AQS Quilters Party a Huge Success!

Our last blog post talked about the reception party that our B&B association (Authentic B&Bs of Lancaster County) was throwing for visiting quilters attending the American Quilter's Society show here in Lancaster last week, so we wanted to give you a quick update.  We had almost 300 quilters at the party, as well as about 25 of our local tourism partners who provided food, beer, crafts, music, and information about the many activities available throughout Lancaster County, to entice the quilters to return to our wonderful destination.  We also had a best-selling author, Kelly Long (who writes novels based on themes from quilt patterns), signing and giving away 200 copies of her latest book. Plus there were dozens of door prizes to remind visitors of the great time they had in Lancaster. 


The venue for our party was the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, which is a gorgeous place for a reception... and we hope to return for next year's party!  So if you missed the Lancaster AQS Quilt Show this year, we hope you'll plan for next year's event (March 14-17, 2012).  And while you're at it, please add the Authentic B&B party to your agenda, and of course a stay at our Apple Bin Inn... we'd love to have you!

Hey wait a minute!... why wait until next year to visit our beautiful county?!  Just plan a trip for this spring or summer!  There are dozens of Amish quilt shops dotted around our area, plus tons of other things to do, see, taste, and buy!  So give the Apple Bin Inn a call (800-338-4296) and we'll see you soon!

A New Twist for St. Patrick's Day in Lancaster!

Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is such a wonderful tradition across America, and you don't need a drop of Irish blood in your veins to feel Irish on March 17th. We've lived in places like Chicago, where the river flowed green on St. Patrick's Day each year, and Cleveland, where green beer somehow tasted better than your usual brand. And our many years in Nashville included a rousing mix of bluegrass and Irish music each St. Paddy's Day.

But this year, here in Lancaster County, we have special plans for March 17th. You see the American Quilter's Society is holding its 2nd Annual Lancaster Quilt Show next week, and our B&B association (Authentic Bed & Breakfasts of Lancaster County) is hosting a huge party for visiting quilters on March 17th at the renowned Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum. There will, no doubt, be plenty of green mixed in with the rest of the festivities, including green quilts, green beer, and some Irish music performed by local musicians. There'll also be quilting demonstrations, book signings, great door prizes, and lots of food & fun. If you can make it to Lancaster County during the March 16-19 AQS Quilt Show, please make it a point to join our party. And of course we'd love to have you stay with us here at the Apple Bin Inn while you're in town.  We'll save a room for you!

Lancaster County ~ Home of the Whoopie Pie!

The Lancaster Whoopie

Amid all the distractions of world politics and various other seemingly critical topics that dominate the news, you might not have heard much about a controversy that centers around one of Lancaster County's oldest and most traditional products... the whoopie pie!  Yes, that light and fluffy combination of cake and cream has been getting a lot of attention lately.  It seems that the state legislature in Maine is debating whether to name the whoopie pie as their official "state dessert", apparently because they are very popular and commonly found in local shops and restaurants.

 

The Lancaster Whoopie

Of course folks here in Lancaster County are up in arms over Maine's attempt to steal a bit of our local heritage, since the whoopie pie has been lovingly baked and served here since before the dawn of recorded history.  Even Wikipedia, that trusted bastion of truth, confirms that whoopie pies first appeared in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and were later brought to New England by Amish moving to that region. 

In case you were wondering, we recently asked a local Amish woman how the whoopie pie got its name, and she told us that Amish wives would periodically put one of these mouth-watering treats in the bottom of their husband's lunch basket, and when he finished his sandwich and found it there, he would yell "Whoopie!"  Well that explanation is proof enough for us that Pennsylvania's Amish Country is the one true origin of the whoppie pie.  So we'll just go on enjoying these delicious local treats... no matter what they do to our waistline!  And by the way, if you've never had a whoopie pie, you'll just have to come to its birthplace, Lancaster County, PA, and try one.  We'll be sure to hold a room for you here at the Apple Bin Inn!     

Oops, wrong Whoopie!

"The 39 Steps" at the Fulton Theatre was Hilarious!

