Thursday, April 15, 2010

Marigold Tea


Linda and John have been coming to the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast on regular basis for the past three years. Their daughter attends the boarding school called 'Hyde' who will be graduating in May. They come every year for a long weekend in April and October, they arrive on Thursday early evening and leave early morning Sunday. Every Thursday after their arrival they come down to the living room/tearoom area we sit for a good chat, catching up on our lives, families, friends, children and... Linda and I both have deep interest in being mindful to our surroundings so we also share books. She always takes couple of books from the inn's library to read while here. Last time she took a book of 'Hafize's Poems' which she loved because she knew only of Rumi not of Hafiz. Incidentally both are Mary Oliver's most like writers/poets... I love that.

Tonight I have Linda a book written by a friend of mine called 'Elegant Simplicity' which is about how destructive our egos can be. It is an easy read and a lot that one can learn from. The book should be in most bookstores in the U.S., soon. I am actually thinking of setting up a retreat for yoga and discussion of the book as well... what do you think? Would you come if I did?

Anyway, Linda is reading the book now. I made them marigold tea and offered them the raisin, coconut and rice cookies which I had made last week. They enjoyed everything and so did I. It is always a pleasure to have guest like Linda and John with whom we have become like family sharing many, many stories in our lives with each other. They will be back in May for their daughter's graduation, they will spend two night at the inn this time along with their 3 children and Linda's brother. The will also have dinner at the inn which we discussed the menu tonight. I will miss them so.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Candle Light Dinner


At Kismet Inn bed and breakfast there is no kind of regimentation. I tell my guests, breakfast is served at whatever time they wish to have breakfast .. I just need to know the night before to make sure the breakfast is fresh and warm. I don’t want to make breakfast and have it get cold or have the coffee sitting in a thermostat which incidentally I don’t have one. I make the coffee all fresh for each guest.

The same applies to dinner, guests have a choice of sitting in the dinning room, the tearoom at the table by the window or recently 2 couples chose to have dinner by the fire in a very informal setting. Both spent four hours eating dinner. On Saturday I had Katharine and Kellie from Yarmouth, Maine as my guests. It was Kellie’s birthday so Katharine had treated her to a nights stay, dinner, massage and Kismet Inn bed and breakfast’s signature exfoliation.

They arrived on Saturday around 2:30 .. stayed in Saffron Room where the bed, the armoire and table are custom made. Designed by me, Shadi Towfighi, the owner and made by Mark Donovan a brilliant craftsman from Bowdoinham, Maine. The bathroom is also custom made, designed my me again. It is deep soaking Japanese Style tub or Turkish Hamam style with transom window and radiant heat floor, a separate faucet for the tub and one for the shower. The one for the tub is really interesting, it is Kholer made, the water comes straight from the wall without a long faucet sticking out. It is quite elegant and simple.

They chose this room because of its deep soaking Japanese tub so they could soak in it then get the exfoliation. I showed them their room and explained thoroughly how the exfoliation would work. They came down shortly after for tea and raisin, coconut and rice cookies (I had made them the night before) the tea was Kismet Inn bed and breakfast signature tea brewed with cardamom. They loved both the tea and the cookies. They went up around 5 soaked in the tub for 45 minutes .. I made sure to take up pitcher of ice water to keep them well hydrated. I went up after 45 minutes scrubbed Kellie first, dead skin came rolling off in long inches, then I scrubbed Katharine. They both took showers, washed their hair, oiled their bodies, dressed and came down for dinner.

Actually, they wanted to open up their wine bottle in their room so I took the cheese which they were going to have with dinner up to their room. They decided to have dinner by the fire so I took the vegetables with the plates first. The vegetables were beets, parsnips, salsify steamed over slow heat for couple of hours. The third round was the salad – mixed greens, mustard greens, arugula from Fish Bowl Farm in Bowdoinham, the sauce I make myself, salt, pepper, olive oil, 1/2 fresh lemon squeezed, balsamic vinegar, toasted seeds such as flax, sesame and sunflower. The fourth round was the entree which was Jewel Rice with slivered pistachio, slivered almond, raisins, orange peel, julienne carrots, barberries, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, lots of saffron made with white basmati rice from India served with lamb shanks that had been cooking since 10 a.m. The fifth round, the last round was poached pears with blueberry sauce.

They sat chatting by the fireside while eating their dinner at a very leisurely, slow pace. They loved the fact that there was no push or any sense of rush. Kismet Inn bed and breakfast believes slow food, slow town, slow life style. I hope to serve each one of you.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Raisin Cookies


I love baking all of the goodies at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast. I try to make cookies that are more on the uncommon side such as raisin cookies. I just want to have my guests taste something different. Here is the recipe for the raisin cookies.

2 cups unsalted organic butter
4 eggs
1&3/4 cups sugar
2 cups raisins
2&1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom

All the ingredients I use are organic (non-industrialized organic) I get my ingredients through small coops, local venders. This way I can be quite sure nothing has been sitting on the shelf for a long time and it is really organic, no cheating goes into it.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the cookie sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, butter, and sugar. Mix well until creamy.
3. Add raisins.
4. Gradually add flour and mix with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter on the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each spoonful.
6. Place the cookie cheet in the center of the oven and bake 10-15 minutes, or until slightly golden.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool Gently lift the cookies off the cookie sheet.

These cookies are great with tea. That is how I serve them here at the Kismet Inn bed and breakfast and my guests without exception love them.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs


Eggs, Eggs, Eggs. First a A few Very Important Notations About Eggs!

