Ghostly Gardens

What ever happened to global warming? I think this is the COLDEST winter I can remember here in Central Florida ... and from what I see on the news everyone in the rest of the country is experiencing the same. It even sounds weird to say "cold winter" and "Florida" in the same sentence. At least we're not dealing with power outages, snow and ice. Our preparation for record lows includes pulling out our scarves and sweaters and covering up all our plants in the yard to the point where it looks like we have lawn ghosts and have rewound back to Halloween.

It's a bummer. Usually our winters are mild enough to get some pre-spring gardening done. Our landscaping sure could use some love ... but it may just have to wait until after Valentines Day.

Until then, my little white sheet ghost garden will have to do.

--Rachelle

Roasting Chestnuts

In addition to pomegranates, these are one of my favorite winter snacks. Packed with protein and low in fat, they're resolution friendly too! They taste a little like brown rice, are a satisfying snack and easy to make.

Just pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.

Place a dish towel over a cutting board (to prevent rolling nuts and missing fingers!) and cut an "x" into each chestnut. This helps with two things. One ... it makes for easy peeling and eating. Two ... it lets out the steam from roasting so they don't pop and explode in your oven. It might sound nice in the holiday song ... "hear the chestnuts POP! ... pop, pop, pop!" But it wouldn't be a pleasant picture.

Bake them for about 30 minutes until the shells have started
to peel and the insides look golden brown.

Let them cool, then enjoy!

Interested in seeing how chestnuts are harvested?
Check out this video ... click here.

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

Left overs in the pantry ...

Okay, so like a good little baker I stocked up on the essentials over the holidays. And, of course, after the new year with resolutions on my mind I have left over items in my pantry. Now what? Keep the canned items until the end of 2009? How long do canned goods REALLY last?

Well, I decided to bake something new instead. I can push the diet thing off for one more week, right?

A friend of mine gave me a entertaining recipe book for my birthday and one of the more interesting desserts was pumpkin flan. I jazzed it up a bit with bourbon sugar crust. It was the perfect thing to get rid of the left over pumpkin and evaporated milk cans in my cupboard. If you have any other interesting recipes to use up other holiday baked good ingredients ... please let me know!

Here's the Pumpkin Flan ...

Ingredients

1 14 ounce can of pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk
1 3/4 cups of sugar (divided)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
(**If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, it is 1/2 teaspoon of each of the following: cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg)
And for my version ... one shot of bourbon. To cook with.



1) Mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, 1/3 cup of sugar, eggs, vanilla and spices in a deep bowl with an electric mixer until well blended.



2) Set oven at 300 degrees.

3) Over medium heat, place remaining sugar in a saucepan and stir until melted. This process takes awhile, but the sugar will turn a golden brown color and be sticky and VERY hot, so be careful. When the sugar starts to turn color, add the shot of bourbon.






4) Pour the sugar mixture into into a large, shallow baking bowl. You can also use smaller bowls, or ramekins to make individual servings. Next, pour the pumpkin mixture over the sugar.






5) Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Test the center with a knife or toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool in the refrigerator for 3 hours (or overnight). When ready to serve, run a knife along the edge, then flip bowl upside down on a plate.


And so now I can move on with my diet ... no more pesky baking ingredients teasing me in the cupboard!

--Rachelle

It doesn't get better than this ...

Is it cold where you are this evening? Snowy? It's 70 here. Sunset over Lake Dora ... aaahhh ... a day in the life of an Innkeeper ...

Our 100th Post

What does 2009 have in store for you? I'm beaming with pride this New Year's Eve while reflecting back over our accomplishments (including this ... our 100th post!) and I have hopeful expectation of the new year.

Here are my top 10 favorite posts for Innside Story 2008 ...

1) Featured Inn: The Grandview Bed & Breakfast
“It is not just opening a door,
or standing when someone is being seated.
Being a true gentleman, truly chivalrous,
is more than any one act or deed.
It is a way of life based on consideration.”

In continuing my quest to be a backyard tourist, I packed my overnight bag and makeup case and rode down to a meandering driveway only four blocks away from my home ... but a world away. With a large wrap around porch enveloping the main house, swaying palm trees and a windmill cottage the Grandview Bed & Breakfast is a classic small Southern estate. Read More ...