The Fulton Theatre, a historic revitalized Vaudeville theater in downtown Lancaster, is one of our favorite places to be entertained.  It's not only gorgeously renovated in turn-of-the-century gilded plasterwork and ornate decorations, but it is also very intimate by comparison to most modern day venues, so you feel close to the actors no matter where you sit.  The Fulton is one of only a handful of historic theater companies in the U.S. that still produces its own shows (rather than simply hosting a touring company from another city).  They attract the best performers from New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and other notable theatrical centers, and the results are top-notch shows at a fraction of Broadway prices.  Over the past few years we've seen awesome performances of "Grease", "Music Man", "Les Miserables", "Fiddler on the Roof", and "Spamalot", to name just a few. 

On February 9th, as part of a PA Dutch Visitors Bureau mixer at the Fulton, we were privileged to see a "final preview" performance (the night before opening night) of "The 39 Steps".  It is a wonderful comedy, based on Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1935 suspense movie.  The plot and the comedy were non-stop, sometimes almost Monty Python-ish in their silliness.  The entire cast is comprised of just four actors, who play many parts in some hilariously inventive ways.  Some of the funniest scenes are when the actors repeatedly change from one character to another and back again, right before your eyes, and in the middle of a conversation!  You'll just have to see the show to fully appreciate how truly amazing these performers are.  Suffice it to say, this was one of the funniest, best acted comedies we've ever seen performed.  The simple yet perfect set decorations, lighting, music, and scene timing all added up to a delightful evening of laughter.  Oh and by the way, Mr. Hitchcock even makes a cameo appearance, just as he did in his films. 

The show runs until February 27th, so we hope you'll have a chance to visit Lancaster and see it.  Of course, while you're in town, why not spend a night or two at the Apple Bin Inn... just 10 minutes from the Fulton Theatre!

B&B Household Tips from the Apple Bin Inn

As innkeepers, we pretty much do the same chores that other households do... we just do them much more often!  We thought we'd share a couple of tips that have helped us at the Apple Bin Inn.  Hopefully you'll find them useful...

We love serving tea to our guests in small antique china teapots, and have collected quite a few from England, Japan, etc.  If you have teapots too, you may have noticed that over time they can get a brownish discoloration inside the pot, spout, and even around the lid.  We just figured that this discoloration was simply the tea staining the ceramic.  We've been using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for various tough-to-clean things around the inn, and recently used a small piece on the teapots.  Voila!  With almost no effort, the discoloration came off, without scratching the china!  We now use a Magic Eraser to keep the insides of our coffee urns clean too.  Give it a try.

 

If you love strawberries, and like to buy large amounts from your local farmers market, or at places like Costco or Sam's Club, then you also know that strawberries don't stay fresh for more than a couple of days in the refrigerator before they get soft or begin to get moldy.  Well we have a great tip for you... one that we learned from my sister, Judy Klock, who along with her husband Bill owns a B&B in the Hudson Valley area of New York called Captain Schoonmaker's.  Take any strawberries that you're not going to use that day, rinse them and remove the leaves, but don't cut them in any way.  Lay the rinsed strawberries onto paper towels and dry them well.  Now put them in your favorite plastic container, which has first been lined with dry paper towels.  The strawberries can touch each other, as long as each strawberry is in contact with some paper towel.  If you have lots of berries, you can layer them in a large container, with a paper towel between each layer.  Now simply cover and refrigerate, and use however many berries you need each time you open the container.  We have kept as many as 50 strawberries fresh for as long as 7 days, and they stay virtually as firm and fresh tasting as the day we bought them.  So go buy lots of strawberries to add to your favorite cereal, for dipping in chocolate or brown sugar, or as a great topping for waffles or ice cream!

We'll share more tips throughout the year.  Please feel free to add a comment with some of your favorite household tips.  Thanks, and have a great day!

Winter Bird Watching!

Jamie had been wanting a new bird feeder since last summer, so this past Christmas I found an excellent one at Peaceful Valley Furniture, just west of Intercourse on Rt. 340.  We hung it in our winterberry bushes, for easy viewing from our kitchen, family room, and dining room, and filled it with wild bird seed and black oil sunflower seeds, as well as suet cakes on the sides.

