Author Archives: Laurie

Let the Inspiration In

Posted on by Laurie

The Let the Inspiration In Challenge

I’ve gotten so that I love skimming through blogs looking for beautiful photos, tempting recipes, interesting articles, and stopping to read the ones that I like . There are so many posts that I have made a mental note to go back to. Oh, but when? I have so much to do. Yet, I recognize that I will be missing something in what these talented people – whose works I like – are writing about unless I take the time to actually let it move me to do something; and I would like to make that effort even though I’ll never get to everything. Hence my challenge to Let the Inspiration In! (If someone else is already running such a challenge, I guess that we are just thinking alike.)

If you want to join me, the details of the challenge are as follows:

(1) Once a week for a month, try out something inspired by a post that you have “liked”.

(2) The category could be cooking, gardening, photography, art, fitness, wellness, travel, etc. … but nothing crazy or dangerous.

(3) Don’t necessarily attempt to duplicate what the blogger did. For example, you might make a recipe exactly as directed or you might substitute ingredients. A photograph of a bird might make you want to go out and do some wildlife photography … or even write a poem. An article about travel might inspire you to plan a vacation.

(4) When you try something out, in one of your posts acknowledge the people who inspired you and post a comment on their blog(s) to let them know. (If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post a comment.)

(5) If you find the challenge fun, do it for another month!

If you try it out, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

Rosy-Fingered Dawn: Downtown Manhattan, Kansas 5:30 a.m.

Posted on by Laurie

A few weeks ago I posted sunset photos from a recent trip to the Adirondacks. That motivated me to try to get some sunset or sunrise photos from here in Manhattan. I took these pictures about one block away from the B & B, before making breakfast. It was a peaceful morning. My goal now is to get out to some different locations over the summer to get more photos from the bookends of the day. If you look carefully at the bottom two photos, you can see American flags lining Poyntz Avenue and in the window of the mall at the end of the street. The city has put these out in preparation for the 4th of July.

It is going to be a lovely day!

Photos From Master Gardener Tour

Posted on by Laurie

Sunday was a busy day.  Fortunately, I was able to make it to the local garden tour organized by  Riley County (Kansas) Extension Master Gardeners. I was only able to visit three of the wonderful gardens before having to make it home to check-in guests, but I did get some nice photos that I hope you will enjoy! (By the way, if anyone has suggestions as to how to present the photos in my posts, I am open to advice. I had received some comments early on in my blog that my photos took too long to load. So I have been saving them as smaller files, but sometimes they appear a little grainy.)

Onions, Sweet Onions

Posted on by Laurie

I’m not usually one to go into a swoon over onions; but they just looked so good at Farmers’ Market on Saturday that I came home with a bag full of little vidalias. Then I said to myself, “Bill hates onions … what on earth am I going to do with these?” The answer, I realized, could certainly be found in Ruth Spear’s The Classic Vegetable Cookbook – first published in 1985, and amazingly, still available. When I found Ruth’s recipe for Confiture d’Oignons, I knew that it would be wonderful.  However, I didn’t have any sherry vinegar in the house, so I substituted balsamic vinegar which I just love the flavor of.  This made my confiture much darker colored (a dark brown instead of amber) and stronger flavored than it would have been if I had followed her recipe exactly.  Also I added a small chenzo pepper when cooking the onions, just to add a little heat.

What does one do with onion marmalade? All kinds of things: serve it on crackers with cream cheese or chicken salad; serve on French bread; mix it into sour cream or Greek yogurt to make onion dip; serve with grilled portobello mushrooms; serve on top of meats in place of grilled onions; use to create gourmet burgers or sandwiches; add to sauces near the end of cooking; use in onion tarts; and, well, that’s all that I came up with for now. My husband ate about 6 Onion Marmalade Canapes before I told him what the topping was. Bill liked it! He liked it!  The next night we had it on bison cheeseburgers and he declared them outstanding. Yeah!  The onion dip with potato chips was really good too! (Photos below.)

Confiture d’Oignons (Onion Marmalade)

(makes about 1 pint)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. sweet onions

1 small finely minced chili pepper

1 c. dry red wine

3/4 c. granulated white sugar

1/3 c. balsamic vinegar

pinch of salt (or to taste)

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

(2) Prepare onions. Cut the ends off and peel. Cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice. Add olive oil to a large skillet and warm over medium-low heat. Add onions, separating the sections as they soften up, and cook until translucent and lightly golden. Do not brown onions.

(3) Meanwhile, make syrup. Add wine and sugar to a small stainless steel or enamel-lined pot. Stir. Bring to a full boil and cook until the wine is reduced to a syrup or reaches 230 degrees F. on a candy-thermometer. Stir in vinegar. Stir syrup into onions. Add pinch of salt.

(4) Finish cooking. Pour onion mixture into a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Bake for about 1 hour or until mixture reaches a thin jam-like consistency, stirring mixture about every 15 minutes. Be sure not to burn the onions. Pour into a clean glass jar, being careful not to splash marmalade on yourself. Close jar with a lid and allow to sit at room temperature until cool enough to refrigerate. Marmalade should keep for about 3 months in the refrigerator.

Onions at Saturday’s Farmers’ Market

Onion Marmalade Canapes

Onion Dip made with Sour Cream and Onion Marmalde

Bison Burger, Monterey Jack Cheese, Confiture d’Oignons

Saturday Morning Farmers’ Market Photos

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After we finished serving breakfast this morning, Nicole and I headed out to the downtown Manhattan Farmers Market. It is open on Saturdays and is only about 4 blocks from The Morning Star. I made sure to remember my camera this time.  Enjoy the photos! (In my next post, I’ll share the recipe for what I made when I got home.)

K-State Gardens

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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

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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

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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

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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.