2) Inn The Kitchen: Making Pumpkin Bread
I luuuuv to bake. And I'm not a chef at all (like other Innkeepers) but I can bake up a storm. Must be my sweet tooth calling. I think subconsciously I burn dinner just so that I can skip straight to dessert. I'll have to learn how to develop my savory side. Anyway, this week, I took Christopher's Inn Pumpkin Bread recipe and had a go at it in my kitchen. Take a look below for some hints, tips and photographic evidence of my first Inn The Kitchen experiment. Read More ...

3) Inn The Kitchen: Making Tourtiere
I recently posted a recipe for Tourtiere, a French-Canadian meat pie recipe that my Grandmother makes around the holidays. I invited her over to my home so we could have a little family time in my kitchen while she helped me create a visual to the recipe. I learned a couple more tips and also some things to do differently next time. Read More ...

4) Last Minute Holiday Kiss
So ... your dog ate the dessert ... or perhaps while carrying a bunch of packages, food, etc. your holiday party dish ended up face down in the driveway. Don't despair! Here's a QUICK and easy recipe idea for you that only involves 3 ingredients that you can buy at any 24 hour large-chain pharmacy or convenience store. Read More ...

5) Going Green Saving Blue
So, what does it take to "go green?" While a lot of things that are labeled "green" or "organic" have inflated prices, there are many things you can do that still save you some green in your wallet as well. It is possible to conserve and save on your electric and water without spending a fortune. Read More ...

6) Featured Inn: Farnsworth House Bed & Breakfast
Sometimes, when you are traveling, you just want to have the comforts of home. A soft bed, a hot shower, a warm cup of tea and a friendly smile. A place where you can let your hair down, kick off your shoes, relax and just be yourself. That’s what you’ll find at the Farnsworth House Bed & Breakfast. Read More ...

7) Confessions of a Wino
How did your wine journey begin? Mine started in college with a fruity, fizzy, wine "cooler" that actually had no wine in it at all. But I thought I was cool. I then graduated to a Blue Nun Riesling. (That makes me wince and grit my teeth just thinking about it.) I tried to impress a boy in my class by telling him my favorite wine was a "Riesling." Yeah. He was a wine rep. Not cool. But what did my young inexperienced pallet know? Read More ...


8) The Grandview Hotel
Ever wonder what it was like 100 years ago? People were certainly not worried about the price of gas since the main form of transportation was by horse or train. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Sugar was 4 cents a pound. Coffee was 14 cents a pound. And the cost to spend a night at an Inn in Mount Dora was $2.50 if you wanted a bath. Read More ...

9) Featured Inn: The Heron Cay Bed & Breakfast
How am I ever going to keep my trim girlish figure while getting to know all the local Innkeepers and tasting their breakfast specialties! I LOVE it! I guess I'll just have to jog more. This past weekend we were invited to Sunday Brunch at the Heron Cay Bed & Breakfast, a Victorian gem with Island-style that sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Dora. Read More ...

10) Back Pain & Bourbon
Innkeepers are always looking for a reason to celebrate. That's just the entertainer in us. Every week we all get together to clank wine glasses, break bread, make sure everyone has heads in beds, and exchange funny stories of our hospitality experiences and our Guest-zillas. Yes, I said guest-zillas. Anyone that works in some sort of Customer Service roll knows exactly what I'm talking about. But I won't be sharing those stories today. Read More ...

See you next year!

--Rachelle

Ring In The New Year At The Adora Inn

Still looking for plans this New Year's Eve? The Adora Inn is offering a fabulous evening package including ... a candle lit "Dinner at the Inn" and one night stay so you don't have to drive home after midnight! I like the idea of just crawling into bed after a night of new year celebrations!

The menu includes:

Appetizer: Tomato Basil Risotto
Entree: Filet Mignon topped with a wild mushroom ragout
Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Volcano's with raspberry coulee
Complimentary Beverages

Rooms are limited, so contact John & Arthur at the Adora Inn soon to reserve your spot!

--Rachelle

Video Featuring Mount Dora Historic Inn

Okay, so the diet will start January 1st. But, until then I've been enjoying the tasty treats of my fellow innkeepers while making videos and also snacking on all the sweets left over in my house over the holidays. What's a holiday without a few extra calories?

Anyway, here's a link to a video I made for the Mount Dora Historic Inn: Click Here To See Video

Also, there is a fabulous recipe I found on PW for what to do with left over sweets and cookies. (In case you have any of those.) I know that sweets don't last long enough in our household to make leftovers out of them.

Does anyone have any good January-first-stick-to-your-resolutions diet plan they can recommend? Just checking.

Hope you enjoy the video ...

Rachelle