Monthly Archives: September 2012

A Beautiful Wedding

Posted on by Laurie

It was a beautiful wedding. The weather couldn’t have been nicer – sunny and in the 70’s. The bride and groom were so happy and so in love. Family and friends in attendance were delighted for the couple. The ladies in their gowns, and with their bouquets, were radiant. The men – dashing in their suits with boutonnieres. Afterward wine and hors d’oeuvres … then a horse-drawn carriage to carry people to dinner. So romantic! How lovely to have been a part of this special occasion! Thank you to Janet and Mark for letting us share in their happiness!

The garden beforehand …


Wedding flowers …

Mother, Bride, Daughter …

Just married …


The horses and carriage arrive …

Off to dinner …

… and they lived happily ever after!

Garden Update

Posted on by Laurie

For some time, I’ve been wanting to put an arbor over the bench that looks out on the garden. Since we have several garden weddings coming up at the Bed & Breakfast, I decided to go ahead and get that arbor. I don’t have time to get anything growing on it before Saturday’s wedding, so I am trying to figure out whether we need to decorate the arbor and if so … how. (The bench will be moved out of the way and we’ll have mums around the arbor’s base.)

The fountain looks great, but I worry that this might be its last season. Each year it gets more difficult to repair weather’s tolls. We really love having the fountain, though. It is beautiful and we enjoy the water sounds. So we’ll keep it running for as long as we can.

It rained on and off all day yesterday – a gentle, soaking rain of the type that is good for the garden. I managed to get some lovely photos of my roses after breakfast this morning. This is my favorite of the photos …

Have a wonderful day!

Special of the Day: Spinach Omelette with Leeks

Posted on by Laurie

Everyday we offer a set breakfast menu plus a daily special. Today’s special was Spinach Omelette with Leeks.

The omelettes were filled with organic baby spinach, sautéed leeks, and shredded Monterey Jack and mild Cheddar cheeses. They were seasoned with a homemade herb salt made with herbs from our garden. The fresh leeks were sautéed in extra virgin olive oil with a splash of  Sauvignon Blanc and seasoned with the herb salt. They were finished with a twist of fresh ground green, black and pink peppercorns.

At the end of the meal, there were clean plates all around. Just what I like to see!

Just Out of the Oven: Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

Posted on by Laurie

Soft and sugary, but spicy too, Chai Spice Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. I just baked this batch for our guests.

Chai Spice Snickerdoodles*

2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/8 t. ground cardamom

1/8 t. ground nutmeg

3/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/3 granulated white sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 t. almond extract

3 T. spiced sugar (2 T. + 1 t. granulated white sugar blended with 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground ginger, 1/8 t. ground cardamom, and 1/8 t. ground nutmeg)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and then beat in extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed.

3. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients just until well combined. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Scoop by rounded tablespoonfuls. Roll dough between palms to form balls and then roll the balls in the spiced sugar mixture. Place 3 inches apart on baking sheets.

6. Bake for approximately 12 to 14 minutes or until just set and slightly golden. Place baking sheets on wire racks and allow cookies to cool. Enjoy!

* Recipe from my second cookbook, Confectionately Yours: A Collection of Cookies, Candies & Yummy Confections.

Anne’s Bicycle

Posted on by Laurie

One of my helpers showed up at work on this wonderful old bicycle today. She bought it at a garage sale a few years ago for $12. As soon as I saw it, I had to run outside, pop some flowers in the basket, and take a few photos. The sun was already brighter than ideal, but I like these pictures anyway. They capture part of the mood of the bed and breakfast. Obviously the main appeal of staying at a B & B is spending time in a lovely  home and feeling pampered. But, for many people, an important part of the experience is sitting back and letting life move at a slower pace. Thanks, Anne for riding this wonderful “vintage” bike to work.

Mmmm … Apple Pancakes

Posted on by Laurie

Our breakfast special today was Apple Pancakes. Mmm!

