of hobbies and too many pets. Thankfully, our neighbors love us! They say being our neighbor is like living next door to Old MacDonald and Martha Stewart! My blog is Stone Cottage Adventures . Will you please visit us often?
Looking for a an easy salad with lots of taste? Try this easy Kicky Avocado Kale Salad. It’s healthy and the avocado’s natural oils are the base of your salad dressing. I can eat my weight in this salad.
Ingredients
5-6 leaves kale, chopped to bite size pieces
1 1/2 avocado, divided
1-3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of salt
Wash the Kale really well and remove the center stem. Chop into bite size pieces and set aside.
In a bowl, add 1 large avocado, garlic, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt.
In a bowl, mix the ingredients by hand or fork to make the dressing. (I do this with my hand.)
With your hands fold in the avocado mixture into the kale. Keep folding until all the kale leaves are thoroughly coated.
Take half an avocado and slice. Garnish the salad with avocado slices and dash or two of cayenne pepper.
Enjoy!
Kelly Jo at Delta Moxie
In 2007, Kellee Mayfield and her family moved to Lake Village. Kellee was quickly given the nicknamed “Kelly Jo” and the name stuck.
As an Oklahoma native, Kelly Jo writes about living in very southeast Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta which has been penned the most Southern place on earth. She also shares her art as well as the art of resourcefulness as being the key to really small town living. Kellee is a mother, wife and contract clinical specialist for a medical device company. And she has a southern drawl. Catch up with Kelly Jo at Delta Moxie
Edamame hummus is not something new to the blogosphere, you see. It’s been around for a while, but I was always scared because the color – although admittedly one that I love – seemed a little strange to me for hummus. I tend to get in a rut with my food at times, and to me hummus always needed to be a dull neutral color to be good.
Heather’s passion for food, writing, photography and travel led her to begin a food and life-based blog, 
Top cake with chopped pecans.
