Here at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast Spa, I try to offer as much different food as I possibly can. I have a wide library of wonderful books on food whether it be recipes, the philosophy or great food writers such as Michael Pollen.
One of the books that I have is by Karla Oliveira called ‘Tassajara Cookbook’ which has the recipes from Tassajara in Northern California. Although I look up the recipe but always change it to my own way of cooking, adding ingredients, removing them, substituting them simply take the idea and do my own things that is the way my kitchen goes!
Yesterday, I took the recipe ‘Nut-Chocolate Bars “Unsurpassed”‘ from ‘Tassajara Cookbook’ and altered. Used spelt flour instead of white, used molasses instead of brown sugar, added nutmeg and more vanilla. Here is the recipe for the one I made ~
2 cups whole spelt flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt,1 teaspoon nutmeg, 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature, 1/4 cup molasses, 1/4 organic cane juice sugar, 2 eggs, 3 teaspoons vanilla, 2 and half cups Brazilian nuts, 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. All the ingredients are organic.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Ina medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Cream the butter and then add the sugar. While continuing to beat, add the eggs, vanilla, nuts, chocolate chips, and dry ingredients.
Spread in a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes. While still warm, cut into squares.
I left them in the pan overnight and served it to guests this afternoon, they loved the moistness and the different flavors. The nutmeg added a little bit of spice but not overwhelming it.
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
I find it boring to serve traditional snacks so I am forever trying to make different kinds of snack to offer my guests at the Kismet Inn bed and breakfast spa. So I thought of something that could be light and what popped into my head was the good old popcorn.
Since I like to be creative and let my soul flow with ingredients I thought of
Spicy Chocolate Popcorn
Ingredients ~ popcorn kernels, ghee, raw coconut butter, salt, spicy red pepper, cinnamon, coco, nutritional yeast. Warm up the pot, add ghee then the coconut butter, after both have melted add in this order ~ pinch of salt, teaspoon pepper, teaspoon cinnamon, spoonful coco, mix the ingredient with a fork, add the kernels, put the heat on medium let them pop while shaking the pot a few times. Turn off the stove put the popcorn in a bowl sprinkle generous amount of nutritional yeast over the popcorn.
I must say, often when I am cooking, baking, juicing ~ anything that has to do with food, the aroma of the ingredients intoxicate me, with this mixture I felt like I was being lifted and floating. Can you imagine and smell the aroma as all these ingredients mixed and melted. I could literally smell the sweetness of the cinnamon, the spiciness of the pepper and the coco was simply incredible. I would highly recommend it. Let me say that not a single pop was left. The guests finished the full bowl.
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
I love making everything from scratch, kind of putting things together to test the taste. Have never believed in the industrialized fake food so putting ingredients together is like a hobby for me.
Recently, I have been making different kinds of coco drinks at the bed and breakfast. It was always a teaspoonful of coco with a teaspoonful of honey and some cream or without cream. Then I decided to add some cinnamon so now I add a teaspoonful of cinnamon to the coco with a spoonful of raw cream from the farmers market. I no longer add honey to it because the cinnamon cuts the bitterness of the coco and the aroma of cinnamon mixed with coco becomes intoxicating. Once again it is a choice to have it whether with cream or not!
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
When I was setting up The kismet Inn bed and breakfast I deliberately wanted to use colors that would awe guests as they walked in. After five years of opening ~ August 2006 ~ I have achieved just that. Every guest who walks in the immediate reaction is how beautiful, warm, inspiring and inviting the inn is. I chose mostly ‘Prat and Lambert Paint’ because they are rich and inviting! As the door opens to the foyer then to the hall it is ‘Sun gold yellow’ my father’s favorite color also the hall at the inn which is a ‘Queen Ann’ house is based in the center of the house which signifies the sun giving us life. To the right is the library which is painted in ‘Statement Red’ across is the living room painted in ‘Hyacinth’ my mother’s favorite color and signifying the coming of spring, rebirth of the earth in the Norther Hemisphere, the dinning room is green, the kitchen white against cherry stained cabinets made by the renowned ‘Kennebec Company’ the screen porch a lively green, the bedrooms different shades of green and blue, the yoga studio all white.
In June I had a guest who was so taken by the colors she hired me to design the color pallets for her newly purchased house in Dallas, Texas. She purchased a ticket for me flew me to Dallas for a week to do just that for her. I had enough time to choose the wood, the colors. Once the house is painted, all the floors are done in wood, I will go to do the kitchen and the bathrooms. Here is a photo of the eleven colors which includes pure white for all the trimmings, doors, inside the closets, bathrooms, three shades of lavender, one for bedroom, 2 for the piano room, one for the dinning room, red for the living room, archways, yellow for the hall walls and the hall upstairs and the pillars, two shades of blue for the guest room, for the upstairs archways, off white blue for the exercise room, a different red for the library. It is a beautiful house facing the pond in Dallas!