Peonies, land, more peonies, & hot weather

Okay, this is a consolidated post because I just can't seem to keep up. Some of our guests are aware that we have been in negotiations for the 3 acres that adjoin the Cottonwood Inn-- well, we finally closed on the deal and the Cottonwood B&B is now 3 acres bigger! The land is beautiful, with a stream running through the northwest side and a natural spring in the center. Also on the property was an old adobe building, which is currently being restored to its former glory.

We're very excited and can't decide what we want to plant on the property-- it fluctuates between raspberries, fruit trees, or lavender-- my guess is that we'll do all three. We're also hoping to keep some critters over there, of course my vote goes for more CHICKENS!!! And maybe a llama or two....

We've already had a bumper crop of peonies and rhubarb this year. I am eating a wedge of pie as I type this. I hate to be a braggart, but this is the best slice of rhubarb pie I've ever had. I had made several pies earlier in the spring, and I used a recipe I found on the internet (cooks or somewhere) and it called for vinegar & eggs in the crust, among other ingredients. I decided to give it a shot, and I thought it tasted just like a store-bought pie. Not exactly what I was aiming for. This pie is just the usual flour/lard/water/salt crust with rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest, & lemon juice. It's a great way to emphasize the flavor of the rhubarb and doesn't taste too sweet.

There are photos to come, of course!

Last but not least, it has been warm here. We are truly appreciating the great cooling abilities of an adobe home. As long as you close your blinds during the heat of the day, it gets to a nice cool 50 in the early mornings-- enough to keep things pleasant for the next day.

The hummers are here! The hummers are here!!

They're early this year. So far only a few boys-- a broad-tailed and a calliope-- but they are buzzing an fighting already. They actually arrived last week, and there has been nothing but snow, snow, and sub-freezing weather. They seem to be doing okay and draining the feeders. We also have had several Bullock's Oriels hitting the feeders already.

So far the plants and fruit trees seem to be doing okay with these (somewhat) late freezes. The local paper has just announced that the snow pack this year was at an 18-year high. Good for us at the Cottonwood Inn (both flora and fauna) and good for our guests who enjoy river rafting!

What happened to the month of April?

How could April be gone so fast? That doesn't mean that spring is all the way here-- we had another 2 inches of snow this last weekend. Luckily it only stayed on the ground for a day and we're back up in the 60s during the day. There was some ferocious wind earlier in the month, but it looks like that is behind us. Plenty of tulips, daffodils, and rhubarb. Yes, the rhubarb is back and with a vengeance. We now have 7 large plants underway. I can't wait for more rhubarb bread and punch....

Friends brought us some lovely Meyer lemons (in the photo above) from California and of course we just had to can them. We made some wonderful lemon marmalade, which I had never eaten before. We've already gone through two jars in less than a week, so I guess it will have to be a trip to California next year and a large U-Haul full of lemons. Anyone out there want to trade some excess lemons or oranges for some plums? We've got three kinds and they are usually coming out our ears. Swap! Swap!

Of course now that the snow is abating we're really looking forward to the weeding. And they are here already!

Also, a great recipe for all those boiled eggs you get every Easter-- add green chili to your egg stuffing! (of course!)

Also, a photo of our Easter chicks- a before and after picture of the carnage our guests inflicted on the flock....

Ooops, I thought I had added these photos!

I'm just looking at the most recent posts and realized I didn't show off a couple of really cool photos of a snow we had earlier in March. It was one of those really warm days which changed in an instant and then we had 5 inches of snow! This meant the trees were absolutely fantastic looking, completely flocked with a layer of fresh snow. Unfortunately, so was my covered chicken run. I had to spend an hour or so smacking the chicken wire with a broom to dislodge all of the pesky frozen snow. And the chickens looked on in disapproval.

Croci are blooming, new biscuit & gravy recipe & more....

It's spring! Yay! We've got dozens of purple and yellow croci blooming around the property as well as tons of tulips and irises poking their heads out. Oh yeah, not to mention The Rhubarb is back. I'm thinking we should have a rhubarb naming contest this year to finally stick a moniker on the beast....

A couple of new recipes this week-- a gravy for biscuits and gravy and a home-made mac and cheese (both with a southern twist, of course).

