All You Need Is Love

 

To quote Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, “All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”  Today I made a Chocolate Pecan Loaf Cake, I’ve got love, but I needed a little chocolate.

I am considering submitting a few recipes for a holiday recipe contest sponsored by our electric co-op. They are looking for the best pecan recipes-savory and sweet.  Texas is a large producer of pecans and the main criteria is that all recipes must include pecans.  I’ve got several tried and true recipes using one of my favorite nuts but I also have a new book, given to me by Miss T, and it’s all about chocolate.  I decided to try the combination of pecans, chocolate, and my delicious honey in an effort to submit a winning recipe.

One of the benefits to using honey is that it allows the cake to stay moist longer.  The flavors are subtle but the sweet chocolate taste stands out fulfilling that “need” for chocolate.  The cake is tender and moist with a hint of espresso richness.  This loaf style cake will be equally delectable with a cup of mid morning coffee or served as a lovely, simple dessert.

Enjoy!
Chocolate Pecan Loaf Cake 

Ingredients:
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 cup warm water
1/1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/14 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease an 8 x 4 x 3″ loaf pan.  dust it with flour and tap out any excess.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth.   Set aside and allow to cool to lukewarm.

In a small bowl dissolve the espresso in the warm water.

In a medium bowl, whisky together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on high-speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.  Reduce the speed to low and beat in the cooled chocolate and honey. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and coffee until well blended.  Stir in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap it on the counter to remove air bubbles.  Bake in the center of the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.  Invert cake onto a rack and allow to cool completely.  Decorate with whole pecans and sprinkle with powdered sugar if you wish.
 

Honey Harvest News

The Orange Bee's First Honey Harvest

Beautiful isn’t it?  I can say that because I didn’t make this stuff – my bees did!  I am so proud of my first honey harvest.  I’d like for you to read more about it and see more photos, taken by my man Dan.  Go to the “Bees & Honey” page up top and you’ll see “Honey Harvest” down a few lines, click and enjoy!

A short update on the girls.  I am still feeding Queen Elena’s hive but only every other evening.  They are consuming one quart every two days.  That is ok.  Everyone else seems to be doing fine.  Monday is the day I set aside to visit the bee yard, smoker in hand and inspect each hive for good or unhealthy conditions.  I am always thrilled when I spot a queen but seeing brand new babies, honey, and no pests let’s me know all is well in the apiary.

Tomorrow that is where you will find me.  As I inspect I will also be checking for frames full of capped honey.  When there are enough, the second honey harvest will take place. Believe me, this is one of the joys of my week.  The buzzing is calming to me, their approach to each day encourages me and the fruits of their labor inspire me.

Enjoy!

Figs on Friday

Every time I opened my refrigerator in the last couple of days, the bowl of remaining figs I’d purchased at the Sulphur Springs farmers market kept beckoning to me.  I didn’t want to allow them to go bad but hadn’t decided what to do with them.  It was weighing on my mind.

I decided to spend sometime in the air-conditioning perusing a stack of magazines, Southern Living, Cooking Light, Cooks Illustrated, etc. that also were beckoning to me. Piled in a basket, collecting dust, demanding one last glimpse before being hauled off to Half Price Books or the library.  As luck would have it in the August 2010 edition of Southern Living, the first magazine I began to look through, I discovered just what I needed.  A recipe for Baked Fig Crostini!  The only ingredient not in the pantry was a fresh-baked baguette.  No problem, I was headed to the grocery for a head of romaine and a carton of milk.  I planned on whipping up a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for our light and easy Friday night meal.  These little appetizers would be the perfect first-course. This made me smile.

The one change I made in the recipe is; I left off the drizzle of honey.  I know, it’s almost impossible to think that I would leave out a drizzle of honey.  Either way you choose, with or without honey these little gems are fantastic.

Enjoy!

Baked Fig Crostini

Preheat oven to 350*.  Stir together 4 oz. chopped, cooked bacon or country ham; 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled & softened; 1 Tbsp. finely chopped toasted pecans; and 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme.  cut 12 fresh figs in half.  Press the back of a small soon or your thumb into the centers of the fig halves, making a small indentation.  Spoon the cheese mixture into the indentations.  Baking on a baking sheet for 7 minutes.  Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. honey.  Serve immediately with toasted baguette slices.
( I placed the baguette slices in the oven with the figs and they were all ready at the same time.)