Recipe

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. granulated white sugar

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. ground mace

2 – 4 T. melted butter (how much depends on how “sticky” or non-stick your cook surface)

1 – 1 1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk, divided

1 lg. egg

2  medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (2 c.)

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Confectioner’s sugar, yogurt, warm maple syrup, and apple slices for serving

(1) In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, 1 c. of the buttermilk and egg. Gently stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until dry ingredients are absorbed. If needed, stir in more buttermilk. Batter will have small lumps.

(2) Toss apple chunks in lemon juice then fold into pancake batter.

(3) Meanwhile, preheat grill or griddle until a drop of water sizzles but does not skate across surface. Grease well with canola oil or vegetable shortening.

(4)  Ladle pancake batter onto cook surface. (Makes 8 medium or  6 large pancakes.) Cook until bottom is light golden brown and bubbles appear on top of pancakes. Flip and cook on the second side until done in the middle and bottom is light golden brown. Garnish and serve immediately.

Orange on the Block

Posted on by Laurie

Looking for early signs of autumn, I decided to photograph the color orange in our neighborhood. It turns out that it was mostly in our own front yard.

Our neighbor’s crabapple tree with the tiniest fruit …

Miniature rose recovering from the summer’s heat by producing a perfectly formed little bud …
Oakleaf hydrangea foliage starting to turn …

Rust-colored chrysanthemums …

“Living Easy” rose, vibrant as ever …

Our new sign …

Leaves from our Linden tree, fallen before fulling turning …

Pyracantha berries across the street …

Early pumpkins …

But don’t let me rush things!

 

Italian Seasonings

Posted on by Laurie

After yesterday’s harvesting and drying of herbs, this morning I found myself thinking about to what uses I wanted to put them. Most of them I will just store plain, but  I will probably make some seasoned salts and after breakfast I did make a batch of Italian Seasonings. (Recipe below.)  The golden oregano, thyme, rosemary and chenzo pepper were from my garden. Except for a few leaves here and there – not enough to merit drying – my basil is already gone for the season.

There are quite a few variations in recipes for Italian Seasonings. Some have majoram, parsley and/or savory. Many don’t have the hot pepper. Here is the recipe that I use.

Ingredients:

4 T. dried basil

4 T. dried oregano

1 T.  granulated garlic

1 1/2 t. dehydrated minced onion

1 1/2 t. dried thyme

1 1/2 t. dried rosemary

1/2 t. dried hot red pepper

Pulse ingredients in a small food processor until desired consistency.

As you can imagine, after producing a batch of Italian Seasonings, I had to make something Italian with it! And luckily for me, I had some fresh vegetables in the house that I needed to use. So for lunch we had polenta with romano cheese and a thick, tasty tomato-pepper sauce. Now I need a nap! Ciao!

Garlic Chives: Let the Harvest Begin

Posted on by Laurie

Garlic Chives (allium tuberosum) are one of those plants with which I have a love-hate relationship. I love the way that they look  in bloom and the way that their flowers help fill the gap between summer and autumn in the garden. But garlic chives are one of those plants that are not happy staying put. They spread themselves all around the landscape. Fortunately, they have culinary uses. (A rather pungent herb with a flavor akin to garlic and onions, garlic chives can be used in stir fries, soups, and stews.) Since mine are just on the verge of going to seed, for the past few days we’ve been yanking them out of the garden except the few spots where they are wanted. Then we’ve been sorting through it all, removing stems, roots, and damaged leaves, washing the healthy leaves, and putting them in the  oven to dry. Since the pilot lights in my ovens are always on, the ovens never cool below 110 degrees F. which makes them perfect for this use. Once the garlic chives are completely dried out, I will chop, bag, and store them in the freezer until ready to use. I find that herbs keep their color best this way. I’ve read that garlic chives lose their flavor once allowed to flower, however, to me they seem plenty flavorful; and besides, I just couldn’t let them take the space they have appropriated in my garden if I didn’t let those striking white clusters appear.