A Little Secret!

  I'll tell you a little secret - I am a thief!! I steal from all of the B&Bs I work at!  What do I steal you ask? Well, it's not silverware or bottles of wine. Nope, I steal recipes. And each one of these recipes has a little secret of it's own which is why I want it. I write all my recipes in a tiny  notebook in my illegible handwriting so they are still secret! Even Kirk can't figure out what I am trying to say but it works for me.

This is the quiche recipe that I stole from the Inn at Blackberry Creek in Walla Walla WA. It's little secret is lots of heavy whipping cream - I mean LOTS. This is usually an asparagus sweet onion quiche with guyere cheese but you could use any ingredients as long as you use lots of heavy cream!


                                       

                 On the right we have the baked omelette I stole from the Brey House in Lincoln City OR. The little secret here is that you fill the ramekins almost to the top with smoked salmon, green onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese and then beat your egg mixture till your arms are sore.

Here is the dutch baby I stole from
the Hill House in Seattle WA. Little secret-
a half cup of melted butter added at
the last second and do not beat too much,
be gentle and then be patient while you
wait for it to rise.




                         This is eggs benedict stolen from the Adobe and Pines B&B in Taos NM. It's secret was given to us by chef Louie and we can not share it with you except to say that the spices are NOT paprika. You'll need to stay at one of "our" inns to try it and guess the little secret!




What is your "little secret"??

                          

                      

Fun in Forks

          AHHHHH yes,  the rough life of an Innsitter!!!  Here we are having a pic-nic [or is he having a nap?] on the shore of Lake Crescent on our way to our job in Forks WA at the Miller Tree Inn. Actually being Interim Innkeepers here in the summer is a lot of work -

  So, not much time to have fun but we always get to sneak away for at least one little beach walk.

 And maybe a short hike.


  Forks is located on the Olympic Peninsula and has so many natural wonders that you could never  do everything: hiking, biking, boating and pic-nicing. But hey, at least we try!!

      It's easy to have fun when there are so many lovely places so close to "our" inn. Of course  sometimes I am a really good wife and let Kirk go out to play while I stay and slave over a hot washing machine -  sigh......

  If he gets to go out and have fun, these are some of the things he likes to do...

 


   Looks like he's having FUN, huh???

 

 But no matter how busy we are, we always try to get away for one perfect sunset.... check it out!  Rialto Beach is the very best spot!

                    So next time you are on the Olympic Peninsula, stop in Forks and have some
                                                                          FUN!!

B & B & Beach

 This is the view from our new property Tyee Lodge B&B. Stunning, huh??  Yes, all those little black dots are surfers and we get to watch them all day. We also get to watch whales if we are lucky. The B&B hangs over beautiful Agate Beach just north of Newport Oregon. This is an almost private beach with  a few homes and no big hotels on it - just miles of lovely sand and surf. When ever we get time in our day, we head down for a beach walk and you can see why.

 The other thing I love to do here if I have a free minute  is just sit and read. What a serene spot! However I am never alone - I do have to share my spot with a few friends like this one:









Can you spot that little guy eating lunch on the bird feeder?? He does not get to eat the gourmet breakfast that we prepare for our guests but he does get the leftovers and he seems to be getting chubbier each day!

Yes, we do also have actual paying guests here as well who get to share "our" beach. Each of the rooms at the Tyee Lodge has an amazing view out over the ocean for them to enjoy. WOW!

                            You should come and stay here sometime and maybe we will be your
                                                                  Interim Innkeepers!!

Red, White & Blue Breakfast

                               Look at this beautiful 4th of July table! This is breakfast at the Carriage House in Grinnell Iowa. No, Kirk and I are not working here - I wish!! We are guests. It is so nice to just be able to enjoy a B&B and let somebody else do all the work. This is Dorothy's Red, White & Blue parfait -  yummy and  lovely. We are taking notes.
                                                     

                                           

  The Carriage House is a beautiful old mid-western mansion built as a family home in 1895. It features two turrets, a wrap around porch, several fireplaces, lead glass windows and even a small landing from which concerts were presented. Here I am in our turret room blogging - great spot to work, huh?

But the reason we are here over the 4th of July is that Grinnell is my home town and my father is turning 90 so there is a big family reunion. What a relaxing place for us to enjoy our granddaughter. Of course I am  enjoying seeing the rest of my family and my home town but this little one is the BEST!!    
                                              Where did you spend the 4th of July?