 

Feasting On Fresh Figs & A Sunset

Seventeen days of temperatures topping 100*.  Thank goodness for an air-conditioned home where we can find respite from the intolerable heat.  One of our favorite ways to spend the late afternoon or cocktail hour is lounging in our rockers on the back porch, with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, complete with grazing cattle, buzzing bees, flocks of cattle egret flying overhead, and brilliant orange sunsets.  Even with the scorching temperatures, we find ourselves drifting outside around  6 p.m., cold beverage in hand, to enjoy our little piece of heaven on earth.

Such was the case on Saturday evening.  We’d spent most of our day in a town named Sulphur Springs, killing time while Miss T attended a workshop.  We had the pleasure of stumbling upon a farmers market taking place in downtown Sulphur Springs as we explored the small town.  To our surprise there were two booths selling “local” honey, both sharing samples.  Of course, we don’t need any honey but we did stop and sample the goods.  Both tasty, but we deemed neither to be superior to my Orange Bee Honey.  Moving on, we gazed at peas, tomatoes, squash, watermelons, cantaloupes, and figs.  Figs!  I love figs, fresh picked and warm from the sun.  These were fresh picked and believe me they were warm, as the heat was up to around 98* by mid-morning.  I asked the young woman behind the table, wearing a faded apron, curly hair framing her face about the figs.  “Yes mam, fresh picked.  You choose the ones you want and she’ll bag them for you”, she replied as she pointed to her look-alike daughter standing to the side. I chose my bowl of figs, paid the little girl and received a smile, a big “thank you” and a brown bag full of fresh picked figs.  We headed back to the car, eager to turn on the air conditioning and continue exploring the town of Sulphur Springs.  All I really had on my mind was how I would prepare the figs to accompany our dinner later that night.

Knowing that figs go well with honey and that I would be grilling that evening, I decided to grill a few figs and finish them off with a drizzle of honey.  I planned on stuffing chicken breasts with goat cheese, basil and pecans for our evening meal and thought the figs would make a nice addition.  After we enjoyed the luminous setting sun we ventured indoors to feast on the chicken and figs.  No wonder figs have been referred to as “food of the gods”!  Grilling them caused them to caramelize and soften just a bit, resulting in melt in your mouth goodness.  The drizzle of honey heightened the lush flavor of the warm figs.  As we savored each bite the heat of the day faded, as had the sun, while we counted our blessings once again.

Enjoy!
Grilled Figs & Honey
Prepare figs:  Wash and trim off stems.  Split in half-length wise with a sharp knife.
Grill:  Gently place figs over a medium flame on the grill grate, being careful not to let them slip through the cracks.  Grill for about 10-12 minutes, flipping once.
Finish:  Remove from grill and drizzle with some fresh, pure honey.  Allow the figs to sit and soak up the honey before serving.

All Grown Up – Chocolate Cake

LuLu Bakes

Funny how kids grow up right before our very eyes. If you are a parent you’ve no doubt discovered this phenomenon to be one that takes place all too quickly as well as right before our very eyes.  When our children are young it’s impossible not to dream of how they will emerge as young adults. They dream of their future, share it with us and we in turn dream right along with them into the future.  Of course those dreams are subject to change from time to time, as they grow, mature and learn about the world around them. Thoughts and ideas they once thought to be ridiculous or uninteresting evolve into ideas and ways of thinking, no longer laughable or boring.  This is a good thing!

As a woman who enjoys the kitchen, a dream I’ve had for both of my daughters is that they too, would enjoy and embrace cooking, baking and preparing meals for their families as they became young adults.  LuLu, my 24-year-old, who has set up home in a cool little apartment, in the beautiful and ever popular capital of Texas, I’m proud to say, has arrived.  Yes, yes!  I am proud to say she is there, in her cute kitchen, complete with red appliances and tons of wooden spoons, donning her vintage apron, whipping up delicious creations almost daily.  I usually receive a phone call, late afternoon, as she heads to the grocery for an ingredient or two she’ll need to prepare her dish of the evening.  I could not be happier as evidenced by the grin from ear to ear spread across my face.

