I know I haven’t posted in a while.   I feel like I just hibernated for the last couple of months.   But don’t worry, I’ve been a busy little bee while I’ve been in hiding.   I’ve been experimenting with some new breakfast and dinner recipes.   Would it be boasting to say the fresh tomato pie and chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake are to die for?   We’ve also been working on a new updated inn website that we hope to roll out in about 2 months time.   We had some great new photographs taken by our friend Ken Love,  of Ken Love Photography  and got a few nice pictures ourselves after the recent snow storms.       Attached is a montage of some of Ken’s pictures taken in and around the inn.   Hope you enjoy them.   

Pictures around the White Oak Inn

Images from White Oak Inn

Bald Eagle spotted on Kokosing River

As some of you know we have a bald eagle nest close to the inn, alongside the Kokosing River.     This particular nest replaced one about three miles upriver.   The two nests have been active for the last ten years or more, with one or two chicks surviving each year, so now we have quite the population of bald eagles in the area.

We were out with friends last week, driving home around 4 p.m. and I saw a large black bird with a white head and tail rise up from the ditch, not more than 30 feet from us.     I immediately knew what it was and stopped the car so we could get a better look.   The bird circled and landed again, about 75 feet away from the road.    He waited patiently for us to move on.   Apparently he was feasting on a dead deer in the ditch and we had interrupted dinner.      In the meantime an immature eagle also circled around us .

We often see the eagles flying over the inn or along the river.     They are simply majestic.    Every year during our Spring Nature weekend at the inn, local eagle expert Brad Perkins comes and shares his latest slides of the eagles, and stories about activities he and other volunteers have undertaken to ensure the survival of this magnificent species.     Then he takes all our guests to a spot where they can observe the nest and the parents feeding the young eaglets through a telescope.

The photograph at the top of this post was actually snapped by one of our guests.   He and his wife were driving along our road, and as the came close to the river spotted a mature eagle perched on a rock in the river.   They were able to take several photographs before the bird flew off.

For more information about the Spring Nature Weekend, give us a call or visit our website.   The date for 2010 is April 30 to May 2.

This coming Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 & 12 will be the only dates this year we are offering the Dickens Christmas Carol package.   Our very talented actor Brent has been signed to a contract with a theater in Cincinnati, and this could be the last year he’s available to perform at The White Oak Inn.

We still have a few seats available for each performance.   The package includes a traditional afternoon tea and Mandy and Yvonne spent Tuesday afternoon making sweet treats for the tea.    They’ve made lemon curd, fruit and nut loaf, almond macaroons, mint brownies, raspberry almond tassies, chocolate apricot bars, Scottish shortbread, walnut crescents, turtle squares, lemon creme bars, and peanut honey crisps.

Tickets are available for the play and tea for $45 a person or overnight packages including the play, tea, light buffet supper, overnight stay and breakfast start at $259 a couple.

Here’s one of the recipes from yesterday’s bake-fest:

Almond Macaroons

1 - 14 oz. package sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/4 teaspoon of salt

4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Mix all the ingredients in a medium size bowl.    Drop mounds (1 or 2 tablespoons in size, depending on how large you want your macaroons to be)  onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing an inch apart.   Bake about 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.      Let cool slightly, then remove from parchment and finish cooling on wire racks.   (Do not allow to completely cool on parchment, as they will stick).

The holiday season is on its way.     And for us at the inn, that means a lot of extra baking.    So last week Ian and I took a short drive to pick up supplies from our favorite bulk food store in Holmes County, Ohio’s Amish area.   Along the way we also popped in to the Holmes County Flea Market just outside of Berlin.

To sum up the experience in one sentence:    It certainly lives up to the adage that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

We did come out of there with a pair of work gloves for Ian and some fudge for me, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.      And from there we enjoyed the scenic drive up country road 77 throught Mount Hope and on to the Ashery.

Bulk food stores abound throughout the Amish area.    They are the equivalent of convenience stores for the Amish people themselves.    Keep in mind that the Amish a) don’t generally have refrigerators and freezers, b) Have large families to feed and c)are thrifty and don’t use many convenience foods.     So these stores sell all the basics needed for cooking from scratch, including flour, sugar, nuts and dried fruit, herbs and spices and much more.     And the prices are considerably more reasonable than the same products from a supermarket.

We like the Ashery because it has a large selection, is clean and well organized, and is always very busy, meaning the inventory turns over quickly.    Obviously other people agree with us - the store recently expanded and they had to build a larger parking lot across the road.

So with our treasure of fruits, nuts, baking chips and other goodies put away it’s time to start planning the menus for our holiday events.

Here’s a sneak preview of one of the recipes we’ll be making for our Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol event in December:

Raspberry Coconut Squares

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup raspberry preserves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups shredded coconut

Combine 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 cup of sugar.   Cut in the butter and press into the bottom of a 9 inch square pan.   Spread the preserves over this base.  Beat the eggs with the sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter and the vanilla.  Mix in the coconut.   Spread this over the preserves.    Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until light gold.   Cool and cut into 36 squares.

Josie the Satellite Kitty

Our poor little kitty, Josie, at the ripe old age of 4 1/2 months was found to have a tumor.   Fortunately our wonderful vet, Dr. Geoff Gregg, removed it and deemed it to be benign.   Unfortunately convincing a kitten to leave a big boo-boo on their belly  alone is not the easiest thing in the world, so for the last two weeks Josie has been known as the Satellite Kitty.   Stitches came out today.   The dish has to stay on for another week to make sure the incision is well healed.    In the meantime Ian claims to be getting two new TV stations.

