ramblings from an arkansas farm girl
Last week I was in the mood for pasta. AND I was determined to make use of the bumper crop of fresh basil growing in my herb garden. It’s been a stellar summer for herb-growing, and I refuse to let a single leaf go to waste. So I whipped up a delicious platter of pappardelle with fresh pesto and chicken.
Pesto is easy to make. After tasting the homemade version, you’ll never buy pesto from a jar again. Continue Reading
Grilled poundcake with strawberries and basil is that special sweet something you need for your 4th of July celebration. This dessert is super simple to make, especially since you’re already planning to fire up your grill for the holiday. Right?
Here’s the simple part—I used a bakery poundcake and Reddi-wip® in a canister.
Okay, keeping it real here—sometimes I make homemade whipped cream, and sometimes I don’t. Usually I make homemade poundcake. This time, I didn’t. If you prefer to make your own poundcake, I highly recommend Elvis’s Poundcake. It’s the best I’ve ever had. But, for this dessert, I don’t think it makes a hill of beans difference whether you bake a cake and whip up cream or run down to the local IGA. There’s magic in the combination of smoky flavor + sweetness + twist of basil.
A fanciful flavorful fabulous strawberry shortcake.
Trust me.Continue Reading
This is my favorite chicken salad recipe and the perfect way to use leftover chicken. Simple to make and super flavorful—what more do you need for an easy southern dish?
An old-fashioned recipe with updated taste.
One reason the flavor is so great is the chicken itself is delicious. Grilled chicken adds a smoky flavor to your dish. Whatever seasonings were used during the grilling process become part of this recipe. Even a quick rotisserie chicken from the deli will add lots of flavor to your chicken salad.
The other key to the flavor of this dish is DILL. If you aren’t growing dill in your garden, run out to your local nursery and get some today. Not only is it delicious and loaded with health benefits, but dill is a host plant for Black Swallowtail Butterflies. And that’s a good thing.
My recipe has two kinds of onion—green and purple—because you can’t have too much onion. Continue Reading
