Happy Spring everyone. Hope your Easter and Passover holidays were wonderful. We had a beautiful holiday with our family and put on quite a few pounds with all the Easter goodies. And I of course baked for our guests at the Inn. As a matter of fact I have one of the recipes that I used, to share with you at the end of this post. We just added 15 new baby chicks to our brood and get this....we are getting 27 more full grown hens this week. They will all be free range and organic and provide us with nutrient rich eggs for our guests for breakfast. That will bring us up to 80 chickens, ducks and geese. And our geese have been laying and nesting so we might even have some new goslings this summer.
I have been dying to get out into the garden and start prepping it for the summer. Since we will be needing more room for the poultry, our garden will be a bit smaller this year. We are concentrating on zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and herbs. All things that we can use for our guest's breakfasts. We are getting all our plants from Mid Summer's Farm here in Warwick. They specialize in organic gardening and will provide us with all the healthy plants we need. Its a great place to visit if you come up to Warwick.
The surrounding areas are gearing up to make this a great summer to visit Warwick. On April 14 we will be having our 9th Annual Taste of the Town from 1-6PM. Please call Carol Sapanaro at 914-490-0219 for information.
Also in April come visit the Village of Warwick Springfest: A Home and Garden Expo 10am to 5pm.
Home and garden vendors will be set up throughout the Village of Warwick. Celebrate Spring with our local orchards, garden centers, pool suppliers, landscape designers and various other home improvement experts. Call 845-987-7600 for more info.
And on Sundays don't forget the Farmer's Market that features fresh produce, bakery items and more on Railroad Ave. also from 10am to 5pm.
On April 28 join us for Vernon Earthfest from 11am to 4pm. This is the region's largest Earth-oriented celebration of sustainability, earth-awareness and knowledge from experience professionals. This event is FREE for the whole family and probably the best value available anywhere. It takes place at Heaven Hill Farm, 451 Route 94, Vernon, NJ. Event is held rain or shine.
Now let me explain what the title of this blog means. Bill and I have been working on reducing our carbon footprint to try to do what we can to save this beautiful planet of ours. So we have decided to make some changes to the way we do business at the Inn at Stony Creek.
Below is a checklist of some of the new policies we will be implementing.
1. Towels will only be replaced when guests staying multiple nights request it to cut down on
laundry water runoff.
2. Guests staying multiple nights will have their bed made up everday but sheets will be changed only
after the third night's stay.
3. All cans, bottles (glass and plastic), and newpapers will continue to be recycled.
4. Lights will not be turned on in the rooms until the guests arrive cutting down on electric usage.
5. All our eggs are from organic free range chickens with no antibiotics added to their feed.
6. As much as possible we will use chemical free cleaners when doing house chores.
Any other things that you as our treasured guests and friends can recommend, we will most appreciate it.
Now for my recipe of this month. I have decided a really good spring cookie would be very appropriate. So I have decided to give you a Lemon Ricotta Cookie with lemon glaze recipe that I got out of Giada di Laurentis' cookbook Hope you like them.
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zested
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.
Hope you all enjoyed the post and hope that you really enjoy the cookies. Until next time, Bill and I want to wish you a wonderful Springtime and hope to see you up at the Inn sometime soon.
Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.
Hope you all enjoyed the post and hope that you really enjoy the cookies. Until next time, Bill and I want to wish you a wonderful Springtime and hope to see you up at the Inn sometime soon.
