This summer seems to be hotter than others in recent memory.  Maybe it’s because we were pregnant – but we think everyone’s been feeling the drain of a heat index of 115.  Some days it is so hot that we just don’t even want to think about putting anything remotely warm in our mouth.

That’s where our love of cold soups has come into play more often than not this summer.  We’ve made some soups.  But usually we place our order with Sharea Wheeler, owner of Sharea Soups.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve watched Sharea launch a business based on one of her passions – soup.  She is a very accomplished chef in this arena, and offers different soups each week to her ever expanding list of faithful patrons.

We’ve had watermelon gazpacho, regular gazpacho, curried squash, cucumber, vichyssoise, summer borscht, and other cold soups that have kept us coming back for more.  Sharea operates out of a commercial kitchen at Historic Arkansas Museum.  Each week she sends an email to her list and tells about her offerings.  They usually include a cold soup, warm soup, and salad.  Each costs $12 per quart and that includes delivery!

It’s the easiest way we know to obtain fresh cold soup for these hot Arkansas days.  And each week we look forward to a new selection.  Just another way we’re working at staying cool these days.

Sharea Soup
Email Sharea at shareasoup@att.net
to be placed on her weekly list.

When bedrest became necessary during the last part of our pregnancy – it most certainly did not fit in with our plans.  But life is like that sometimes, isn’t it?  Throwing us curve balls and seeing how we respond.  Well, with the help and support of wonderful family and friends, we responded quite nicely.

We didn’t have to worry about dinner once during that time.  (Which is a nice thing when you’re not supposed to get up except to go to the bathroom!)  And one of those evenings our dear friend and neighbor suggested she bring us Chinese.

Great idea, we thought!  When she arrived, she told us that dinner came from Chinese Kitchen on Rodney Parham.  We’d seen Chinese Kitchen many times, but amazingly had never stopped in to try their food.  So we were doubly pleased that she brought dinner.

We feasted on generous portions of shrimp and vegetables in a spicy sauce bursting with flavor, along with a more mild vegetable delight.  And as we sat filling our bellies with this delicious food, our spouse looked over and said, “This is the best Chinese food – ever.”  And you know what?  He was right.  We like a lot of Chinese places around here – but this was the best.

And to think – we have bedrest and a good friend to thank for the introduction.

Chinese Kitchen
11401 N. Rodney Parham
(501) 224-2100

When we looked at the nation’s weather map yesterday, it showed Little Rock as being one of the hottest places right now.  And we believe them!  Even the pool feels too hot to bring much needed relief.

But that’s when we turn to food.  Fresh food, that is.  And Saturday brings another round of all the great local products Arkansas has to offer at the Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market in North Little Rock.

Cool dishes – you know – the one’s that don’t require turning on the stove at full blast.  Those are the dishes that are most enticing to us right now.  So we’ll stock up on tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, corn, and all the fruit that we can eat in a week.

We just can’t get enough of the Arkansas tomatoes this year.  Between a cold onion, tomato, cucumber salad and a caprese salad, we can really make meal after happy meal with those delicious tomatoes.  Not to mention the salsa that percolates with the flavor of homegrown goodness.

There’s cold cucumber soup to be made, and fresh berries with whipped cream.  Oh the options to create a truly delicious meal without the stove!

When the heat gets you down – grin and bear it on Saturdays – for the sole purpose of acquiring those delicious and mouthwatering Arkansas products from the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market.  Then, head back inside and cool off.  It’s so worth it.

Certified Arkansas Farmers Market
Tuesdays & Saturdays
7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Corner of 6th & Main, North Little Rock

Tomorrow and Saturday bring great delights of local agriculture and food to Petit Jean Mountain.  Bountiful Arkansas is back for its third annual appearance thanks to the efforts of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

For these last few years, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute has put a weekend together that celebrates our state’s great agricultural history.  We all love the local food that we can get around here at the farmer’s markets and at local restaurants.  So now is your chance to celebrate that love from beginning to end: by learning about the farm, the market, and the table.

There will be lots of activities for everyone in the family.  From garden tours of the lush gardens at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, to luscious tomato tastings and educational workshops, the weekend is chock full of delicious ways to see and celebrate the growth of our local food.

The weekend’s agenda also includes culinary classes for kids and adults, food related film screenings from the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, an art exhibit featuring food and agricultural art by local artists, and much more.  The Lodge will be available if you want to spend the night, and the River Rock Grill will feature local food on the menu.