I especially enjoyed this new-found pleasure of hers on a recent visit as the dinner hour approached.  The main course, I am sorry to say has slipped my mind, because I was most blown away by the chocolate cake she whipped up, as we sipped on cool chardonnay from stemless glasses and visited across the bar.  My daughter threw together “Reine de Saba avec Glacage au Chocolate”, or in english, “Chocolate and Almond Cake with Chocolate Icing”, from Mastering The Art Of French Cooking, Vol.1, by Julia Child.  Can you imagine how proud I felt, watching her read the recipe from her iPhone, (actually that part made me giggle) a newfangled way of scanning a recipe, melting chocolate in a double boiler, stirring the ingredients together, and perfecting the icing consistency by stirring it over a bowl of ice.  I did not know she could or would do this!

The cake was a scrumptious blend of chocolate and almond flavors and the icing creamy and divine.  If you are a mom and have dreams of your kids becoming great chefs or simply learning to embrace cooking and baking, relax, sit back and wait for that magical moment when your dream is fulfilled.  It’s worth the wait!

I do plan on sharing a story of the honey harvest soon.  Our lives have been hectic this summer with the closing of the business where my adoring hubby has worked for 30 years. Yes, yes it turned our lives upside down but we are finally starting to see an end to the chaos it created.  I will tell you, my hunch about hungry bees was correct and they are happily sipping sugar syrup daily and beginning to fill their hive with nectar that will sustain them during the winter months.  I can’t say that we are totally in the clear as this hive is small but I do know they aren’t hungry anymore.  I feel confident in saying that I saved their lives.

Enjoy!

Chocolate and Almond Cake
Recipe created by Julia Child

This extremely good chocolate cake is baked so that its center remains slightly underdone; overcooked, the cake loses its special creamy quality. It is covered with a chocolate-butter icing, and decorated with almonds. Because of its creamy center it needs no filling. It can be made in the same manner as the preceding cakes, starting out with a beating of egg yolks and sugar, then proceeding with the rest of the ingredients. But because the chocolate and the almonds make a batter so stiff it is difficult to fold in the egg whites, we have chosen another method, that of creaming together the butter and sugar, and then incorporating the remaining items.

Ingredients

• Round cake pan , 8 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches deep
• 3-quart mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon or Electric beater
• Rubber spatula
• Cake rack

• 4 ounces or squares semisweet chocolate , melted
• 2 Tbsp. rum or coffee
• 1/4 pound or 1 stick softened butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar to mix with butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar to beat with egg whites
• 1/3 cup pulverized almonds
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 cup cake flour , scooped and leveled, turned into a sifter
• Chocolate-Butter Icing

 To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Butter and flour the cake pan. Set the chocolate and rum or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.

Cream the butter and 2/3 cup of sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture. Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.

Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle 1 Tbsp. sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in the almonds, and almond extract. Immediately stir in one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.

Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

Chocolate-Butter Icing

Recipe created by Julia Child

Ingredients

• Small covered pan
• Larger pan of almost simmering water
• Wooden spoon
• Bowl with tray of ice cubes and water to cover them
• Small flexible-blade metal spatula or table knife

• 2 ounces (2 squares) semisweet baking chocolate
• 2 Tbsp. rum or coffee
• 5 to 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

Place the chocolate and rum or coffee in the small pan, cover and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water. Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth. Lift chocolate pan out of the hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife and press almonds into the icing.

Road Food and Bee Food

After checking my hives on Monday I could not stop thinking about the Queen Elena hive. It is my newest and smallest colony, named after our Russian friend Elena, as the queen in residence is a Russian queen.  When I had looked inside earlier in the week I’d perceived something to be amiss but could not put my finger on it.  There were plenty of bees, busy doing what bees do but I had a feeling……On that day I did not see Queen Elena,  but that is not unusual as queen bees are shy and aren’t always visible upon a hive inspection.  Below is a photo of her royal highness – Queen Elena, can you find her?

Queen Elena

After harvesting honey I had taken most of the extracted frames and placed them inside this hive to give them the leftovers.  They seemed excited and immediately went to work cleaning out the cells of any remaining honey and or wax they might need.  When I looked in on them Monday, they were carrying out this task beautifully, building out the foundations with wax and preparing them for brood or honey storage.  Still something seemed wrong.  I had 5 remaining hives to inspect; and if you haven’t heard it’s down right hot outside in Texas; I quickly moved on to the other hives, all looked fine, but I couldn’t stop contemplating what was going on in hive #6.

