HerKentucky Story: s e e r s u c k e r + s a d d l e s

HerKentucky is excited to present a guest blog from Beth Parker of the popular Lexington-based fashion blog S e e r s u c k e r + S a d d l e s.  Documenting a  fashion love affair that dates back to when she was a young gal, Beth blogs about her love of fashion with an emphasis on her southern roots.  Beth's daily outfits combine classic preppy elements with equestrian flair and unexpected pops of color.   We simply adore her blog, and love the description that Beth provided for us:  S e e r s u c k e r + S a d d l e s – a place where the south and style collide. 

A quick little history lesson:

Our lovely Lexington, the beautiful place I now call home.  It’s where my 2 lovely ladies will grow up and learn to appreciate all things equestrian, wildcat, and bluegrass.  It’s my “SADDLES.”

However, the beachy, charming little town, Jupiter, Fl, is where I was born and raised.  It’s my “SEERSUCKER.”

A childhood chock full of boating, beaching, fishing, and the like, Florida will forever hold a near and dear place in my heart.  It is where my family still resides and we continually visit.  So what, you may ask, could possibly pull me away from this picturesque little town?  How about a Kentucky gentleman of course!  

 

Fast forward 8 years and I now consider myself a proud Kentuckian, married to a Harlan native, raising a lovely little brood,  and bleeding my fair share of blue (mixed with Garnet & Gold of course)!   So the takeaway of this little intro …I LOVE THE SOUTH!!!   Now onto the goodies…THE FASHION …

Oh it dates back to my younger years, indeed.   I have always been the type of gal that needs a creative outlet in one form or fashion, no pun intended.  Fashion & s e e r s u c k e r + s a d d l e s undoubtedly fit that creative bill.  For me, fashion is pure expression.  It is individuality & creativity wrapped up into one fun little rig (aka outfit).  

One rule of thumb I try to follow is to choose a piece that is versatile.   For me, buying something that I can use in a multitude of ways is pretty darn important.  For instance, let’s take this mustard blazer-perfect for work & play.  How about pairing her with a navy & white stripe tee, some skinny jeans, and leopard ballet flats for a weekender look? 

 

 Another fun little tidbit, treat leopard as a neutral.  In small doses,  it’s a fun little complement!

    

Take pleasure in the details.  I love the scallop cut to these shorts & the nautical rope handle on the tote…..seersucker all the way!

Family, friends, & fashion….it’s what I love, always have.  I sure hope s e e r s u c k e r +s a d d l e s provides a daily dose of closet inspiration…make it a good one, gang!

photos courtesy Kristin Tatem Photography

Easy Tomato Recipes

Kentucky's tomato crops are finally here! 

Now, if you're like me, you're thrilled to have all those farm-fresh tomatoes, but you're always looking for new ways to use them. I'm fortunate enough to have family with serious vegetable gardens, so I have access to all the tomatoes I could possibly use. I certainly try to cram a year's worth of high-level lycopene benefits into the weeks of the tomato harvest! My go-to-recipes are Caprese salad, gazpacho and salsa.

 Caprese Salad is so easy, fresh, and delicious that you don't even need a recipe. Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and even fresher basil garnished with a little salt and pepper and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This year, I plan to get a little fancier, and make individual Caprese bites by slicing cherry tomatoes and stuffing with a mozzarella pearl and a basil leaf. The key to a good Caprese is great basil -- my basil hasn't been thriving this year, so I'm a little concerned about how my Caprese will turn out. 

Gazpacho is only worth eating when the tomatoes are fresh. I start with about twenty medium tomatoes; it's nice to add in a couple of different varietals here, for depth of flavor. I juice about half of the tomatoes, straining out all of the pulp and seeds. The others are submerged in boiling water for about 20 seconds, then peeled and pureed in the food processor. I then peel and dice a couple of cucumbers, a few garlic cloves, and about half a red onion and puree them in the food processor. I combine all this with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple spoonfuls of red wine vinegar, then season with some kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. I chill the soup for an hour or so and garnish with fresh basil. 

As for salsa, I'm trying desperately to find a great recipe. I kind of throw tomatoes, peppers, onions, lime juice and cilantro together when serving fresh salsa, but really want to hone my recipe. I've made a few stabs at canning salsa, but it just freaks me out. I'm a little afraid of canning, and all of the recipes I've found are emphatic about keeping acid contents at a certain percentage for stability of preservation. And, I don't like the flavor that boiling the cans lends to the tomatoes. All the awesome freshness is gone! I hope to work on my salsa again this year; I really love the idea of opening a can of homemade salsa without having to worry about all the preservatives and salt. In fact, I'd love to do the same with marinara. 

 This year, I hope to add tomato pie to the repertoire. What's your favorite tomato recipe?

