My own naivete continues to amaze me.  I could be talking about any number of weird little things that come up during the course of a day- but, in this instance, I’m talking about a little conversation my brother and I had, sitting in this very cramped, little office, about a year ago.  It went something like this, “Cath, this construction project is really a lot of work”.  “True, Joe, but once the building’s up and we have all of the interior work done, then we can really relax for a while.”  “Yeah, wow, what are we going to do with all of our time??”  “Well, Joe, I hadn’t thought about that.  Probably take some vacations?  And I’ll have time to blog all the time!”…

Needless to say, once we finished building the building and expanding the property, we had to learn how to run the thing.  And, while it’s been challenging in a number of ways, to go from a tidy little ten room country inn to what really amounts to a small hotel, in a recession to boot,  I don’t think we’d change a thing. 

So, this is a long way of saying that I really thought I’d have more time to write blog entries.  But, I spend all of my time working on sales, marketing and public relations programs, plus all of the wonderful fun day-to-day stuff that still goes on everyday.  Joe and I have brought on some amazing, incredibly talented consultants to help us brand and position Farmhouse, and now we have a lot of meetings.  But, boy, have we learned a lot.  And it has actually been so much fun!

But, here it is, a super-rainy day.  Joe’s gone on an actual vacation (Nevada to take the kids to see the in-laws, but I’m calling it a vacation…)  My meetings are done for the day.  The river is rising, and I’m drinking a fabulous cup of cocoa and thinking about how lucky I am. 

Here’s the recipe for the cocoa and marshmallows- in case you’re in the mood for something cozy.  (This is a great rainy day project with kids, too).

Cocoa Mix

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (we use Valhrona)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Homemade marshmallows
Hot water or millk
Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water or milk. Stir to combine. Add marshmallows to taste. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry.

Vanilla or Peppermint Marshmallows       
 
3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin ·        
1/2 cup cold water ·        
2 cups granulated sugar ·        
2/3 cups corn syrup ·        
1/4 cup water ·        
1/4 teaspoon salt ·        
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla or peppermint extract ·        
Confectioners’ sugar for dredging
Preparation:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add extract and incorporate into mixture.
 Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly.
(Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper).
After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar.

Hope you enjoy it.  I sure am.

So, if you’ve read any of my other posts- you probably get that I love this business.  Not the inn business or the restaurant business or the spa business per se- but Farmhouse.  There’s just something about it.  It’s this collection of really passionate, creative, loyal people who come together and really create something special.  Well, that was really sappy.   But, oddly sincere.  So, it any of you Farmhousers are reading this, there I’ve said it.  In writing.  Having said that, this place does still make me crazy most of the time.

Anyway, none of that really has anything to do with why I’m posting this morning.  Or maybe it does.  Yesterday and last night were just weird.  In a really good way.  We went from being a little slow this weekend, to being basically totally booked with last minute reservations.  And some of them were just a hoot. 

I was walking accross the parking lot, at around 10 am yesterday, and saw two really attractive,  well dressed women just wandering around the property.  They seemed to be looking for something so I asked if I could help.  Turns out they were just out on a day trip from San Francisco and were thinking about having dinner with us if they could find a place to stay.   So I said “stay here”.   And they did.  And instantly became our two best new friends and ambassadors.  Which is just the funnest thing.  I know funnest isn’t a word. 

So, this morning at check out they told me they were going to go home and read my blog- I guess someone here told them about it- and they hoped I’d post Carole’s Sour Cream Muffin recipe.  She served them this morning, and as always, they were a hit.  So, here it is:

Sour Cream Muffins with Summer Strawberries

Sour Cream Muffins

¾ c. unsalted butter

1 c.  granulated sugar

½ c. brown sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

3 c.  flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

12 oz sour cream

Streusel  Topping

1 c.  granulated sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 ½ sticks butter

3 ½ c. flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350.  Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs.  Add dry ingredients, mix well.  Add sour cream.   Drop into muffin tins and top with streusel.  Bake 20-25 minutes. 

This is a really versatile recipe.  Right now Carole’s dropping in strawberries, blueberries or really, whatever berries are on hand.  In the winter, they’re great with dried fruit or nuts mixed in.

Stacey and Ellen let me know how the recipe works for you. 

Happy 4th!

This recipe makes a perfect take-along for whatever you’re doing this weekend.  Flaky-tender biscuits with great flavor are the perfect partner for summer’s sweetest berries.  This is a real Farmhouse favorite. We serve it with a dry sherry sabayon, but soft whipped cream is nice too.  For best results, buy your berries at your local farmer’s market.  We get ours from one of our favorite farmers, Tierra Vegetables.  They come in still sun-warmed and dusty and the fragrance is unbeatable.  At the very least buy organic- for oh so many reasons..

Tierra Farms Strawberries

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For biscuits

·         2 cups all purpose flour

·         1 tablespoon grated orange peel

·         2 tablespoons poppy seeds

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

·         3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled whipping cream

For berries and cream

• 4 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, sliced
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup chilled whipping cream

·         Make biscuits:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, orange zest and poppy seeds in a large bowl. Cut butter in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3/4 cup cream. Blend just until moist clumps form. Do not over mix or the dough will become tough.  Gather dough into ball; gently knead 5 turns. Break into 10-12 equal pieces and gently shape them into 3 inch high rounds (they’ll settle during baking).

·         Bake biscuits until pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. (Can be made 2 hours ahead.)

·         Make berries and cream:
Combine berries and 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl; stir to blend. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

·         Combine cream and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in large bowl. Whisk until soft peaks form.

·         Gently pull biscuits horizontally in half. Place 1 biscuit bottom in each of 6 bowls. Top each with berries, then sweetened whipped cream and biscuit top.