This morning I couldn’t stand it any longer so I suited up and went out for a second assessment.  I didn’t even smoke them today, who needs a fire and smoke when the temps are upwards of 100*?  They are a calm bunch and as I said earlier, my smallest colony.  I opened the top and began to remove frames.  The builder bees were busy building out foundations, worker bees cleaning the place up, the climate control crew was busy circulating air in and out to regulate the temps inside the hive, Queen Elena was on display, and some brood was visible.  After seeing all of this I realized the one thing missing was the amount or lack of food for my girls!  Oh!!! the thought of them starving to death in the middle of summer was more than I could bear.

Mr. F says, “beekeeping is nothing more than problem solving”.  This is a problem that must be solved immediately.  I quickly closed up the hive and returned to the air-conditioned indoors to look up the recipe for “bee food”.  I made a run to the grocery for a 10# bag of sugar and began the process.  It’s simple: water boiled, sugar added, remove from heat and stir until dissolved, allow to cool before feeding to bees.  Thank heavens I thought, I can handle this and I began to feel competent and happy that I solved the puzzle.

The drought conditions we are experiencing are making it difficult on bees.  There is not as much food as they need, so it is up to the beekeeper to help them along.  As of now, the other hives are all bigger and have more honey and pollen stored for their food supply but these girls needed help and needed it quick.

I am happy to say, “mission accomplished!”.  I made a giant batch of sugar syrup, filled a jar and got them all set up.  Tomorrow I will inspect again to see if they’ve taken the syrup and at what rate.  Fingers crossed…..I am hoping that my hunch was the right one and that with the extra food I’m giving they will continue to survive and flourish.  Stay tuned for the saga of Queen Elena and her hive.

Today I posted a new “Road Food” photo that will make your mouth water.  Check it out under Road Food-Texas-Dallas.

 

Honey Fruit Dip

Staring at all this fresh, pure, local, and I do mean local, amber-colored, delectable honey sitting on my dining table for the last week inspired me to find a recipe that uses honey.  I wanted something simple so I decided on a “dip”.  I also found myself with fresh strawberries, blueberries, melons, cherries and some pineapple chunks begging to be eaten, so I made “Fruit Dip”.

This is about as simple as it gets and it had me coming back for more.  I love fresh fruit and eat some every day, all year-long.  After I whipped up this tasty treat I ate more than my share of fruit, but who could complain?  After all, fruit is one of the foods we are supposed to have several servings of daily.  I served fresh fruit and dip after dinner, with dinner, for an afternoon snack and with breakfast and lunch.  I felt cool and refreshed each time I dipped some juicy fruit into the bowl and savored the creamy, sweet dip with just enough cinnamon flavor to excite my taste buds.

I plan on writing about my honey harvest and posting photos in the next couple of days. Be on the watch for it.   I also feel a baking surge coming on, but can’t put my finger on what I’m in the mood to bake.  Lemon something is sounding pretty delicious or maybe a fruity invention.  Possibly another tasty treat using honey.

Hmmmm…I suppose I’ll peruse a few new cookbooks I picked up at a garage sale and see what inspires me.  Guess I’ll snack on some melon and “dip” too.  Hanging in the air conditioning, flipping pages of never seen cookbooks and snacking on fresh fruit and yummy dip is sounding like a nice way to end this unbelievably scorching afternoon.

Enjoy!

Honey Fruit Dip

Ingredients:
2 packages of fat-free cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 6oz. carton plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate dip overnight.  Remove from frig a few minutes before serving to allow the dip to soften a bit.  This will be equally delicious with fall and winter fruits so hang on to this recipe!

A Lighter Meal

After chowing down on those ribs I told you about earlier this week I was really in the mood for a lighter meal.  My mom brought me a recipe for shrimp tacos she’d found while perusing the newspaper.  She knows how much I love shrimp and thought I would enjoy the recipe.  After I read the recipe all I could think about was shrimp tacos.

Off to the store I went for shrimp, corn tortillas, fresh cilantro and limes.  Growing up in southeast Texas near the gulf coast I learned to peel a shrimp in no time flat at an early age.  To this day I can peel a pound before my helper can peel half a dozen!  It’s one of those tasks I could do with my eyes closed.  My Dad rarely came home with less than 5# of fresh gulf shrimp, needing to be peeled before being boiled, steamed, or thrown into gumbo.  Of course he needed a helper to peel them and I was the chosen one.