We can’t think of a more fun way to spend a hot July weekend, so be sure to check it out – and be sure to make reservations for the workshops!

Bountiful Arkansas
July 16 & 17, 2010
Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
Petit Jean Mountain
www.livethelegacy.org

Life happens.  And usually not as we plan.  There are deaths; there are births; and there are just plain old busy days where life throws you a curve ball and that trip to the grocery store is out of the question.

That’s why Diane’s Gourmet is quickly becoming one of our favorite stops.  They make it easy to provide a complete and healthy meal for the family when you just can’t do it yourself.

On a recent Monday afternoon, when it was clear to us that we were not going to make it to the grocery store and cook, we stopped by Diane’s to see what we might put on the table.  We love going in that store.  There are wonderful gifts and spices and prepared foods that will keep your hostess gift drawer stock piled.  And then there is the fresh food that they make right there.

The deli case is always a temptation, with it’s many different types of salads and other entrees.  And their frozen casseroles make our mouths water just standing there looking at them.

Our favorite meal from Diane’s is an eggplant parmigiana casserole, rolls, and Nell’s Favorite Salad – a delicious combination of greens, cranberries, granny smith apples, celery and a vinaigrette dressing.  This is a meal that we literally could eat all week and not tire of serving.

And don’t forget the desserts!  Pies and cookies and dessert bars await to tempt you.  Whatever the occasion – and whether it’s is for you or for a friend – you can’t go wrong with a meal from Diane’s Gourmet.

Diane’s Gourmet
11121 Rodney Parham
Market Place Shopping Center
(501) 224-2639
www.dianes-gourmet.com

There are times when we hear of a new place that opens up, but our schedule doesn’t cooperate to try it out while it’s still “new.”  Now, sometimes, that’s just fine with us, since everyone has kinks to work out and we hate crowds.

So, sometimes, we’ll just choose to wait.  That was the case with 4 Square Deli & Gifts.  We heard the buzz.  We had friends tell us how much they enjoyed their meal.  And finally, we had a lunch date with an old friend that got us down to the River Market to try it out.

We instantly liked the place.  It’s situated right next to the Arkansas Studies Institute and is big and bright and airy.  It’s a gift shop and a deli.  So there are lots of great Arkansas products to be had for tourists and locals alike.

We really liked the menu.  Maybe it’s because there were so many vegetarian options.  We prefer to eat vegetarian.  So when we have more than one option, we love it.  We ordered humus, a cup of squash soup, an egg salad sandwich, and a portobello mushroom sandwich.  The staff was friendly and brought our food out quickly.  Even though you order at the counter, it really didn’t feel like counter service.

When our food arrived, we dove in to both it and our conversation.  All was exceptional.  Everything was house made and we love that.  The sandwiches were generous, too.  So when we were done, we were stuffed.  We felt like we really got a square meal – and a healthy one.  We left rejuvenated, both by the food and the conversation.

4 Square Deli & Gifts
405 President Clinton Avenue
(501) 244-2622

June has been a very busy month.  We’ve had end of school functions, camp functions, and social functions.  And we’ve also been preparing for the arrival of our new ministaffer with some refresher childbirth classes.  These activities rarely happen during the day, and we find ourselves going from one thing to the next, only to look up at 9:00 p.m. and ask, “what’s for dinner?”

Good thing The Faded Rose is around.  Most of our favorite haunts close their kitchen around the time that we’ve been needing sustenance.  The Faded Rose’s kitchen doesn’t close until 10:00 p.m.  So they’ve been feeding us at least once a week this month.

But that’s okay.  The food at The Faded Rose is all Louisiana – and since we have family in Louisiana and we were married there – we like to be reminded of that connection.  Lately, we’ve been stuck on the shrimp Creole and shrimp and grits.  Both are consistently excellent.  They are great comfort foods for tired folks like us.

And of course the bread and soaked salads compliment those dishes very well.  The gumbo is probably some of the best outside of Louisiana, and we lick that up every time.  Yes, it certainly is nice to have so many food options around town.  And even when those options dwindle late at night – we can still get a quality meal from The Faded Rose (no need to downshift into drive-through mode).  And for that, we are very thankful.

