grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Lemon Thyme Blackberry Cobbler

By

I gave up dessert for Lent and then to seriously tempt myself, I baked a cobbler. Using my regular super simple blackberry cobbler recipe, I tweaked it by adding lemon zest and thyme. I had a bag of lemons that were staring at me, and I’m always trying to find unusual ways to add herbs. I’m a big believer in herbs – they have tons of antioxidants and health benefits. Plus, herbs are the only crop I can grow in my postage stamp sized yard… I decided if the combo lemon/thyme/blackberry was disgusting, it didn’t much matter, since I couldn’t really eat it anyway. (Lent, you know…) 
Of course, it smelled heavenly. And it looked heavenly. And, as everyone who watches the cooking channel knows, I had to take a teeny tiny sinful bite to make sure it was edible. Very delicious! Both the lemon and thyme added a little something-something to the recipe. I immediately packed up half of it for a few neighbors – get thee behind me cobbler… I left a bit for John’s dessert, and managed to successfully ignore it the remainder of the afternoon.

Like everything I cook – it’s super easy. If the recipe is difficult, I move on to something else. 

Ingredients:
1 cup milk 
1 stick unsalted butter
1 & 1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
2 cups of blackberries (frozen or fresh)
Zest of 2 large lemons
Fresh Thyme – 2 teaspoons chopped
Method:
Butter + Lemon Zest
1. Melt butter in the microwave. Mix the zest of 2 lemons into the butter. Use a tiny bit of this mixture to butter your baking dish.
2. Rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the flour and the thyme together and sprinkle this over the blackberries. Gently Mix.
3. Pour 1 cup of sugar and remaining flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour melted butter/lemon zest in and whisk it all together.
4. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the top.
6. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly. About 10 minutes before it is done, you can sprinkle a bit more sugar and thyme over the top if you would like. The sugar will give it a bit of a crust & sparkle on top. And, you probably will have a lot of leftover thyme, so you may as well use a bit more. 
Ready for the oven. See the sprinkles of Thyme on top?
A little shout-out for thyme…  In medieval times it was regarded as the plant that provided courage and vigor. The ancient Romans used it as a treatment for depression. It contains antioxidants and essential oils thought to alleviate stress, provide a calming effect and relieve aches and pains in the joints.  One teaspoon crushed, added to boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes and then strained, makes a great tea which will help with sore throats, coughs and mouth irritations. You can add a bit of honey to sweeten.
talya

Musical Pairings:

The Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)
Def Leppard, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”

Yet Another Insane Nail Salon Story

By

80 degrees calls for a pedicure. Pulling into the parking lot early, I was happy to see no customers there yet. The five employees were practically in a receiving line, so thrilled to see my neglected toes stroll in. Was I the 5,000th customer on this Leap Day? Would there be balloons? Guess not. After carefully selecting my polish – I debated between “Suzi Loves Cowboys” and “I Don’t Give a Rotterdam!” – I settled into the massage chair with a copy of Bon Appetit, which of course made me hungry. About halfway through the routine, it was still quiet and peaceful, and I began to think this might just be my most uneventful experience at this place. Ever. Knock-on-wood. 

A girl walked in to get her legs waxed. Wow. Her whole legs? That must be painful and expensive. The ladies became a bit animated over this. There was chattering and pointing about who would take on this assignment. After a Vietnamese rock-paper-scissors game, the lady already doing my feet, disappeared into the back room with the leg wax girl, and my toes were shuffled off to a lesser technician. 

A few minutes later, an older lady came in for a nail fill. She sat near me and was attended to quickly. Still later, a well dressed businessman entered, with a rolled poster tucked underneath his arm. He spoke to the salon owner, explaining that he was selling ads for the Woodrow Wilson High School football calendar to be published next fall. Would the salon purchase a small ad for $100? The owner was suddenly struck mute. No one spoke. Everyone looked around in complete silence. The only sound was a Vietnamese instrumental rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Waters playing in the background. It was awkward.

Suddenly, the nail fill lady jumped in wholeheartedly with both feet and hands speaking to the businessman, as if the salon workers couldn’t hear her – “Yes, that is a good thing to do! A local business should support the local schools. Businesses only want us to support them. They should give back too!” She asked to see the calendar. “Oh that’s a very, very nice calendar. (Two verys with a s-l-o-w emphasis on the last very.) They should definitely buy an ad.” And on and on she went. I became suspicious. They had to be in cahoots! It really was a brilliant routine. The owner never spoke but looked a bit faint, as he wrote out the check. Woodrow Wilson High School can thank the well oiled tag team for that $100. 

After the excitement died down, it became quiet again. As my toes dried, I relaxed and listened to my Ipod. I could almost nap. As the technician finished and began putting my flip flops back on, I opened my eyes to see my perfectly polished “Suzi Loves Cowboys” toes perched in bizarro, hand-painted, flowered shoes! “No, those aren’t mine – my flip flops are right there”, I pointed. “No, for you. Gift for you.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, gift.” I sat there stunned with those odd wooden oriental shoes on my feet which so did not go with my blue Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals t-shirt and khaki cargo capris. I looked around for John Quinones and the hidden camera. 

Was I the 5,000th customer? This was the most peculiar thing. I tried to stand, but it was difficult on hard, 2-inch high, wooden flip flops – similar to those 1970s Dr. Scholls sandals I could never quite maneuver. Not only were they uncomfortable and NOT my style, they were huge on my feet. I clopped to the door like a freakin’ Clydesdale horse – CLOP CLOP CLOP. They watched me wobble to my car in those things – they stood at the window and smiled like they were so proud. Will they expect me to wear these next time? I really must find another salon or move back to Arkansas asap! I wonder if Woodrow Wilson needs a donation for the silent auction? 

talya

Musical Pairings:

Simon and Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Steve Karmen, “Here Comes the King” (Budweiser Clydesdale Horse jingle)



Johnny Cash: Restoration of Childhood Home, Dyess, Arkansas

By

An amazing number of famous people came from the tiny little corner of Northeast Arkansas that I call home. Parhaps Mark Twain’s mighty Mississippi was an inspiration. Or maybe the smell of crop defoliant whips up the creative juices. Possibly the most notable resident of Mississippi County was Johnny Cash who rose from modest roots to become one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century.

Arkansas State University now owns the Cash home, and restoration efforts are underway. Fans will soon be able to visit his childhood home in Dyess, Arkansas, a small town located along the Arkansas Delta Byways. 
The community of Dyess itself is history lesson, planned as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Program. Five hundred poverty-stricken farm families were given a new start with a twenty or forty acre farm, a five-room, white-washed farmhouse, adjacent barn, outhouse, and chicken coop. Only white families of “good moral background” were selected. Each farmer drew an initial advance to purchase the property along with a mule, cow, groceries and supplies until the first year’s crop came in, at which time it was paid back. In three years’ time, the farmer received the deed to the house and land. The Cash family got in on this new deal.

The forty acre farm immediately adjacent to the Johnny Cash place is owned by my good moral farm family (on the other side of Johnny Cash’s temporary chain link fence). We didn’t get the land from President Roosevelt. Daddy bought it outright years ago from an attorney who took the land in trade for legal fees. 

In addition to the home restoration, Arkansas State has plans to construct a museum and renovate much of the town of Dyess. The restoration buzz continues to grow. I imagine convoys of people making this pilgrimage to a place we Mississippi County residents knew was special all along.

These are exciting times for Northeast Arkansas!

talya
Grace Grits & Gardening

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!