There’s no doubt it’s Fall now.   Swirls of golden leaves are fluttering down to the driveway as fast as we can rake them.   It’s such a bittersweet time of year.   On the one hand it’s so beautiful outside.   And Fall means apples, squash and pumpkins are in season.     The kitchen becomes comfortably cool again and we enjoy making soups and baking sweet items redolent with cinnamon and other warm spices.    On crisp cold nights we light the inn fireplaces.    But the downside is that Fall signals an end to the tomatoes, basil and other warm-weather fruits and vegetables.     And all that color is a precursor to bare tree limbs and having to bundle up to do outdoor chores.

This past weekend proved to be unusually cool for this time of year.    So to warm the hearts and tummies of our guests, I made one of my favorite quick breads - a pumpkin orange and date loaf.

This recipe gives two 9 x 5 loaves.   Enought to eat one now, freeze one for later, or share with friends.

Pumpkin, Date and Orange Bread

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 - 14 oz. can of pumpkin

1/2 cup of milk

1 or 2 oranges (depends on how much orange flavor you like!)

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 cup of chopped dates

optional:  1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans

Put flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a bowl and mix together well.

Cream butter and sugar together.   Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add pumpkin and milk.

Take unpeeled orange(s), cut into 8 pieces and process in a food processor or blender until ground up fine.    Add this to the batter.

Gently fold the flour mixture into the batter.   Stir in dates and nuts.

Divide mixture between two greased 9 x 5 loaf pans.    Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I’d share a photograph, but the guests ate it all before I got a chance to take one!

Showroom at Holmes County Pottery

Last week was kiln-opening time at Holmes County Pottery.   Ian and I just love pottery.   And at the workshop and store of local potter Cary Hulin we always find plenty of pieces we can’t live without.

Cary is a true artisan.   He built his large wood-fired kiln himself.   It took 10,000 bricks to complete that job.   He mixes his own clay and glazes, forms and decorates the pots, then supervises the firings.

The huge kiln needs 2 to 3 cords of hardwood slabs for one firing, and it takes Cary about 3 months to make enough pieces to fill it.      So the thrice-yearly kiln opening sales are much anticipated by his fans.

We had visited Cary a few weeks before the firing and he showed us a new design he was calling a Cobbler dish.    As soon as I saw them I knew I had to have at least one.    He took a round pot and pulled it to make a square-topped deep dish - perfect for a fruit cobbler or other baked dessert.    I was so glad we got up there early on the first day of the kiln-opening sale - Cary told us the cobbler dishes were selling like, well, to use another food analogy, hotcakes.     No wonder, they’re both beautiful to look at, and practical to use.

I brought home my new treasure and put it to almost immediate use, baking a berry crisp for dessert that weekend.      Sorry, the guests ate it all before I could get a photograph, but here’s a picture of the clean and empty dish.

Cobbler Dish from Holmes County Pottery

Holmes County Pottery is just one of artisans featured on the Pottery, Art and Artisans self-guided tour we give out to White Oak Inn guests.

Actually we’re not sure he ever got in to the building in the first place!    What a fun day we had at the inn yesterday.   Good friends Greg and Kim were going to go to Las Vegas for a wedding at the Elvis Chapel, but decided instead to hold their nuptials at the inn.    They wanted something unique, and it certainly was that.    The officiant arrived in style in a 1949 White Dodge Coronet, and when the chauffeur (in cowboy attire) opened the door, out popped….. ELVIS.    After a short and entertaining ceremony in the gazebo, the newlyweds were handcuffed together to seal the deal.     Then we all enjoyed a lovely reception outdoors, during which another Elvis lookalike served peanut butter and banana sandwiches.     Congratulations to Greg and Kim.    Thanks Elvis.  Both of you.

Elvis arrives at White Oak Inn

The happily handcuffed newlyweds with Elvis

Elvis serves peanut butter and banana sandwiches

Last Sunday we went to the 142nd annual GAR Bean Bake in Newcastle.   Newcastle is a tiny little town about 6 miles from the inn.      The annual GAR dinner (named for the Grand Army of the Republic) was originally started to raise funds for local widows and orphans from the Civil War.    142 years later, with all of the widows and orphans long deceased, the tradition continues, with the funds going to maintain the delightful little local park.

What a slice of local color.   It’s Newcastle’s social event of the season.   Everywhere you looked people were greeting old friends, and hugs and handshakes were the order of the day.   Many of the locals are the third and fourth generation of their families to live in the area.     All the food is donated and volunteers cook the beans in the original iron kettles from the Civil War, over woodburning fires.  All I can say is I felt very sorry for them slaving over hot coals when the temperature that day went well over 90 degrees.    We were more than content to sit in the shade and eat home-made ice cream and fry pies, while enjoying the musical entertainment provided by two local groups.

First on the program was Chestnut Ridge, playing bluegrass and gospel.   They’re very popular performers at local events.   They were followed by the Walhonding Rube Band, although there’s nothing “rube-like” about their  musical abilities.     Although they have a lot of fun during the performances, they take their music seriously, and it shows.     The band has been around since the 1930’s and again some of the members are the third generation of their family to play in the band.

And what’s a local festival without the crowning of a queen, or in this case, a king, since the band started running out of ladies to crown!

Almost every summer or fall weekend you’ll find little local festivals and events like this one in rural Ohio.     There’s always home-made food, local entertainment, and a feeling of coming home.        Come see for yourself.