While it's easy for B&B innkeepers to fill their days with inn-related activities (even on days when there are no guests at the inn), we've been taking some time to watch our feathered friends with a lot more interest this winter.  We bought a book called "Feeder Birds of Eastern North America" (one of the Peterson Field Guides), and also got a laminated card to keep near the window, called "Backyard Birds of the Mid-Atlantic" by Sibley's.  At this point we're not necessarily interested in knowing their Latin names or their mating habits, but trying to identify the many birds that frequent our feeder has been truly fascinating.  We even dusted off our old sports binoculars, and use them for an even closer view of each bird's details.  One type of bird food that we're looking forward to trying in the spring is crushed egg shells... not only are they plentiful at a B&B, but they reportedly attract Purple Martins, who help keep the mosquito population in check during warm months.

In the past few days our feeder has been a hotbed of activity, now that word has apparently spread among the local bird population.  We often have 10-15 birds of different varieties congregating around the feeder at any given time.  Some patiently wait their turn as others eat their fill, some hop in the snow below the feeder pecking at dropped seeds, and some hang around the branches of the winterberry bushes eating berries.

A few of the varieties we've identified so far are Black-Capped Chickadees, Cardinals, House Finches, Tufted Titmouses, Blue Jays, Song Sparrows, and Eastern Phoebes.  Being new to bird watching, we'll no doubt learn to better identify our winged visitors as we go.  Come spring, we anticipate adding a variety of new feeders around our property.  We can't wait! 

By the way, our two cats, Jessie and Buddy, are delighted that we are finally learning to appreciate a hobby that they have been enjoying for years!

Peaceful Valley Furniture - Rt. 340, Intercourse, PA

Delicious Winter Recipes!

With the slower pace of activity in Lancaster County during the winter, it seems a perfect time to talk about one of our favorite subjects... food!  Some recipes just seem ideally suited for these cold winter mornings, so we thought we'd share a couple of our guests' favorites here at the Apple Bin Inn.

Our "Pecan Caramel Baked Apples" have become one of our most requested recipes.  Why not make them a warm and cozy start to a special breakfast at your house...

INGREDIENTS:

Apples:                                                                       

4 Rome apples of equal size (Gala, Stayman, and Cortland apples also work well)

Butter, unsalted

Cinnamon

Topping:                                                                                  

8 heaping tbsp light brown sugar 

20 pecan halves, coarsely chopped

2 tsp golden raisins (optional) 

½ tsp cinnamon

dash of pumpkin pie spice (important)

3 tbsp Half & Half

Heavy whipping cream

Core and peel apples, leaving a ring of skin around the bottom quarter of each apple.

Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each apple (so they don't roll) and place apples in glass baking dish.

Into each core hole, place a thick pat of butter and a dash of cinnamon.

Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and poke several air holes.

Microwave apples on high setting for 1½  minutes.  Flip each apple upside down and microwave for 1 minute.

Turn apples right-side-up, and if necessary microwave extra time to reach the desired softness (poke with fork to test).  Note: Microwaves vary, so experiment with cooking times to achieve the apple softness you desire.

Combine topping ingredients (except the heavy whipping cream) in a small saucepan.

Heat on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, until sugar is completely dissolved, then set on low to avoid burning.  Topping should be thick & syrupy. 

Place each apple into a dessert bowl, and spoon a generous amount of topping over each apple (try to avoid the core hole).

Fill each core hole with heavy whipping cream.  Serve hot, and bask in the glow of your family's smiles!

Our next recipe is "Baked Deep-Dish Strawberry French Toast".  A cross between french toast and bread pudding, it's an absolutely delicious winter breakfast!

Ingredients:  

16 oz loaf of French bread, cubed into ½” cubes

6 oz cream cheese (¾ of an 8 oz package), cubed into ½” cubes

6 large eggs

1 qt Half & Half

½ cup butter, melted

¼ cup maple syrup

   

Topping:   

16 oz fresh sliced strawberries (frozen sliced strawberries may be substituted)

10 oz strawberry jam

Arrange half of the cubed bread in a lightly greased, deep 9 x 13” pan. 

Sprinkle with cubed cream cheese, and cover with remaining bread cubes.

Whisk together eggs, Half & Half, butter, and maple syrup. 

Pour evenly over the bread cubes, making sure they all absorb the egg mixture.

Cover with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours (over night).

   

In the morning, keep foil in place and Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

While french toast is baking, combine and heat topping ingredients in a saucepan.

Cut french toast into 8–10 servings.  Plate each serving, then ladle heated topping generously over each serving.  Goes great with your favorite sausage.  Enjoy!