A Golden Fall

   Colorado is simply glorious in the fall! The aspens turn golden and dot the mountainsides with color - just amazing! So, we have spent a few afternoons hiking and driving in the mountains to enjoy the show and the golden fall.

 Of course the reason we can do this is that our current assignment is in Golden Colorado. It's our "home away from home" . We love it here! And it is especially beautiful in the fall.









In the fall Golden usually enjoys nice weather, colorful leaves and of course fall decor such as this fireplace at "our" b&b.












   One of the fun parts of my job is that I get to decorate the front porch - too many choices.....

So, if you want to see a truly golden fall - come to Colorado!

                                                Where is your favorite spot in the fall?

Just Peachy!

Well, here we are.... back in Colorado to work and we got here just in time for the end of the
peach season. Lucky us!


   First, we get to go to the farmers market to pick the very best peaches from the very best Colorado farms.



   Look at these beauties.... they're just peachy!  Ha Ha!

Now what to do with them?? One of my favorite recipes I stole [ I told you I was a thief] from Sue, one of my clients, and Martine, my daughter. Now you can steal it from me:

Sue's Famous Peach Muffins:

Beat 1/4 C butter & 3/4 C brown sugar

Beat in one egg and 2 T cream

Add 1 1/2 cup fresh chopped peaches [I chop over the bowl so that the juice is also in the mix]

Add C flour, 1t baking powder and some spices [I like cinammon and ginger]

Bake at 350 for 20 min and top with:

Martine's Famous Caramel Frosting:

Boil 1/2 C butter, 1/2 brown sugar and 2t milk 

over med heat until dissolved then let sit for a bit and drizzle over muffins

Of course we also make peach pancakes, peach melba, peach cake etc....

We just love a good Colorado Peach.

What's your favorite peach recipe?

Pedal and Paddle

 Here is Kirk loading "Buttercup" and "Rocky" onto the Lopez Island ferry. Why is he doing that and who are "Buttercup" and "Rocky" you ask. Well, my bike is named "Buttercup" and Kirks bike is NOT named "Buttercup" ..... go figure! They are being loaded on the ferry to go to our next job. When we go to work in the summer time we always take our bikes and our inflatable kayak, named "Cocktail" [now why would we name a boat that? I'll let you figure it out!] with us so that if we have any free time we can either pedal or paddle - two of our favorite summer activities.

   "Rocky" likes to pedal on adventuresome bike trails like this one at Myra Canyon.




While "Buttercup" likes to go on bike rides that involve pic-nics.

Lopez Island is one of our favorite places to paddle but this lovely blue kayak belongs to the B&B.

  This is our kayak "Cocktail". She packs up into a small bag which goes in the gear box on top of our small car. We have used her to paddle allover the world in rivers, lakes and the ocean and always had fun.

                                             Now why do you think we call her "Cocktail"??

Flower Power!!

OK, one thing I love about being an Interim Innkeeper is that I get paid to do old-fashioned flower arranging. First I get to go out to the garden and pick the best blooms and then I get to design. Here at the MacKaye Harbor Inn each guest room has a fresh bouquet as well as the dining table and the side table.

 Fortunately, Robin [the owner] has a great garden and a green house so I have lots of different flowers to choose from. These two sweet little bouquets are for the dining room.



But each guest room is decorated with a different color scheme so I try to do something appropriate - check out the colorful flowers that match the pillow in the "Captain's Suite".



 

Here on Lopez Island we also get to decorate the breakfast with fresh flowers - so I have actually taken a class in edible flower arranging so as not to poison the guests, ha ha!

Here I am picking garnish flowers for the breakfast table. I have heard it said that people eat with their eyes and I guess that is true. Anyway, a lovely garnish can really add something beautiful to the breakfast table.
 


 These are my caramel/peach muffins garnished with fushias and below is Kirk's fruit plate garnished with roses [yes, both of those are edible].











                                                        What do you think of my
 Flower Power??

Ain't it GRAND??

It is just GRAND to be Grandma K.C. !!! Sorry to bore you with more baby photos but look at this sunny morning face - too sweet, right??

So, now that we are grandparents we try to schedule a stop in Seattle between jobs if possible. 

On our way to our current job on Lopez Island we got to spend one whole day taking care of our granddaughter while our daughter worked. Little Eleanor is 6 months old now and just so much fun!

And doesn't she look like her Grandad? Ohhhh too scary!

Check out the new dresses Grandma K.C. bought me:

the one with the turquoise ruffle came all the way from Turkey!

See how I am checking out the embroidery??

Being a grandparent is just GRAND!!

Farm Fresh Fruit

Most of the breakfasts we prepare start with a fruit course. In the winter, this can be a bit of a challenge: baked apples, fruit compote etc.... But in the summer, we have all this Farm Fresh Fruit to play with and it makes our breakfasts so much easier. It's fun to work with and fun to shop for!!


 These are the berries from our local roadside farm stand garnishing my raspberry cake. YUM!



           

And the peaches from this tree are used in
my peach melba. Yum again??











 But maybe the most fun we have with farm fresh fruit is watching Kirk make our fruit plates every morning -




                                         

                                  I guess he really loves his job, huh?? Working with this clown can make the mornings a real pleasure but I try not to let the guests see him like this!



   He's so sweet he even takes the time to cut heart shapes out of melon - what a guy!! But don't tell anybody that he wears a cowboy apron while making melon hearts.... shhhh it's just another little secret!

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"??