Learning to make a good roux was a necessary skill to learn after I married my Louisiana-raised turned Arkansas outdoorsman husband. With gumbos and etouffees, it all starts with a good roux. A roux is a mixture of nearly equal parts flour and fat – vegetable oil, butter and bacon drippings (oh yea, bacon) are most […]
Three Ingredients, Three Methods to Make Your Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce It’s hard to imagine a Thanksgiving spread without that colorful dish of cranberry sauce brightening the table. Don’t simply settle for a jiggling can-shaped side. Make your own flavorful cranberry sauce with Three Simple Ingredients. 1. Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries. Thawing isn’t necessary. […]
‘Tis the season for pumpkin. Is anyone else getting that feeling? It’s just so good, warm and rustic, not to mention beautiful. Whether we’re talking the bumpy pumpkins (yes, that’s the official name) that you set on your porch or pie pumpkins baked and pureed to perfection, the colors and textures of pumpkin just can’t […]
It’s hard to imagine Thanksgiving without a big, beautiful, juicy turkey. Stumped on how to pull that off? Here are the basics on how to have a beautiful, delicious Thanksgiving turkey. What to buy: fresh or frozen turkey? There’s not much difference between a fresh or frozen turkey. Fresh is more convenient if you’re pushed […]
There’s nothing quite like the flavor of a crisp, juicy apple or the rich, spicy scent of freshly baked apple pie. Apples are a staple in fall holiday cooking but not all apples are created equal. For instance, some apples just don’t make good pies. They’re too sweet, too mealy and too tart, disintegrate when […]
Fall is my favorite time of year. Crisp weather, warm sweaters, scarves and boots. Naturally, as the temperatures cool, my kitchen begins to heat up with warm, comforting foods. And, one of my favorite fall crops to grace my kitchen is the pumpkin. Many people only think of pumpkins when they are harvested for the […]
Slow cookers can be used to prepare just about any meal imaginable. And it’s simple. Prep the ingredients, add them to a slow cooker and press start. But wait. There is a difference between a good slow-cooker meal and a great slow-cooker meal. Here are some tips to keep in mind when using a slow […]
My first slow cooker was a Rival Crock-Pot, a name synonymous with slow cookers, and looked much like this one. Only mine was avocado green. If you’re in my age group, you’ll remember the days when we colored our world with harvest gold and avocado green and our slow cookers had crocks that could not […]
The Richard and Jennifer Broach family of Vandervoot (Polk County) is the Western District Farm Family of the Year. They have six chicken houses, 85 head of cattle and hay on a total of 465 acres. The Broaches began farming 19 years ago and were only farming on 20 acres, which they used for hay […]
As we celebrate National Rice Month, we want to introduce you to some our Arkansas rice farmers. Jenna Martin, Miss Arkansas Rice 2013-2014, shares her love of family and their farm where every day is “take your daughter to work day”. She plans to be a 5th generation rice farmer and is proud to be a rice […]