A strong, capable woman (whose mother would have preferred that she be wearing the life jacket, but still, this is a great shot.) Location: Buffalo River, Arkansas. Photo by Hannah Hale. ♦ ♦ ♦ My own crooked birthday cake. Dinner will be prepared by others, but I’m taking no chances with dessert. (Except for the chance that…
BLT Sandwich, egg and arbitration optional
BLT with egg. Heaven. Scene from a marriage. Wife offers to make a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich for her husband’s lunch. He’s just back from a four-mile run and is on his way to the shower. Husband: Sure! Wife: Do you want an egg on yours? It’s really good! Husband: No, thanks. (Heads to shower.)…
Chocolate Meringue Pie
If you come to my house for dinner, you’ll eat well, but you’ll eat late. No matter what preparations I make in advance, I cannot seem to get food on the table in a decent amount of time. We’ll have fun, we’ll talk and laugh, I’ll offer you an appetizer and something to drink while…
Roast Beef Wraps & Turkey with Cranberries on Pumpernickel
I was hanging a big clock in the dining room today, so naturally I abandoned all my tools and got engrossed in reading cookbooks instead. I thought I’d cull a few to make room for new acquisitions. Since my children are now old enough to pay rent and regret tattoos, I thought it might be…
Bigger, Better Rice Krispies Treats
Sometimes the craving for a sugary, sticky treat hits without warning, and it must be addressed. I came home from Walmart Tuesday with mundane stuff that was on my list (printer paper, milk, green bell peppers, whole wheat bread) and exciting stuff that was decidedly not (Rice Krispies® and marshmallows!). I had a pan of…
Raves and Faves 11
Happy endings. Here’s my daughter’s dog, Kai. We’re on our first walk together. It might be his first walk ever, since he’s a Siberian Husky shelter rescue with a dicey prior life. We started off well, albeit a little fast, and I felt confident enough to take a picture. Then I put my phone back…
Blueberry Pie
The blueberries I bought for this pie on Friday were luscious. We’re at the height of blueberry season in Arkansas now, and these beauties came with stems and leaves as evidence of their truck farm origins. Sourced by a local produce stand, they were bursting with so much flavor that I might as well have…
Cherry Scones Fit for a Prince
A cherry scone, with tablecloth embroidered by my British Aunt B. ♦ ♦ ♦ Welcome to the world, little Prince of Cambridge. At my house, we celebrated your arrival with cherry scones and a pot of Earl Grey tea. I happen to like scones for breakfast, which means getting up early to have them baked before a…
Peanut Butter Cookies and (Shrunken) Shrimp Salad
(Thursday, July 18) Reversing my car down the driveway as I headed to the grocery store this morning, I backed into the 64-gallon recycling bin that I’d wheeled out for pick-up last night, knocking it over and sending milk cartons, empty jam jars, wine bottles, and garbanzo bean cans clattering into the street. The noise…
Raves and Faves 10
A welcome home gift of beautiful flowers from my husband. He bought them at About Vase in Little Rock, having heard me rave about the lovely and richly colored arrangements there, where the floral designer is some kind of magician. I don’t know which was nicer: knowing that I was missed or realizing that he…
Cookbook Wall 