Monthly Archives: June 2012

K-State Gardens

Posted on by Laurie

As part of my resolution to experience more of what Manhattan has to offer, I recently attended a gala at Kansas State University Gardens. It was a wonderful evening. The theme was Three Coins in the Fountain to celebrate the installation of a second fountain in the gardens. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera that night, but that just gave me extra reason to go back! The gardens are just over 2 miles from The Morning Star. I hope that you enjoy my photos. (Since the completion of the gardens is still “in progress”, I’ll certainly have more in the future.)

Mystery Blooms in the Garden

Posted on by Laurie

As I recently learned from Redneck Rosarian, June is National Rose Month … a perfect excuse to once again write about roses.

I have several ground cover roses in my garden. When I purchased them at least 8 years ago, they were labelled “Red”. In truth, they are more of a magenta. Anyhow, I am quite fond of them. They bloom from mid-Spring through Autumn and add a lot of color to the landscape … and they have proven hardy in Kansas. Now here is my mystery. A few weeks ago, one of the bushes, at the end of one branch, started producing clusters of pale pink roses.  At first I thought that I was seeing an errant limb from Flower Carpet Pink, but both the form of the flower and the color were wrong to belong to that other rose. Upon closer examination, I could see that the pale pink blooms were definitely coming from the magenta ground cover rose bush. The flowers on the rest of the branch matched the rest of the bush. What has happened to cause this mutation? Will there be more mismatched roses? Nature is full of mysteries. Fortunately, this is a fun one.

Magenta/Red Ground Cover Roses

Mystery Blooms (2 colors on the same branch)

“Flower Carpet Pink” Rose

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Posted on by Laurie

Per request of one of our guests, I made homemade Greek Yogurt yesterday. It’s not difficult, just as long as you have a low heat source. I used to make yogurt every four days, but had gotten out of the habit recently. It was good to have a prompt to get back into the practice.

Greek Yogurt

(makes about 3 cups)

Equipment:

thermometer

cheesecloth

strainer

heat source

Ingredients:

1 qt. whole milk or 3 c. whole milk plus 1 c. heavy cream (preferably use organic milk/cream)

1 packet yogurt starter or 2 T. prepared yogurt with live cultures

Directions:

(1) Pour milk, or milk and heavy cream, into a medium size saucepan. Warm milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the milk reaches 180 degrees F., remove the pan from the heat.

(2) Let milk cool to around 110 degrees F. Remove 1/4 c. of milk to a bowl. Stir in yogurt starter or prepared yogurt. Stir in the rest of the milk.

(3) Store the milk mixture someplace where it can remain at about 110 degrees F. for 8 to 14 hours. (I place the mixture in one of my ovens because the pilot lights keep it at exactly the right temperature.) Let the milk culture for 8 to 14 hours or until it has thickened and developed the desired flavor. The longer you allow the milk to culture, the stronger the flavor.

(4) Once you are done culturing the yogurt, cover the container and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

(5) Line a strainer with damp cheesecloth. Place strainer over a bowl. Spoon the surface skin off the yogurt, then transfer yogurt to the strainer. Place in the refrigerator and allow to strain for 2 hours or until about 1 c. of whey has drained off.  Use yogurt right away or transfer to a glass container, cover and store in the refrigerator.

Peach & Tomato Salsa

Posted on by Laurie

The other day I went to the downtown Farmer’s Market with one of my friends. (Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. Oh, well, next trip!) When I got home I realized that I had the fixings for Peach & Tomato Salsa, so made a batch the next morning for breakfast. I love being able to use fresh ingredients!

Peach & Tomato Salsa

Combine the following ingredients and serve with chicken, fish, or eggs:

1 – 2 T. jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely diced (wear gloves when handling pepper)

2 lg. tomatoes, chopped

1 lg. peach, pitted and chopped (peeling is optional)

1 T. diced red onion, optional

1 T. fresh lemon or lime juice

pinch of salt

Happy Birthday, Penny!

Posted on by Laurie

Today is our Boston Terrier Penny’s 2nd birthday. We’ll celebrate the happy occasion by making snacks and going for a long walk. Penny loves people and one of her pastimes is watching out the window to see if guests are arriving … that and spying for squirrels, bunnies, and other scoundrels. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Penny playing look out.

Yippee and Thank you to Bebe’s Kitchen!

Posted on by Laurie

Bebe from bebeskitchen.wordpress.com just nominated me for the  One Lovely Blog Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I am tickled! I’ve seen other blogs that I enjoy following receive these – including Bebe’s Kitchen – and I am pleased to be similarly regarded. I feel like I have learned a lot about this medium in a short time from reading other blogs … and, of course, I am still learning. I put a lot of work into A Taste of Morning. If I had known how much I would enjoy blogging and following other bloggers, I would have started this a long time ago. It has, literally, opened up a whole new world for me as I follow writers, photographers, adventurers, cooks, gardeners and other interesting people from around the globe.

