[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]
Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with beauty of sunset, with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage. Thomas Kincade
[/call_to_action]
We are getting ready for some cozy living here at Crabtree Cottage. The gardens are ready to be put to bed, there are leaves waiting to be raked up and soup to be served in front of the fire. It has been a glorious late summer and autumn season here at Crabtree Cottage. Scroll down to see what we have been up to.
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]The old never lack for a story when they’re standing in the sun or in front of a warm fireplace. Sicilian Proverb[/call_to_action]
We just picked our last zucchini! It was a stellar crop. Here is Jeff making zucchini pasta with our sprial vegetable slicer. We made this a lot over the summer because we had sooo much zucchini! We topped it with peanut sauce and sometimes we sauteed it with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple and low cal! Pop over to my facebook page for the recipe. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can like our page too.
We still have lots of kale to last during the cool weather of late fall.
A zucchini pancake for two!
Our sugar puffs are one of our signature offerings. Our guests just love these. Buttery, cinnamon sugar ~ ahhhh!
This baked pancake is an old favorite.
Here is the recipe for the Baked Pancake: Mix 2 large eggs ,1/2 C. flour, 1/2 C. milk. In a 9″ black iron skillet melt 4 TBS. of butter in a 400 degree oven. Then pour in the batter. Bake about 15 minutes. It will be puffed up and then collapse after you take it out of the oven. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top and sprinke confectionary sugar.
- aspargus, mushroom, and cheese bachamel sauce crepe
We have lots of guests with special dietary needs. We strive to make all of our guests feel like they are getting special treatment regardless of their dietary needs.
- chocolate bannana gluten free muffins
There is rarely a bite left with this comforting apple crisp.
Now this Chocolate Ciabatta is really a hit. We buy it at the Berkshire Mountain Bakery in Housatonic Ma. I toast in delicious butter until it is crispy! This is too tempting to have around, so I do have to limit my purchases!
As you can see we have all been eating well! I have some new recipes coming up! Here is a sneak peak!
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]Stay Close to anything that makes you glad you are alive. Hafez [/call_to_action]
As you know all things home make me feel alive! Here a few of my favorite creative and simple pleasures.
Bringing the outdoors in is such a gift from the garden!
This window box is hanging on after the frost and I hate to let it go! I have too many outdoor plants inside now that we had a frost and I am looking for indoor spots that they can call home until summer.
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]
“Eating, and hospitality in general, is a communion, and any meal worth attending by yourself is improved by the multiples of those with whom it is shared.” Jesse Browner
[/call_to_action]
This next photo is one of our special repeat guests. Frank was singing and strumming his own folk music for us and other guests one morning after breakfast. His talent was remarkable and very enjoyable! This season has been filled with repeat guests, but we have also welcomed new guests. We have had guests from England, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, and Ireland. We always marvel at the diverisity of our guests at the breakfast table each morning. Last weekend we had two couples from England who lived a couple of towns away from eachother!
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]“The earth has music for those who listen.” George Santavana[/call_to_action]
My sister and I walk together through this quiet wooded area where someone decorates the woods with pumpkins!
Last week on our walk we noticed the road had fossilized leaves imprinted in it. We had never seen anything like that before!
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]When you enjoy what you do, work becomes play. Martin Yan[/call_to_action]
Jeff and I live by this motto! With another busy season behind us at Crabtree, and another big project with Jeff at the helm at Keenan Construction, we feel that we have found our perfect professions. Doing what we love everyday makes it all worth it, and the freedom of doing it our way is a creative and invigorating challange.
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]The only way to do great work is to love what you do. Steve Jobs[/call_to_action]
We are hopeful that our daughter Julia will be able to follow her passions and build a beautiful life in the art world. As a recent college graduate Julia is learning how to market her pottery, manage her website and promote her business. She is currently in a show at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, and has had two local gallery openings and a couple of special sales at Karen Keenan Gifts. Julia is learning valuable, lifelong skills, without having a final destination clearly defined. We are confident that this process will prepare her in ways that are invaluable to whatever path she chooses and what might open up for her. She inspires us with her steadfast work ethic and her creative ambition.
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]“its not a way of making a living, its a way of making a life” – Paulus Berensohn. [/call_to_action]
[call_to_action size=”middle” colour=”blue”]The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination.[/call_to_action]
Another special young woman, our neice, Kirsten Keenan, is making her own way by pursuing her dream and following her passions. She graduated from college and took the road less traveled. She is living in Colorado and working as a farmer at a CSA. Learning all aspects of organic farming is opening up a whole new world for her. She is learning the complicated aspects of soil structure, chemical issues, seeds, harvesting and preserving foods. She knows how to can and how to ferment foods. She learns by doing hands on work every day at the farm. This ambitious and sweet soul is living a healthy and vigorous lifestyle without knowing where it will lead, but she is confident in the process. I admire her so much! After talking with Kirsten about her work, I realize how brilliant she is. She recommends books and tecniques like a pro, and I am in awe of her knowledge. If she were to become a writer after this it wouldn’t surprise me. Her options are limitless!
Thank you for coming by my blog today.