As much as I love biscuits and gravy (they are my favorite breakfast dish) I have never made them at the Cottonwood Inn before. I fished around online and found a good gravy recipe-- but it still had a few things missing. The biscuit recipe I use is out of the High Altitude cookbook, a great book for any cook to have. The gravy recipe I concocted reads as follows:

Serves 4

1 lb. pasture-raised pork sausage (please use only humanely raised meats, your food will taste so much better and your immunities will eventually thank you!) We use Beelers.

3 tablespoons of butter (you can use less if your meat is fatty-- Beelers tends to be a bit leaner)

6 tablespoons of flour

4 cups of milk

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

salt to taste (we found very little was necessary)

1 small can Hatch green chilies (chopped up)Or fresh if you can get 'em!

Brown the sausage in a deep saucepan over med-high heat.
When there is no pink color left add the butter.
Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter/sausage mixture and then gradually add the milk-- stir briskly to keep the flour from clumping.
You can actually dump the green chilies into the milk and they will get added gradually.

Add your pepper and salt after you've added all the milk and the mixture is nicely mixed. Bring the heat up a bit and get your mixture to a boil. Let the mix boil for a few minutes until it has thickened to the consistency you like.

Pour it over your favorite biscuit recipe and fight over the left overs....

I thought this was just fantastic. Brantly isn't a huge gravy fan but even he had a biscuit slathered in the stuff.

The other comfort food we experimented with lately was some homemade mac & cheese. The recipe I found came off the Food Network website but I thought it lacked zip and catered more toward children's tastes. Here is my end result after slight tampering:

served about 6 healthy eaters

1/2 lb bag pasta (your choice of mac & cheese shapes-- I used Texas-shaped because I couldn't help myself)
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
1 tbs mustard powder
3 cups milk
1 finely chopped onion, medium
1 bay leaf
1 tsp chili powder (we used chipotle, but it was HOT)
1 egg
10-12 oz shredded cheese (I liked a blend of Monty-Jack and sharp cheddar, but anything you have in the fridge would work)
1 small can green chilies (or fresh!) of course
salt & pepper to taste

I've had this baked (which is nice with the crispy top) or just served it right out of the pot-- you decide how hungry you are and how long you are willing to wait.

If you decide to bake it, you can do it at 350 for 30 minutes or until desired crispyness.

Put your pasta to cook.

In a largish pot melt the butter and then whisk in the flower and mustard powder. You will be making a kind of rue. The recipe I used said do this for 5 minutes, but I think I did it more like 3. Keep it free of lumps and then stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, chili powder, & green chilies. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Take out the bay leaf when done simmering.

"Temper" in your egg-- this means adding a bit of the sauce to the egg first and stirring and then adding the mixture into the pot.

If you are going to eat the mac out of the pot then toss in all the cheese, if not, reserve some cheese for a topping. Add this to your cooked (al dente)pasta and add your salt and pepper.

Yes, green chili and chili powder make EVERYTHING better!

So, other than cooking the news at the Cottonwood B&B is that Eva (our female dog) has turned into a genuine "egg-sucking dog". Yes, it's true. At first I blamed Winston, but I was shortly put to rights when I actually SAW Eva taking an egg from the hen house and burying it in the yard. We kept wondering why she came in every night with dirt on her nose....

Shortbread and Easter

Okay-- for those of you who asked last weekend, here is the shortbread recipe I've been using lately. I say lately because I recently changed over to this version, from Sunset magazine. There were a couple of things about their recipe I didn't care for, so I've made those changes and written the recipe as I make them.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup cold butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

a couple tablespoons extra of sugar

I cut up the butter into smallish pieces before using my pastry knife. I tried using the standing mixer, as the recipe directs, but it never did crumble and I ended up having to use the pastry knife, anyhow. I made it into pretty fine crumbles because when I didn't, the mix separated while I was trying to press it into the pan. I also poked the finished product with a fork before sprinkling it with sugar. I found that it cooked more evenly with than without the fork-poking. I didn't have large grain sugar, but I do use organic sugar which tends to be darker and a bit rougher grained. I tossed the sugar with a bit of lemon zest to add a bit of something different.

Here is a picture of a piece and also a picture of my new Easter dessert plates, napkins and rabbit napkin rings-- they are too cute to wait until Easter to use them.

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.