grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

My Reflection

November 27, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Yesterday he flashed a bright smile and rushed out into the world smelling faintly of pancake syrup. I saw my reflection as he walked away.

Today he’ll pull into the drive with stories of fall semester and bags of dirty laundry. I wait for his smile, his strong hug.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

talya

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

Musical Pairing:

Landslide, Stevie Nicks

This was written for Write Tribe Wednesday Prompt: The Boy (Photograph).

(this post is sponsored by Great Day Farms…)When my daughter was young, Saturday morning often meant a Toad in the Hole for breakfast. It was one of her favorites. You know the basic drill—cut a hole in a piece of (plain, white) bread with a cookie cutter, fry an egg inside the hole and voila(!) toast and egg all in one tidy, whimsical package.

Smoked Gruyere and Arugula - Toad in a Hole - Redefined!

Last weekend for a quick lunch, I elevated the Toad in a Hole to a sandwich with pumpernickel, smoked gruyere and arugula. Even with this fancied-up twist, it was still a five minute meal and perfect for a rainy fall day.

Ingredients
(1 sandwich)

2 slices pumpernickel
1-2 slices smoked Gruyere (the slices in the picture are small…)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg
arugula
sea salt
pepper

Method

With a cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of one slice of bread. (I used this vintage cookie cutter I bought at Curiosities in East Dallas. If you’re looking for vintage anything—I recommend Curiosities.)

Melt butter in a cast iron skillet on medium heat.

When butter has melted, begin browning both pieces of bread.

Crack open the egg into the slice with the hole. Let cook for a couple of minutes.

This makes me smile:)

When the bottom of the egg begins to set, carefully break the yolk then flip the bread to cook the other side. Flip the other slice of bread and top the browned side with cheese. When the cheese begins to melt, top with arugula.

flipped egg…

Sprinkle cheese with sea salt and pepper (optional) and top with the egg slice of bread, hole facing up.

Toad in the Hole – Redefined!

That’s it.

You could easily substitute any type of bread or cheese. Very yummy.

talya

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

smell of old books

November 24, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

morguefile

Stacked in the far corner—dusty,
musty and ignored—an
entire world awaits at only fifty cents each.
Leave me while I
linger
over brittle, yellowed pages filled with
fanciful words, forgotten fonts.
Outdated tales
languish, longing to be rediscovered beneath
durable covers
bound by history. Yes, I’m
obsessed. Whose fingers touched these pages? I inhale the
odor of linseed and ink and paper and coffee. A
keyhole to yesterday. The
smell of time.