The Faded Rose
1619 Rebsamen Park Road
(501) 663-9734
400 N. Bowman Road
(501) 224-3377
www.thefadedrose.com

If you subscribe to Wednesday’s Hot in Little Rock, you’ll probably get two emails from us today.  Sometimes technology gets the better of us and things don’t get sent out as planned – despite our best efforts!

But today is food day – so that’s what we’re talking about in this installment.  As you’ve no doubt figured out by now – we love to eat.  And we eat out a lot.  We love trying new restaurants and rediscovering the old ones.  But we also love to cook, and thoroughly enjoy the times when we get to do so with dear friends.  Such was the situation last night.

After a particularly draining first half of the week, we were excited to have close friends come over for dinner.  All of our schedules had been crazy, and we hadn’t seen these folks in months.  So a laid back night in was planned.

We stopped by Whole Foods to pick up the ingredients for our dinner, since we’ve found that they have the freshest fish around.  And yesterday, the salmon had just arrived.  What we also love about Whole Foods is that they carry local products.  When we’re out in West Little Rock, it’s nice to be able to run into Whole Foods and find some great local fare.

Yesterday, they also had Arkansas tomatoes.  How thrilled we were!  We came home and the ministaffers helped to plate fresh fruit and sliced tomatoes, layered with big slices of buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil.  We drizzled our local tomatoes with a plum balsamic vinegar reduction and sea salt.  Now that is the ultimate taste of summer.

The salmon was delicious, but the local tomatoes in our caprese salad, along with the conversation and activity in the kitchen, made last night one of the best nights we’ve had in a very long time.  So don’t miss out on the local – whether you choose to eat out or eat in – there are lots of options for us all to keep it local and delicious!

Local products are available at:
Whole Foods
10700 N. Rodney Parham
(501) 312-2326

Is the rain going to bring a little respite from the heat?  In Arkansas, in the summer, there’s no telling.  But at the moment, a covered patio lunch sounds absolutely delightful.  And today, we recommend Red Door Restaurant.

We’ve had delicious dinners at Red Door, but this week was our first try at their lunch menu.  It was hot on the day we ate there, so patio dining was not on our to-do list that day.  But the patio spaces are wonderful, and we would encourage you to try them out when the temperatures cooperate.

There are similarities at lunch to sister restaurant, Loca Luna, next door.  But the tastes and flavors are uniquely Red Door.  We opted for the vegetable plate.  Now, “vegetable plate” is probably not a correct statement for what we ordered:  sweet potato wedges, macaroni and cheese, and sauteed vegetables.  But whatever you want to call it – we loved it.

The macaroni and cheese was a freshly made blend of large macaroni and yummy cheeses.  And the sweet potato wedges?  Oh my.  We need that recipe.  The vegetables were fresh and sauteed perfectly, and the tea was cold.

The atmosphere at Red Door was just as good.  In fact, it was packed.  We saw many familiar faces and the buzz of the lunch crowd is always fun.  Service was prompt and friendly, and we enjoyed our lunch experience at Red Door very much.  We will be back.

Red Door Restaurant
3701 Old Cantrell Road
(501) 666-8482
www.reddoorrestaurant.net

What’s cooking?  The hottest culinary competition around – Pulaski Technical College’s Diamond Chef Arkansas 2010!  Who’s cooking?  Two great chefs: Daniel Capello from Chenal Country Club and Jason Knapp from Big Rock Bistro.

This event is one of the most fun events we’ve attended.  The competition is modeled after the popular “Iron Chef America” and these two chefs were chosen after several preliminary rounds of competition.

What will be the mystery ingredient?  We’ll all find out on June 8, when the Wally Allen Ballroom is transformed into Kitchen Stadium and those in attendance get to watch in wonder and amazement as Chef Capello and Chef Knapp create their masterpieces in front of us – all within 60 minutes.

Guests will be treated to a delicious dinner and tempting auctions while they enjoy watching this fun competition and the judging that completes the evening.

Who will take home the coveted Diamond Chef Arkansas 2010 prize?  Find out and join in on the fun on June 8 – all while raising money for the much needed expansion of Pulaski Technical College’s Culinary School.

Pulaski Technical College
Diamond Chef Arkansas 2010
June 8, 2010
Statehouse Convention Center
Wally Allen Ballroom
6:00 p.m. – Reception
7:00 p.m. -  Dinner and Competition
Tickets: $150 per person
Call (501) 812-2271