     

On the Road Again

 YUP, vacation is over and it's time to go back to work so...... just like Willie Nelson says: we are "on the road again". It's a good thing we love it!

  Here is Kirk at our home loading the bikes - no we do not travel "light". Our next job is in Colorado so after the 1200 mile drive, Kirk wants to go mountain biking - go figure!


     Big question - which way do we go??                    

 

 
We are usually in a hurry and stick to the freeways but this drive through north western Colorado is one of our favorites and we just can't resist - I mean we are On the Road Again!

This stream is one of our favorite pic-nic lunch spots and a great place for Kirk to get out and stretch. Then it's back on the road , again!

  But in the summer with good weather, good music, good company, good scenery.... it's really a pleasure.

  After a long day behind the wheel, we always look for a really cheap motel and this is one of our favorites.

It's sad but we stay here so often that we have our favorite room!  Well hey, they have everything we need and I just can not see spending my money for somewhere nice if I am only there for eight hours and Kirk loves the western decor.  I know I should stay in a B&B  but what  can I say???  We are on the road again!

Tea Time in Turkey

 It's always tea time in Turkey!  Nothing gets done without a little tulip shaped glass of Turkish Tea. Since I love tea, this was just fine with me. Here's my morning glass on the balcony of our apartment in Bodrum. But you also have tea at cafes, on boats, by the pool, in stores and it is always drunk out of one of these little glasses - too cute, right?

There's a pretty elaborate set up for making tea and keeping it warm. See that samovar below? Well, it has a charcoal brazier under the pot and a silver urn to keep the water warm. A special tea waiter will come to your table, lite the coals, wait till everything is just right, make your tea and then put it on top of the samovar. You then add hot water from the urn to your taste - WOW, such work. But tea is serious business here.

If your tea is not prepared for you at your table. It is brought on these wonderful little birdcage style trays. Sometimes you will see waiters walking across four lanes of traffic or wading through acres of beach chairs swinging a little tray of tea glasses.


Of course you don't have to drink tea. Here is Kirk having coffee in the Grand Bazaar. It's also an elaborate service with really thick Turkish Coffee, a small pitcher of hot water, a small pitcher of almond syrup, and then a small bud vase. Enough to keep him occupied while I went shopping!!      

   Turkey also has a boutique wine industry. One of the most famous places for wine is the island of Bozcada. We took a ferry boat over and spent the day on the beach and wandering the charming cobblestone streets but of course we also had to taste the wine so we sat under periwinkle colored umbrellas between the ancient fortress and the sea and enjoyed the glasses of wine that you see below. I was in heaven....

                                     Have you ever had Turkish Tea?? If not,, you should try it!

Turkish Delight

  OK, you haven't heard from me in a while because we have been on vacation in Turkey!! We had a great time and loved so much about the country - the people where friendly and funny, the scenery was stunning, there were lots of amazing historical sights and so much to see and do but one of the real delights of Turkey was the food -WOW!! Everything was fresh and tasty and most of it direct from farm to table. However it was all so healthy that you could eat as much as you wanted ... well except for the delicious Turkish ice cream made from goats milk, now that stuff had to be fattening!

Anyhow, Kirk and I took notes since we make breakfast for a living. This is a traditional Turkish Breakfast: fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, apricots, figs, olives, feta cheese, honey, jam, eggs and bread. Doesn't that sound good??  YUP!

 This was the breakfast served at  the May Stone Cottage - an old farmhouse we stayed at  in a remote village. The hostess, Cigdam, served everything fresh from her farm. I mean she made the butter, the cheese, the yogurt. The milk was from her cow. The olives, fruit and vegetables were grown right there. Two kinds of homemade jam, honey from the her hive and fresh baked bread all from the farm.... just amazing but where does she find the time? Don't get the idea that we will be doing all that when we are innsitters!

Of course breakfast is not the only meal to delight the senses in Turkey. These tasty treats were one of my favorite snack - fresh mussels baked with rice inside. You pried the shell open, squirted lemon on and used the top shell as a scoop - YUM!

 


   This was one of my favorite dinners - grilled shrimp salad.
  Once again can we say "fresh and healthy" oh, and tasty??
 
 
     But I've saved the best for last - here is Kirk having lunch at our apartment in Kalkan. Now that's Turkish Delight!!

                                                     Have you been to Turkey??