Here, at Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I make sure to get eggs from Farmers Market, the smaller the vendor the better because I don't want them producing so much that they are able to deliver to the supermarkets or even small health food stores. Once that becomes the case then it all chan...ges. My belief is to stick to small local food places unless it is something that can't be grown in the area.

The eggs I get -- the yolks are deep dark yellow/orange not pale yellow like the ones from supermarkets. These hens are graced by the suns rays, shining on them giving them all the necessary nutrients they need to be healthy thus, to produce incredible eggs. The yolk also stands up, I really mean that, it stands up, it is well rounded, bumpy and smiles. It is not like the ones from supermarkets --- the poor hens are cooped up in dark, small cages, never see the sun, live miserably, never get to roam the free grass and be happy. Have you noticed these yolks are so pale yellow sometimes it is like beige, cream color.... even the free range, organic ones in the supermarket cannot compare to the free range, organic small, local farms.
The grains the small local, organic farms feed them are just so much better too. So whenever you are buying eggs just make sure you get them from a small, local, organic farm or even your neighbor will be better than a supermarket. If you have no choice but to get it from a supermarket just make sure they are free range, organic certified eggs.

Having noted the kind of eggs I use, now I absolutely love eggs. I love them fried, boiled, poached, scrambled is my least liked because I can't get to taste the yolk that much. In my native land, we make so many different egg dishes, mix them with all sorts of vegetables, crack them over all sorts of vegetables or mix them with meat, have it raw mixed with rice and ghee, make a yogurt soup that is yogurt, fried onions and eggs with spices, it is heavenly. I don't know if I could live without them!

Wild Mushroom Omelet


Here at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I make sure to make different kinds of breakfast specially for guests with longer stay. I often get guests who stay for a week seeking a place to respite with an organic way of life. And that is what I offer at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, an all organic, local, natural place to stay.

One of my breakfasts is 'Wild Mushroom' Omelet. The mushrooms are from 'Oyster Creek Farm' in Damariscotta, Maine. They grow their own mushrooms, have a mix called 'Maine Wild Mix' There is seven different kinds of mushrooms in the mix which are oyster, Matsutake, Shiitake, Chanterelles, Black Trumpet, Boletes, Lobster and Morels. The eggs are from 'Sparrow Farm' all organic and free range eggs.

The Recipe for two people:
A handful of 'Oyster Creek Farm, Wild Maine Mix Mushrooms'
4 Eggs
Salt, Pepper, Masala Spice
1/4 of small onion
Ghee (Clarified Butter)

1. Soak the mushroom mix in boiled water an hour before making it.
2. Warm up a saucepan, put a big tablespoon of ghee in the saucepan.
3. Chop the onions add to the ghee let it brown.
4. Add the mushroom mix, let it saute for couple of minutes, add the salt, pepper and masala spice.
5. Add the water in which mushroom mix was soaked let it come to boil turn the heat down, let it cook for a few minutes.
6. Crack the eggs over the mushrooms, sprinkle some salt over the eggs, put a lid over the saucepan let the eggs cook for couple of minutes on low heat. I usually let the white cook completely and the yolk cook slightly.. be runny a little. I don't like the yolk well done. I think if I wanted it well done then I should have made boiled egg.

The taste is incredible, mushrooms are earthy with different textures, the eggs are great cracked over the mushrooms because you can taste the white and the yolk, the onions fried in ghee add the extra special aroma.
Warm up the saucepan, put one table

Enjoy it and if you have any question please email me at stay@kismetinnmaine.com

The information for Oyster Creek Farm:
Oyster Creek Farm
Damariscotta, Maine 04543
Telephone: 207-563-1076
Website: http://oystercreekmushroom.com/

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Organic, Grass fed Hamburger


At Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I try to use only grass fed meat as much as I can. I don't like using any kind of meat if it is not as natural as possible, by natural I don't mean just the fact that the animal is raised free range, or not injected all sorts of antibiotics. By natural I mean to make sure animals such as cows are not fed any kind of grains even organic grains, to make sure they are free range, graze on grass, roam around on land without being crowded, see the sun, the sun shines on them gracing them with its vitamins and have a stress free life.

The beef I use is from 'Kelley Bros. Farm Stand' which is located along the east side of the Kennebec River Pittston, Maine. The farm is currently owned and operated by Pete and Tammy Kelley along with their boys Billy and Cody, their farm was founded in 1873 by William E. and his son A. Leonard Kelley and passed down through four generations. Originally the farm was a working Dairy Farm until the main barn burnt in a fire in 1967. The farm was home to many pulling horses who also worked in the woods. They currently have added a new facility and a farm stand to sell their products. They also offer for sale their own organic hay that they process each year and hot to add natural compost for the summer. They do not sell in any stores or super markets, only at Farmers Markets and their own stand.

Today, I made a hamburger with their ground beef. I served it with just celeriac, no bread. My guest thought it was the best hamburger she had had in her life. I added salt, pepper and some sumac, fried quarter of an onion then put the hamburger in the pan let it fry for 5 minutes turned it over let it fry for another 10 minutes served it with celeriac root, green tea and honey. It was simple, delicious and nutritious.

Here is the information for Kelley Bro. Farm... they have no website, are not on FB, don't have a blog... they just do farming. They have email address and phone number.
Email: tlkell@aol.com
Phone: 207-242-8818
Cell: 207-2428818