grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Spicy Creamed Carrots and Cauliflower (and a colon cancer awareness announcement)

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spicy creamed carrots and cauliflower

Hey everyone! If you’re looking for a healthy, flavorful substitute for mashed potatoes, my recipe for spicy creamed carrots and cauliflower is a winner. It has a back-end spicy kick and very few calories. Hello, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian.

Yes, I like mashed potatoes with cream gravy just like the next normal person. I’m a fan of mashed sweet potatoes, too. But my spicy creamed carrots and cauliflower makes a tasty side dish without all the calories. Try it with roast chicken or grilled pork chops. Yum.

One of my 2017 goals is to cook more at home and to try new recipes. Well, I haven’t been home all that much, but the past few days I have been. And I’m making up for the bad (delicious) food I recently enjoyed at the Jonquil Festival, most of which was served on a stick.

Why does everything served on a stick taste heavenly? (I have a theory that dips well beyond the grease involved, but that’s for another time.)

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Four Garden Days

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In four garden days my Thalia daffodils bloomed

Happy Second Day of Spring! On this second Day of Spring (note my use of capitalization as though each day of spring is a holiday) I bring you pictures from the First Day of Spring. A delayed broadcast of sorts. After a weekend spent at the Jonquil Festival in Washington, Arkansas, I’m running behind on unpacking, laundry, writing, grocery shopping, most everything. Everything other than spending time outside which is what I found myself doing yesterday.

One of the first things I do when I return home from a trip is inspect my garden. I can’t wait to see what’s blooming, what’s changed, what’s new.

Do you do this?

I was only out of town four days. But this time of year, four garden days equals lots of beauty and growth.Continue Reading

Wilson, Arkansas: How Geography Shapes a Place

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Wilson, Arkansas: How Geography Shapes a Place—downtown square

(This post is sponsored by Designsensory, Inc. Opinions are my own.)

I’ve been thinking about how geography shapes a place. Not only the physical landscape, which often determines the direction a town grows (nestled within a valley or spread across the flat prairie), but also the way geography shapes the culture of a place. Over time, geographic location has certainly played a significant role in the culture of Wilson, Arkansas. From Mississippi River swampland to cotton empire to Delta town of the present, Wilson is distinctive in part because of the very landscape surrounding it.

Wilson, Arkansas —McFadden grave in cotton field

Consider the Music.

If a highway can affect culture, Highway 61 has certainly played a role in the small towns scattered throughout the Delta. Also known as the Great River Road, this American byway passes through downtown Wilson, paving the area in blues history. Many of our country’s greatest musicians played juke joints all throughout northeast Arkansas including a few miles north in Osceola and south to Twist.

B. B. King christened his guitar Lucille in Twist after a fight over a woman and a fire that left its mark in Delta history.

There’s no denying the Delta has long been a hotbed of passion and inspiration. My theory? The rural, pancake-flat landscape of northeast Arkansas lends itself to creativity. When one lives in a setting pulled straight from the pages of a Flannery O’Conner novel, the mind is free to wander and dream with no boundaries.

That’s a mighty far distance.

Wilson, Arkansas - Highway 61 / Great River Road
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