InnNotes

This pizza was developed by a very close friend, another inn keeper, and myself a few years back. She's a wonderful cook and has taught me a lot. I hope I've done the same for her. Anyhow, one summer my granddaughter came to visit me with her little girlfriend. My innkeeper friend, we'll call her Donna, invited us all out to her bed and breakfast, in the country, for lunch. We arrived early afternoon and Donna showed the 10-year-olds around her inn before they wandered outside to check out...

Valentine's Day at most bed and breakfasts is usually very busy. They fill up with couples looking for a romantic get-away to celebrate the day or week-end with someone they love. The Inns offer Sweetheart Packages, Spa Packages and the like. They fill the rooms with red roses, champagne and chocolates. We, at the Aleksander House, http://www.aleksanderhouse.com/ like to serve a special sweetheart's breakfast of Belgium Waffles with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream. Strawberries and...

The result, a year later, was a rise of 30 points in my cholesterol. I can't believe I did this to myself. I didn't gain a lot of weight, only around seven pounds, but the increased cholesterol has me and my doctor worried enough that I've made a New Year's resolution to get it down. My doctor says it's not high enough to put me on medication, so he evidently trusts me to do what I can with diet and exercise. I really know what to do; I've done it before, but I scouted around the intenet to...

This year, all of us are going to have to come up with some creative ideas for summer travel. The economy is still in a slump, but the kids are out of school, they've worked hard all year and, hopefully have gotten passing grades! They really deserve a break. One of the most painless ways for folks to take the kids along on vacation is to take a car trip. You can stop along the way, they sleep in the back seat, play video games, and listen to music with ear-phones on. They can eat snacks and...

Cherry Scones Ingredients 3 sticks butter2 cups buttermilk1-2 cups dried cherries Instructions Pour contents of bag into mixing bowl. Cut in 2 sticks of chilled butter, until mixture is fine and crumbly. Stir in 2 cups of buttermilk. Dough will form a soft ballTurn dough out onto floured board or pastry cloth and knead gently 3-4 times.Divide dough into quarters and shape each quarter into a flattened circle 6-7 inches in diameter, aproximately 3/4 inch thick. Knead in the dried...

Thanksgiving is over, yes, bout we still have Christmas to enjoy all those wonderful comfort foods, like roast turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and all those scrumptious desserts. Like most people, I love pumpkin and apple pie, bread pudding, and chocolate cake, but ever since my daughter made it for me, I am a big fan of pumpkin cheesecake. The following recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but it's also good with a chocolate cookie crust. Another idea for...

For thousands of years, people have been using so-called aphrodisiacs — herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, insects, animal organs, and so on — to enhance their love lives. How effective are these stimulants, really, at increasing sexual desire and drive? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not very effective at all. In 1989 the FDA asserted that there was no scientific evidence that aphrodisiacs have any effect on libido whatsoever. Still, many people claim that certain...

I was really surprised yesterday when I received a beautiful commemorative plate with their emblem from the University of Georgia. They had featured my Pumpkin Pancakes at their recent Sunset Breakfast, (October 13, 2011) an annual event. The recipe was adapted to serve 8700 students. They used 1151 lbs of flour! They served the pancakes with Honey Pecan Butter. 'The focus of the event was to give the dining experience of breakfast at a Bed and Breakfast establishment from across the US. The...

I love using fruits and vegetables that are in season to cook with. First of all, they are readily available. They also taste better, and they seem to sit well on the stomach. Fall produces some wonderful fruits that, when added to fresh salad greens and topped with a scrumptious dressing, make a wonderful light meal or side dish. Apples, pears and dried cranberries are three of my favorites for fall. Here's an easy recipe I think you'll enjoy: Ingredients 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into...

This is the very first blog I ever had. Prior to that, I didn't even know what a blog was, much less how to construct and maintain one. Oh yes, I had heard the word bandied around the internet. But I didn't know anyone who had one except Rosie O Donnell and, soon after that, the author of Julie and Julia, who kept a blog about cooking from Julia Child's recipes and turned it into a book. Three years ago, I spent Christmas with my daughter and her S.O. that was before both of them lost their...

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries For Valentine’s day, or any other special event, make these elegant romantic strawberries for someone you love. I love chocolate combined with fruit flavors, and especially with strawberry. If you're looking for something special to make for someone you care about, try these delicious little morsels. They look like they are totally work intensive and hard to make but, honestly, they are not. It will only take you around 10-15 minutes from beginning to end and...

Yes it's me, writing about blogging on my bed and breakfast/food/recipe/travel blog. I just thought that my blog needed to be infused with new energy and that this challenge would do the trick. I'm not very good at blogging on a regular schedule. In fact, I don't even have a schedule. I just post whenever I feel like it. And, fortunately, I feel like it most of the time. But sometimes, when life gets in the way, I become a little lax and more than a week or so will go by and I'll suddenly...

Every year, as fall approaches, I start thinking about soups, chowders, and stews. I love all three and there are so many possibilities when it comes to making them at home. One of the things I like most about them is that all three freeze really well. And you know what that means...right? You guessed it...easy lunch and dinner solutions. All you have to do is take a carton of whatever out of the freezer, defrost and heat, pop some garlic bread in the oven, make a salad and you're home free....

I would say that about 85% of my diet is very healthy; the rest of it? Well’ I have to have an occasional MacDonalds or Steak and Shake hamburger, a Chile dog at the State Fair, bacon for breakfast, and a few handfuls of M and M’s...a throw-back from my younger days when I didn’t give a darn and my body didn’t know the difference. But I don’t drink soda or eat food from cans or boxes. And I prefer to do my own cooking...that way I know exactly what I’m eating. Now that I’m over 50...or...

Vegan breakfast I still have my week-end with the Vegans running around in my head. They stayed with me (in the bed and breakfast) for four days, along with several diabetics who were here for the Civil Air Patrol Conference. They were not all in the same room, of course. In fact they didn't know each other until they started eating breakfast together. Anyhow, my problem was how to find a way to accommodate they dietary needs in an efficient manner. One obvious solution is to feed them at...