One of the rules (presented below) is to nominate 15 other bloggers for these awards. (I am a little confused about whether I am supposed to have one or two lists – and I am not sure that I could have separated them, so I combined the two. If I have done this incorrectly, forgive me.) I had difficulty narrowing down my list of nominees to 15 bloggers. There are some blogs (e.g. doliphoto.com) that I follow that I know have received these awards recently and so even though I would have like to have included them, I did not put them on my list. Once again, I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community!

The Rules:

(1) Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.

(2) Share 7 things about yourself.

(3) Nominate 15 bloggers you admire.

(4) Leave a comment on each letting them know they have been nominated.

Seven Things About Me That You Probably Don’t Know From My Blog:

(1) I have had Boston Terriers for more than a quarter of a century.

(2) My husband was the first person I met after moving to Kansas.

(3) My favorite movie is Cinema Paradiso.

(4) I love learning about almost anything.

(5) I am a science fiction junkie.

(6) I love dancing.

(7) My nicknames are “Pepper” and “Doc”.

 16 Very Inspiring Bloggers & Lovely Blog Nominees, Presented in No Particular Order:

(Sorry, I just couldn’t quite narrow it down to 15!)

(1) abigailthompson.wordpress.com

(2) thelabkitchen.com

(3) hikingphoto.com

(4) acorninmykitchen.wordpress.com

(5) lyndamichele.wordpress.com

(6) saraincucina.wordpress.com

(7) forgottenhavredegrace.com

(8) kathryndawson.wordpress.com

(9) bighungrygnomes.wordpress.com

(10) redneckrosarian.wordpress.com

(11) corygrahamart.com

(12) amnmusic.wordpress.com

(13) briangaynorphotography.com

(14) ianspagnolo.com

(15) myaukun.wordpress.com

(16) boozedandinfused.com

Thank you to those who read and enjoy my blog! Thank you to those whose blogs I read and enjoy! You all give me inspiration to keep doing A Taste of Morning.


Wine in the Wild

Posted on by Laurie

Some friends and I went to Wine in the Wild last evening. Wine in the Wild is an annual fundraiser for Sunset Zoo, which is about two miles from The Morning Star. It is the first time that I have been to this event. With the B&B, it is often difficult to g0 out for an evening; but I have been working on getting out to see more of what is going on in town. We had a lovely, relaxing evening, strolling around the zoo and sipping wine.

Sunset Zoo has an interesting history. In 1929 the City of Manhattan purchased a hilltop expanse of land for a cemetery. A large area of that land was too rocky for digging graves and in 1933 was dedicated to become Sunset Zoological Park. This, of course, was during the Great Depression, and original funding for the park was provided by the WPA. Even though the zoo has been modernized over the decades, extensive stone walls and walkways built by WPA workers still form an attractive part of  its hardscaping. The zoo has a working relationship with Kansas State School of Veterinary Medicine and is home to over 300 species of animals.

Below are some of the pictures that I took last night. It was hot and bright out when the event started at 7, cooler and pitch black when it ended a little after 9. Many of the animals seemed to be sleeping, but the birds put on a good showing.

Lake House Cookies & Photos From the Lake

Posted on by Laurie

When I woke up this morning, I was craving these cookies, so after breakfast I made a batch. One good thing about running a bed and breakfast … having guests is always a great excuse to make cookies! After the recipe, I have included a photo of the cookies and pictures from my recent trip to the Adirondacks. Tomorrow, back to Kansas themes!

Lake House Cookies*

Makes about 28

Soft white chocolate chip cookies flavored with rum and studded with cranberries, coconut and walnuts. 

1 c. all-purpose flour (substitute white rice flour for gluten-free cookies or if you prefer crisper cookies)

3/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. granulated white sugar

1 lg. egg

3/4 t. rum extract

5 oz. real white chocolate, chopped or 1 c. white chocolate chips

1/2 c. sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and rum extract. On lowest mixer speed, beat in dry ingredients and then white chocolate, cranberries, coconut and walnuts.
  4. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets leaving about 3” between cookies. Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottoms and just barely set.  Place baking sheets wire racks and allow cookies to cool.

Lake House Cookies

Adirondack Sunsets

Posted on by Laurie

While visiting my mother in the Adirondacks recently, I had a chance to enjoy some beautiful sunsets. I thought I’d share  a few of my favorite photographs. As my mother likes to say, “Look at the view!” (Please let me know if you have problems viewing the photos.) Enjoy!