grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Sun-Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Spread

December 28, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

My husband makes this delectable goat cheese spread for every special occasion. With only four ingredients, the dish is simple and oh so flavorful with sweet and savory sun-dried tomatoes, tangy goat cheese and fresh basil.

Ingredients

Goat Cheese, 8 ounces

1 head of Garlic, top trimmed

5 T Basil, chopped

6 oil packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes, chopped

Note: We are typically heavy handed with herbs and tomatoes—the more the better! Adjust ingredients according to your taste preference.

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place garlic on aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, seal foil and bake one hour. (Quick tip: To save time, use minced garlic and sauté in a skillet…)

When cooled enough to handle, squeeze garlic bulbs into a bowl with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and cheese. Blend well.

Form into a ball or log. Chill in the refrigerator several hours before serving.

Spread over crackers, serve with baguette slices or as a dip with sturdy chips. (Sturdy because the spread is thick…)

Happy New Year!

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Simple, Perfect Gifts

December 27, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

Another Christmas has come and gone. Santa was good to me. Again.

I love Christmastime. All the hustle and bustle and decking of halls stirs memories of holidays spent with family members no longer with us.

But they are with us, especially at Christmastime.

Papa Creecy with his big red sack saying ho, ho, ho! Nana laughing about something. (She was always laughing.) Mammaw Ruby rolling out dumpling dough on her kitchen table. Papa Homer passing out sticks of Juicy Fruit to all the kids.

This year we made a few new memories playing board games, attending church services, cooking together, wrapping presents.

Ah yes, the presents can be stressful. But gifts are part of the fun, especially giving and receiving that perfect simple gift—not expensive or fancy—but chosen from the heart.

Here are a few of my favorite gifts this year.

Journals. Aren’t they gorgeous? A beautiful journal filled with blank pages represents such possibility…

A Zoku slush maker. This is exactly like the slush maker my sister and I had as kids. I am soooooo excited about this. See, it’s in the freezer ready to go.

Look at these adorable Mudpie Glittens (gloves/mittens). I wore them to the Dallas Mavericks game last night. (The Mavs didn’t win, but the family made more fun holiday memories…)

The Flavor Bible. I specifically asked for this. I heard it is life changing.

Of course the best gift of all was time spent with family.

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?

talya

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

Hemingway’s Barn

December 26, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Stories that waited for paper now wait for me.

With so much to say, I search for a worthy beginning. Thoughts that swirled and drifted through dreams, now hide just out of reach.

Inside this barn, I am filled with something greater. I am filled with possible.

Through the windowpane, I gaze into a towering matt of dark green leaves. Trees inspire and shade and watch over me, the same trees that watched him too.

My thoughts are safe inside this space. I am free to explore, free to wonder and wander. The air is full of potential.

A ray of sunshine splits the canopy and brightens my writing table.

Dust motes dance.

In the distance, a train rumbles, then and now.

He said there is nothing to writing. Just sit down at the typewriter and bleed.

And so I bleed.

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.