grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Oatmeal Blueberry Bars

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Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

In my constant quest to add fiber to my diet, I made oatmeal blueberry bars this week. I followed this recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny (what a fun name!), making a few substitutions for things I didn’t have and was too lazy to go buy.

We were completely out of milk. Sort of a requirement for baking, right? Of course, I could have walked down to the Co-op for more milk, but by the time I realized it, I had already mixed half the ingredients together. (See? I didn’t follow my own advice of assembling all the ingredients before starting.)

Oopsie.

Sometimes we have to be flexible and willing to experiment.

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Fresh Corn Salad with Basil

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Fresh Corn Salad with Basil
Fresh Corn Salad with Basil

Yay! Sweet corn is in season. If you’re like me, you are always looking for ways to serve it. When you grow corn, on a good year you end up more corn than you can say grace over…

This fresh corn salad with basil is the summertime side dish to accompany all your grilling endeavors including pork, chicken, beef, or seafood. If you follow a plant-based diet, fresh corn salad will fit right in with your menu. And it isn’t heavy like some summer sides.

Basil

Basil truly takes most everything up a notch. And when you can use basil and onions from your garden? Well, that’s a bonus.

Fresh Corn Salad with Basil

Here’s the recipe:

Fresh Corn Salad with Basil

Print Recipe
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 4 ears of sweet corn
  • 1/3 cup green onion / whites and stems
  • 2.5 T apple cider vinegar
  • 2.5 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Dash of cayenne to taste
  • 1/2 cup freshly julienned basil

Method
 

  1. Boil corn approximately 4 minutes in salty water. Drain water and plunge corn in cold water to stop the cooking. When cooled, cut kernels from cob.
  2. Mix onion with vinegar, olive oil, salt and peppers. Pour over corn and combine. Fold in basil.
  3. Serve cold or room temperature.

Make It Your Own

Corn Salad with Basil can be served as a dip with a sturdy chip. Or, add it as a topping to your tacos for a little extra zip. As a yummy variation, toss in feta crumbles or mozzarella cubes, because cheeeeeese.

Even if you don’t grow it, corn is widely available at the grocery store and farmer’s market. I recommend you stock up (but don’t horde, that’s not cool). If you freeze it, you can enjoy fresh corn year around. My rockstar gardening friend Rachel at The Homestead Life shows you how to freeze corn like a pro. Check out her post HERE and give her a follow. She’s amazing!

What are your favorite summertime sides?

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

Morel Mushroom Frittata

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Morel Mushroom Frittata

I’m excited to show you this morel mushroom frittata I made yesterday. Or whatever day it was. AllTheDaysAreTheSame when you are trying to stay home. (Today is technically #StayHomeDay10 for me.)

Morel Season!

Like I said in my most recent Sunday Letter, it’s morel mushroom season in Northwest Arkansas. Since I foraged a bowlful, I wanted to make something special with them using what was on hand. Last year when I found morels, I added them to fettuccine. This year, I came up with a morel mushroom frittata inspired by a recipe from Farmer’s Almanac. I divided the filling between two small, individual ramekins, the perfect serving size for our breakfast.

I even tried my hand at baking a design on top. (More on this below.)Continue Reading

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!