grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Dallas Arboretum in Winter

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Hey! Just because we are smack dab in winter doesn’t mean you can’t visit your local arboretum. Dallas Arboretum is a wonderful place to visit any time of year, but in winter you can connect to nature, dream of spring, breathe in a little fresh air without the crowds typical of spring and summer.

Dallas Arboretum in Winter

Whale Tongue Agave

Not to mention, the Dallas Arboretum is one of the most scenic places in Dallas. While throngs of people drive in from all over the Metroplex (and state) to attend Dallas Blooms and Holiday at the Arboretum, my favorite time to attend is off-season. I prefer to visit when the garden is quiet, when the lake vistas are clear through bare branches.

Last weekend we took advantage of the amazing weather and spent the afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum. Trust me, even though the tulips aren’t yet up, there’s plenty to see.

The trees are architectural.Continue Reading

Spicy Vegetable Soup

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spicy veggie soupToday my Spicy Vegetable Soup is featured on Foodie Friday at Arkansas Women Bloggers. I tore this recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine years ago before recipes were published on the internet. That’s how long I’ve been making this Spicy Vegetable Soup which is easily one of the most requested recipes in my family. With a slice of hot cornbread it’s perfection on a cold winter day.

And bonus—it’s simple.

I call this a cheater recipe because the base ingredients include Ro-tel and Ragu Chunky spaghetti sauce. Everything you’ll need for this yummy soup is probably already in your pantry or freezer. For the recipe and step by step method, click HERE and meet me at Arkansas Women Bloggers.

Grace Grits and Gardening

I was a 4-H Dropout.

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4-H dropout

…excerpt from my book (coming soon…) 

I was happiest sitting in my bedroom playing with Barbies or lying underneath a shade tree reading all day. Realizing I was shy and possibly headed down the path of a backward farm girl, Momma signed me up for playgroups and charm school and all kinds of functions I never much enjoyed. In fact, all the Keiser mothers plotted ways to force their children together as often as possible—a break for the adults, an opportunity for the kids to learn a few social skills.

Last year the mothers formed a 4-H group for all the girls. At last, a real club. Something I could get behind.

“Momma will we get to wear special uniforms?” I asked.

“Maybe so,” she said as she poured tea in all the glasses. I could tell she wasn’t really listening to me because she started whining to Daddy about how she needed a new car. I wasn’t paying much attention to them either. Even though it seemed I was only eating supper, I was busy memorizing the official 4-H pledge for our first meeting tomorrow after school. Plus I was thinking about the pig I would raise in our backyard.

Right off I realized the mothers had no idea about the inner workings of a proper 4-H club. Instead of raising a cow or building a chicken coop, we learned to make no-bake lemon icebox pies.

What kind of fake 4-H club was this?!

I didn’t want a cooking badge. I had already perfected a variety of desserts with my Easy Bake Oven. I needed livestock.

How many times had I explained to my friends—yes we are farmers, no we don’t raise animals, yes we grow cotton and soybeans and wheat. It was like we had half a farm—the boring half.  I stuck with 4-H an entire long year because Momma made me, but I never saw or touched or smelled a single farm animal. I always wondered if I quit right before it got good.

Grace Grits and Gardening

4-H Pledge:

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service,
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world. 

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!