grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Botanical Christmas Cookies

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Botanical Christmas Cookies

Botanical Christmas Cookies 🌱❃

I baked six dozen sugar cookies for a garden club luncheon last week. Since we are all rather fond of plants, I went with a semi-botanical theme using fresh violas and fennel from our garden. I also used dried herbs and other nuts, fruits, and candies from my pantry.

My goal was to create simple, delicious cookies that looked like those I imagined Marmee might have baked for Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg. She would have used whatever goodness had been put up from the March orchard and garden, along with sprinkles of sugar and spices valued like gold dust.

What an entertaining baking project this turned out to be.

And the best part—I foraged the decorations from my own pantry and garden. I was so pleased with how my botanical Christmas cookies turned out, I thought I would share my ideas with you.

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How to Make a Charcuterie Board

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how to make a charcuterie board

Today I’m sharing tips on how to make a charcuterie board. This is my new favorite thing to create for any type of get-together. If there’s one thing Covid has taught me, it’s to make even the smallest gatherings festive.

Making a charcuterie board isn’t rocket science, but there is an art to creating a beautiful arrangement. Charcuterie boards have become so popular, catering businesses create entire grazing tables for parties and events, charging $60 per square foot (as though buying real estate). So yes, knowing how to make one can come in handy no matter the size of your gathering—from a few couples to a wedding.

charcuterie table

(Unsplash)

The definition of charcuterie according to Merriam-Webster is a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes. Also, the products sold in such a shop. 

Over time, we’ve taken the French word charcuterie and made it fit our personal tastes, made it generic. What I’m trying to say is I sometimes make charcuterie boards without meat. But in the true sense of the word, it would include dry salami and Italian prosciutto.Continue Reading

6 Meyer Lemon Recipes

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meyer lemon recipes

Today I have six Meyer Lemon Recipes to share with you. You may remember from a recent Sunday Letter, our soon-to-be neighbor gave us a sack of Meyer lemons from her trees in Houston. You know the saying, when life gives you lemons? Well, I didn’t make lemonade, but I was inspired to try a few new recipes.

Lemony foods are my favorite! No kidding, I would rather have a lemon-flavored dessert than chocolate.

I’ve not wasted a drip of juice or a sliver of zest. And can I just say, these are the juiciest, zestiest lemons I’ve ever had. A true blast of sunshine. The most joyful of all the fruits.

lemon

Lemon Zest

So what did I make?

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Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

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