On this occasion I favored unpeeled shrimp.  I decided to boil them in the shell, making for a leisurely dinner of peeling our shrimp, drinking cold beer and then building our tacos. I chose to accompany the shellfish tacos with a watermelon and jicima salsa.  It all sounded utterly light and refreshing, just what I had in mind that day.  It is a little messy to have folks sitting around peeling shrimp but it sure made for a relaxing and pleasing light summer meal.  The blending of the juicy melons, crunchy jicima, fresh lime, cilantro, and a tiny bite from the jalapeño make this a welcome departure from the usual salsa suspects.  Serve a small bowl of it with chips as an appetizer

I’ll tell you here how I prepared the shrimp and below give you the recipe for the salsa. We were all so ravenous that I wasn’t able to get a shot of the finished tacos – but you know what a taco looks like.
Shrimp: Fill a large pot with water; add 2 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning, (or your favorite seafood boil).  Bring to a boil and add 1# fresh unpeeled shrimp.  Boil until shrimp turn pink – being sure not to boil too long, which will cause the shrimp to become tough.  Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  They are now ready for the taco bar!

Watermelon & Jicima Salsa

Ingredients:
1 cup watermelon, peeled, seeded and diced (or buy seedless)
1 cup honeydew, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup jicima, peeled and diced
2 Tbs. green onions, sliced thin
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced ( be sure to wear rubber gloves)
Dash of salt

In medium bowl combine all ingredients, toss gently.  Serve at room temperature or chill.

 

4th of July Ribs

4th of July – come and gone.  I hope you had a delightful celebration however you chose to celebrate.   We kept it simple as earlier that morning I harvested my first batch of honey. (More on that in another post)  The heat on that day was much like it’s been for some time now, scorching!  At the request of my husband and Miss T,  I agreed to grill some baby back ribs regardless of the temperature soaring outdoors.

I follow a few blogs when I can find time and one that I take a gander at often is Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide.  I had just seen a recipe for his special rib rub and it caught my attention.  I honestly prefer a rub on my ribs rather than dousing them in bbq sauce.  Apparently this recipe is a secret – well, it was a secret, until he posted it on the blog!  Hey Rufus, hopin’ you don’t mind I just spread your secret to a few other hungry readers.  I only changed one thing and that is in the mopping sauce, I used beer as opposed to water.  He states that he makes his own chili powder, I used store-bought.  I copied the rub recipe verbatim, slathered it on the ribs, chilled them for several hours, baked them in a slow oven for about an hour and a half and then drug myself out into the heat and threw them on the grill.  Perfecto!  They came out juicy, tender, spicy and were downright delicious with cold beer and a side of grilled taters.  (I made a few other minor changes in how I prepared the ribs – look for my changes at the bottom of the recipe.)

Be sure and check out http://rufusguide.wordpress.com/– it’s a blog for anyone who loves to eat and drink!  They post the most delicious food and cocktail recipes and they post new recipes often.  I’m suspicious they don’t have real jobs but are professional food bloggers.  Seriously, give them a look, you won’t be disappointed.

As I said earlier, I harvested my first batch of honey on July 4th.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my morning.  The honey was ready for harvesting and the yield proved to be phenomenal.  The pureness and freshness is proven in the clarity and delicate sweetness it offers.  A delicate sweetness that I can’t seem to get enough of, although, I’ve gotten plenty in the process of harvesting and bottling – I think I’ve licked at least a gallon off of my fingers.  It’s delectable, pure, wildflower honey, made by my bees.  I’m so proud of their hard work and just a little pleased with myself for having a successful first harvest.  More on the harvesting and bottling with an update on bees will come at a later time.  Stay tuned…

Meantime turn up the grill and rub some ribs.  Enjoy!

Dry Rub for Ribs by Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide

Ingredients:
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp chili powder
1/2 whole nutmeg grated
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside 2 tbsp of mix for mopping sauce.  Rub the rest over the ribs and let it sit refrigerated for at least two hours or overnight.

In a small pot combine remaining rub, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup beer, 1 tbsp. oil, dash cayenne pepper and a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil and set aside.  When ready to grill the ribs mop them with the prepared sauce and continue doing so frequently during the grilling process.

