It’s finally the weekend, which means it’s time to sip, relax, and cook - and our favorite adult beverage this week is the The Natural Sip, a cool, clear cocktail devised mostly of ingredients from Arkansas. We start with subtle, nuanced vodka from Little Rock’s Rock Town distillery, layered with fresh lime, basil from our Fayetteville garden, a kiss of ginger syrup from North West Arkansas’ Pink House Alchemy, and finally topped with hydrated basil seeds and the ethereal bubbles from Mountain Valley water out of Hot Springs.
Fried Chicken with Lemon Parmesan Arugula
This simple, delectable fried chicken recipe is a regular dinner GO-TO in our home; a satisfying dark meat crunch with light, lemony arugula is wonderful all by itself, but if you really want to elevate it to the next level, add a classic poached egg, giving the dish a beautiful yellow yolk sauce beneath the tangled peppery greens. It might just change your life.
Seared Salmon with Creamed Spinach, Tomatoes, and Shiitake
Here’s a super easy, delicious pan seared salmon recipe that not only takes 30 minutes to prepare, but it’s also a quick clean-up because we’re using a single pot. Like most people, we’ve been cooking a lot during the pandemic, and sometimes cleaning up after making a meal seems like a daunting task…but this recipe is quick to prepare, and quick to clean, allowing you more time to spend with the family.
Summer Berry Spoon Cake
There’s a certain amount of mystery associated with the origin of Spoonbread; a delicious, simple baked dessert that has been a staple around our house this season. The name is derived from the fact that it’s best eaten with a spoon, and although it has been recorded that it was a favorite dessert of George Washington, it also has uncanny similarities to the Native American porridge called soppone.
Watermelon-Feta-Cucumber Salad
And what is it about watermelon and feta that works so well? It has everything to do with the sodium from the feta and how it reacts with the sweetness of the melon; after all, most lovers of watermelon like it sprinkled with salt…a thirst quenched and activated simultaneously by these two seemingly opposing ingredients. We’ve also added thinly sliced radishes to this recipe to give it yet another level of peppery summer complexity.