Summer Cookout Attire

What to wear?  That is always the question when faced with a summer BBQ or cookout with friends in the bluegrass state.  There are ways to still look cute even when it's hot and humid!

The Fancy Cookout- Dress: French Connection, Shoes: Miu Miu

The "not sure" Cookout- Dress: Madewell, Shoes: Lulu's, Necklace: J.Crew

The Casual Cookout- Top: Uniqio, Shorts: AG, Shoes: Tory Burch

The Pool Party Cookout- Caftan: DvF, Shoes: Havianas

The best advice is to dress comfortably! We all know there's nothing worse than being hot and sweaty in an outfit that is uncomfortable and binding.

My last piece of advice- don't show up empty handed.  Always take a side dish or a bottle of wine to a cookout that you are invited to attend.  

Ale-8 Minty Julep Slush

Sometimes it's just too hot outside for a cocktail.

Well, that may be a little bit of a stretch, but sometimes you want a cool, refreshing drink that isn't boozy.  Or something frozen, fun and unexpected for your younger guests or for those who don't imbibe. 

This summer, it seems I can't get enough

Diet Ale-8

.  Something about the smoothness, the velvety texture, and the gingery finish just works.  And, I'm always looking for ways to utilize the bumper crop of mint in my garden.  Put the two together, and you have the Minty Julep.

Recently, I was thinking about

all the reasons I love a mint julep

(not just on Derby!), and realized that my summertime obsessions could be put to good use.  My spearmint is strong enough to stand up to the bright ginger of the Ale-8, and slushy ice is always a good thing.  These are great all summer long, and would be a fantastic alternative to a bourbon drink for your Derby party next spring.

Ale-8 "Minty Julep" Slush

2- 12 oz. bottles Ale-8-One or Diet Ale-8

1 to 2 cups ice

Several sprigs of mint

Pour one bottle of Ale-8 in a saucepan and add two or three sprigs of mint.  Bring to a boil until reduced by about half.  Strain and let cool completely.

Add a cup or so of ice to a food processor (or one of those fancy margarita machines, if you have one) and blend until slushy.   

For a mint julep-style mocktail

: Serve immediately, fill 8oz glasses with ice, pour cooled simple syrup over ice, and garnish with remaining mint sprigs. (You may want to add a little additional Ale-8, to taste.)

For a slushier drink:

Pour syrup and a cup or so of the crushed ice into a freezer bag.  Let freeze several hours or overnight.

Of course, if you want to add a little kick, that would be good, too...

I love those purse-sized bottles!

Healthy Summer Eats

To someone like me, who isn't a stellar chef, the art of cooking is a craft I wish I could master.

This summer, I've been searching for some light, healthier fare to make and take as a dish to summer cookouts. I love traditional summer foods like burgers, brats, and potato salad as much as the next Southern girl, but my waistline needs some fresh vegetables and healthy grains!

I've managed to come up with two recipes to add to my small repertoire of go-to foods. These aren't extremely original, but I modified some pretty standard ideas and made them my own. Rest assured that if I can master these recipes, then they are easy and fast. They've been a hit at every gathering I've taken them to. I hope they serve you as well!

I featured both of these recipes on my healthy living blog, but they're perfect whether you're counting calories or not.

Black Bean, Corn & Mango Salsa

by Inhabit the Beauty

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 0

Keywords: no-cook appetizer entree salad side gluten-free nut-free soy-free vegan vegetarian black bean corn mango Cinco de Mayo July 4th spring summer

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Ingredients (6 cups)

• 1.5 15-oz. cans black beans, drained
• 1 15-oz. can sweet corn, drained
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 C green onions, chopped
• 1/4 C cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 mango, cubed
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 T olive oil
• chili seasoning, to taste
• garlic salt, to taste
• 1 avocado

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except avocado, stirring well to mix. Chill.

Serve with sliced avocado on top.

This salsa works great alone, as a dip for tortilla chips or stuffed into a whole wheat pita!

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Quinoa Tabouleh

by Inhabit the Beauty

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: appetizer entree side gluten-free vegan vegetarian sugar-free soy-free nut-free quinoa Mediterranean spring summer

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Ingredients (8 cups)

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, diced
• Fresh mint, chopped, to taste
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add quinoa and pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until no water remains when fluffed with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, combine all other ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Add quinoa to the bowl and mix well. Allow to cool.

4. Best served chilled.

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Summer Vegetables

Garden-fresh vegetables are the quintessential summer food. You can keep your barbecue, your ice cream, or your picnic fare. Where I come from, it's not summer without fresh green beans, corn and tomatoes.

