Bernard Pastel by Pamela Koster

Bernard Pastel by Pamela Koster
Bernard the Magnificent

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Doughnuts and snow (and coffee, of course!)


It's been snowing since dawn today-- probably about 3 inches on the ground, but melting as it is fairly warm down here at the base of the mountain.

Yesterday I experimented YET AGAIN with yeast doughnuts (cake are my favorite, but I keep trying). I used a recipe from the William Sonoma website and was very happy with the texture and particularly with the chocolate glaze. I thought they could have used a pinch more salt-- their recipe called for 1/4 tsp and it just didn't seem like enough. Still, Brantly and a guest stood around eating them right as they came out of the fryer, so there were at least 4 enthusiastic thumbs up....

Here is a photo of one of the beasts after I have glazed them. Also, a photo of a Fiestaware mug that a very kind guest sent us recently-- I love the shade of periwinkle blue, which is a perfect retro color for the mug shape.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Snow, snow, & more snow

Yes, it's doing it again. We've had about a foot down here at the Cottonwood Inn and over 3 feet up at the Taos Ski Valley-- all in the last couple of days. Right now the snow is drifting down and the weather is just around freezing. Earlier in the week we had one day of unprecedented cold-- with the morning temp dropping to -7. The chickens hate it, they are tired of snow and dreaming about earth worms. But our skiers are loving it!

We've had good responses from several guests about the local snow-shoeing and snowmobiling. A couple from Dallas raved about the snowmobile tour they took from Big Al up at the TSV, while newbie snow-shoers from both Connecticut and Albuquerque both enjoyed the their experiences-- one with the Stuart and Leah over at Wild Earth (the llama people! Yay!! Llamas!!) and our Albuquerque guest with the folks over at Enchanted Circle.

Brantly has been getting his work-out every morning shoveling snow off balconies and front walk, while I've been keeping fit raking and shoveling the chicken run as well as keeping their favorite dust bathing areas free of snow and ice.

Also, Brantly and I recently went over to Taos Clay and had a blast doing a raku firing as well as experimenting with clay on the wheel. Logan Wannnamaker, who owns the studio, is offering all types of lessons to fit every schedule. You can do a one night session (like the one we enjoyed) and get to glaze and fire a pot (made by Logan or one of his two in-house artists) learn how to throw a pot on the wheel, and then get to enjoy firing the pots you glaze in his outdoor raku kiln. The results were spectacular and Logan and his crew are the best when it comes to everything clay. This is the perfect way to spend an evening after a day on the slopes or a day checking out the local color in Arroyo Seco or Taos.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Spectacular snow

If you haven't booked to come skiing in Taos yet-- what are you waiting for?! The snow up at the Taos Ski Valley is absolutely perfect-- 2 feet this week alone. Our guests have been raving about the skiing conditions up at the Ski Valley. Everybody knows about how great the Taos Ski School is-- nationally rated in the top three- but even more interesting is the popularity of our new snowboard lessons. As many people may know, the Taos Ski Valley only opened up the slopes to snowboarders a scant few years ago and already we've heard rave reviews about the snowboarding lessons that are available.

And while its frosty & powdery up at the Ski Valley, it's been lovely and warmish down here at the base of the mountain-- perfect weather for hitting our great Taos art galleries and museums and the funky area shops.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

Here is one of our most popular breakfast dishes. Even people who normally don't care for oatmeal as for a second helping. The fruit in the dish can be altered according to availability. Make a double batch and enjoy leftovers for breakfast for several days.

Baked Oatmeal
Pre-heat oven to 350
3 cups milk
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbs butter
Bring these 3 ingredients to a boil in a pot on stove top
While these are coming to a boil mix the following in a bowl:
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups oats (not the instant kind)
2 granny smith apples cubed and chopped
¾ cup raisins
¼ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup chopped nuts

Spray a 9 inch square pan with non-stick coating
Put dry mix into pan and then pour boiling milk mixture over dry mix
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes