grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

WANTED: My very own Geek.

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Yesterday, if I’d stumbled upon a genie bottle with a real live genie inside, I’d have rubbed it, as one does, and when the genie floated out in a stream of purple vapor, I would have wished for only one thing.

My very own Geek.

Wanted: my very own geek!

Oh, what I would have given for the Geek Squad to pull up to my curb and spend a few hours with me and my slowing dying MacBook. I had almost reached the point of hurling it into the back yard, but I couldn’t because it contains so much of my life.

And how pitiful does that sound?Continue Reading

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made mini pineapple upside down cake for bookclub Tuesday night. Our book of the month was The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin, which I’m sorry to say I haven’t read yet. Even so, since the book was set in the 1950s and 60s, I wanted to make a retro-chic dessert popular during that time.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake has an interesting history that originated back when most everything was cooked in a cast iron skillet. Flip cakes, as they were known, involved some sort of fruit on the bottom—usually apples, cherries or plums—layered with sugar and a thin batter. The cake could be baked on an open fire, stovetop, or oven. When the batter was done, flipping the cake onto a plate made for an instant fruit and glazed sugar display. (If you think about it, this sounds almost like a layered cobbler.)Continue Reading

hiking Devil’s Eyebrow

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hiking devil's eyebrow

Devil’s Eyebrow, near Eureka Springs, is a natural area consisting of stream beds, ravines, and old logging roads. Until 2012, it was privately owned land. Now, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) co-own and manage this gorgeous spot in the Ozarks. Before I go any further let me emphasize—a natural area is a specific designation given to areas where steps are being taken to protect, preserve and sometimes restore the ecosystems as they existed before Arkansas settlement. Very cool.

Last week I hiked the area with a group of University of Arkansas Olli folks. With the glorious weather and turning leaves, I should have been embracing fall, but for whatever reason I was still clinging to summer—maybe because it flew by in such a blur I have to squint to remember it. And I was feeling a bit let down that I didn’t accomplish everything I meant to accomplish.

That’s my coulda, shoulda, woulda reality.

Do we ever get it all done?

This hike turned out to be good for my soul. I was reminded of the importance of taking a break. Channeling your inner kid is a good thing.Continue Reading

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