Now, a few years back, a best-selling book was based on the premise that you shouldn't eat anything that your grandmother wouldn't recognize. The rest of the year, I can't get enough sushi or Indian food. I slavishly replicate the signature French dishes that made Julia and Ina famous, and I've developed a bit of a specialty in making Cajun dishes. But, in the summer, I find myself cooking the exact same simple country meals that my grandmother has always made, using the very same varietals that she's been growing for six decades or so. Fried chicken, white half runner green beans and silver queen corn, with a crudité plate of cucumbers, beefy red tomatoes and green onions. You don't question it. You just serve it.

Growing up in a small Eastern Kentucky town, I just assumed that everyone had access to garden vegetables all summer long. My grandparents had a huge, bountiful garden. We're talking "rent a mule to plow it" huge. My uncle now plants a similar garden every year, providing us all with more vegetables than we could possibly eat, can, or freeze. I guess I'll always be a country girl at heart; I take for granted that, no matter where I live, this summer harvest will be available. I laughingly refer to my family as my own personal CSA because it seems that, all summer long, somebody is always bringing me more veggies than I could ever use. A few years ago, I memorably asked my grandmother to send me a few tomatoes. The following weekend, she sent my parents to Lexington with seventy-six!

Food, summer, and small-town life will always be interconnected for me because of my family's commitment to gardening. My grandmother, the queen of the subtle nuances between varietals, has a network of friends from whom she purchases certain vegetables that we can't quite get to grow or which we need in mass quantities for preserving purposes. Growing up, I thought that everybody had a "corn man"; ours is named Maurice. (Our "raspberry lady", who recently passed away, was named Dottie.) It was a fascinating little microcosm to observe -- my granny and her friends had been trading for so long that they no longer even had to ask questions or call ahead, they just showed up when they had a crop to sell. It was a dramatic representation of the "grandmother foods" foodie manifesto, and a powerful lesson in community.

These days, I find that my hometown is starting to show signs of the foodie-fication that has swept America in recent years. A recent trip to the Prestonsburg Food City yielded Voss Water (in the coveted glass bottles, no less!) and organic quinoa. (Try to say that in a thick Appalachian accent. I dare you!) The same day, I even found Arencita Rossa at the Wal-Mart. Now, I'll never complain about this kind of diversity, since I never met a pretentious food I didn't like. I found it far odder, though, when I saw a sign for the Floyd County Farmers' Market. We've always had roadside produce stands, but never something this centralized. It's definitely more yuppie and "citified" than we could have imagined even a decade ago. You may see farmers' markets all over cities like Lexington or Louisville, but it seemed somehow out of step in a small rural town. While it's a far cry from the house calls that Maurice makes, it's simply a new way of keeping "grandmother foods" and the farming community alive.

Ultimately, though, it doesn't matter if you're serving your green beans with quinoa or cornbread. It's largely immaterial if you grow your crops yourself, buy them from your corn man, or visit your local farmers' market. Your tomatoes can be a straightforward red fruit or a pricey, multicolored heirloom, and your corn can be the even hue of Silver Queen or the mixed kernels of Peaches and Cream. Farm-fresh Kentucky vegetables will always be the taste of summer.

Kentucky BBQ: Butt Rubb'in Good

Summertime brings out swimsuits, mosquito spray, bourbon on the rocks (or bourbon ale, if you're so inclined), and hopefully lots of great summer food and picnics. For me, summer brings out the pork-lover in me... as long as it's traditionally smoked and served with awesome sauce. Bonus points if the pork is equally tasty sans sauce (as I typically don't eat sugar).

Enter my favorite Lexington BBQ joint: KY Butt Rubb'in BBQ!

Yes, I totally buy pork by the pound at a place with "butt" in the name. If you tasted it, you'd understand. 

Everything at Butt Rubb'in is smoked in a big, old smoker - no gas allowed. It's a small place off of Southland Drive, across from the Good Foods Co-Op, and next to Old Kentucky Chocolates. There is a small bar where you can grab a beer and your carryout order along with some tables for dine in. 

I typically don't sway from the pulled pork, although I ventured out of my comfort zone and ordered a pound of their chicken salad last week which was RIDICULOUSLY good. Super flavorful smoked chicken with pecans. Forgo the bread or crackers when eating this chicken salad - just grab a fork and dig in. 

In addition to their great meats, they also have what are probably the best tasting onion rings I've ever had. They are super fresh, hand sliced and battered, and fried up light and crispy. Also? Sweet potato fries (with cinnamon and sugar) and collard greens. GREENS, y'all! 

If the food wasn't enough to send you there, then the shirts will send you over the edge:

Amazing, right?

Check out their menu online, and call for carryout (typical wait time is 5-10 minutes. Seriously.) or stop in to dine there. Just steer clear on Sundays as they're closed. Mondays they're only open until 6pm.