Changes I made:  *used beer instead of water in mop sauce
*baked ribs in oven 350* for about 1 1/2 hours
*grilled my ribs after oven baking instead of smoking ( I burned up three                        smokers and need a new one)
*I did not add bbq sauce at the end of grilling – but served some on the                                    side for those who wanted it.

Meet Nell

Meet Nell

Nell is the resident kitty at the Mt. Gainor Inn, a B & B in Dripping Springs, Texas, where I recently enjoyed a stay.  Mt. Gainor Inn is an early 20th century, German farmhouse sitting on 23 scenic hilltop acres in the gorgeous hill country.  It has been lovingly restored by hosts Jerry and Laurie Pinnix.  Not a detail has been overlooked.

It was “girls weekend”, a custom my sister-in-law and I started several years back.  This year we decided on a bed & breakfast experience and we picked the perfect one.  Leaving the traffic jammed highway, turning onto a peaceful, winding country road assures you, you are on the way to rest and relaxation.  The color returns to your knuckles as you weave past organic farms, babbling streams and wide open pasture land.

Arriving at the Inn we were greeted by Nell, right away.  As we approached the steps to the front porch she ambled over from her spot in the shade and greeted us with a squeaky, raspy “meow”.  I instantly knew this was gonna be good because having a friendly cat to stroke is unfailingly good for the soul.
Laurie came to greet us and show us our light filled, spacious room aptly named the Garden Room.  We entered through the inviting living room, filled with antiques, comfy seating, an old wooden ironing board displaying info on the surrounding area, a movie library, and perfectly polished old wood floors.  We immediately took note of the coolness of the rooms, a necessity in late June in Texas.  Halleluia for air conditioning!
After Laurie gave us the run down on the place we slipped into our swimsuits and hit the hot tub.  Now, I know sitting in a hot tub in the sizzling Texas heat sounds a little crazy but we were ready to relax and the sun was beginning to set, giving a reprieve from the scorcher of a day. A side door led from our suite to the hot tub along a pleasant pathway and view of the neighboring ranch.  This is also where we found a long, covered pergola with plenty of seating, hammocks to laze in and a perfect spot to watch the sunset.
Rosemary grows abundantly in the lovely beds right along with bright yellow wildflowers, morning-glory, and interesting objects.  An old rusty shopping cart, local rocks, a Texas plaque, and various statuary.

A glass of wine, a colorful cocktail or a cold Lone Star is the perfect accompaniment to the bubbling hot tub and vibrant sunset.
All the rooms in the Inn feature private entrances, decks, baths, TV’s with DVD’s and wireless Internet.  Each room has a comfy queen size bed complete with the softest, silkiest linens, making bed time something to look forward to.  We had wonderful views from our Garden Room, which opened to the living room, giving us the feel of having the entire house to ourselves.  The Hideaway, a smaller room at the back of the house featured a Cowboy bed, a whirlpool tub for two and a deck made private by a beautiful vine, covered in pink flowers.  The Attic Suite covers the top floor and is a 3 room sanctuary.  From here there are vast views of the hill country.

Around 9:00 each morning Laurie cooks and Jerry serves a delicious homemade breakfast, served with hot coffee or tea, and assorted juices.  On the first morning she brought out a yummy puff pastry filled with ham, peppers, cheese and eggs.  The next morning Laurie really outdid herself by setting up a waffle station under the shady pergola and preparing made to order waffles.  These were accompanied by peppered bacon, warm syrup, butter and fresh fruit.  Laurie’s breakfast is a wonderful start to the day and keeps you going until mid afternoon.  During our stay breakfast was served under the sheltered pergola while hummingbirds buzzed around and Jackrabbits played tag in the back pasture.
Being at Mt. Gainor felt like being away.  It was peaceful, clean, quiet, lovely, and relaxing.   I don’t know about you, but when I have a short weekend away those are the things I look for.  The Pinnixs’ have done a wonderful job of making their guests feel welcome by their friendliness, willingness to please, and their attention to detail, down to the personalized, comfy, waffle weave bathrobe provided for each guest.
 If you find yourself looking for a short or a lengthy get away, check out Mt Gainor Inn, you won’t be disappointed.  Tell Laurie and Jerry The Orange Bee sent ya’!  Heck, they even had bees foraging on site – talk about personal treatment.
 

Come back soon for a report on my first honey harvest.  Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend and I’ll hope to see you back early next week.

Enjoy!