Image from Wikimedia Commons

Yes, friends, it’s the Chestertown Tea Party Festival this weekend and this link contains essential reading if you’re attending:  http://www.chestertownteaparty.org/?page_id=21

Print this out and you’ll know where to be for the Beaten Biscuit Contest, the Toss the Tory re-enactment and the Spiced Punch.  And even though that sounds like you might be getting beat up, it’s really just a smidgen of all the events happening in town this weekend.

Beer and wine tastings, dance lessons, guided walking tours of town, public sails on the Sultana, and the always entertaining Raft Race.  And don’t forget Cow Plop Bingo!!!!  But seriously, there is a lot of fun to be had this weekend.  Parking can be a bit tricky, so if you are going, here’s a tip:  bring your bikes and cycle into town from just outside the madness.  If you’re staying at our Maryland Bed and Breakfast, we will have a spot for you to store your bikes. Or, if this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea  (aren’t we hilarious?),  then we can point you in the directions of other things to do.  Either way, and wherever you are, we hope you enjoy the unofficial beginning of summer!!

Yes, the Eight Broads in the Kitchen are putting together a cookbook, as we have mentioned before.  This means they are sending each other recipes to have someone else try it out to see how it translates.  (One person’s “pinch” might be another’s 1/4 teaspoon).  We have been testing a lot of recipes lately and it’s been very interesting.    Sometimes when writing out a recipe you’ve made a thousand times without even thinking about it, it becomes really difficult to break it down into steps that will make sense to everyone.

The broads are hoping to have the cookbook out in the fall.  If you just can’t wait that long, then you’ll have to start visiting all of the inns…And in fact, the broads have a special incentive for you:  For anyone who visits at all 8 inns, the reward is  a free 2-night  stay at any one of them!  Pretty cool, isn’t it?

If you’re more likely to stay at home, then here’s your chance to step into our test kitchen from afar.  Here is a recipe we recently tested.  We made sure to ask our guests at tea time what they thought and we got  good reviews, but everyone has a different take on lemon and chocolate together.   One woman said it was the best angel food cake she’d ever had.  Someone else said they would have preferred orange to lemon.  But most folks did indeed enjoy it.

So if you’d like to try something a little different, feel free to post your results and your opinions on our Facebook page.  We would absolutely love to hear what you think!  Then, when the cookbook comes out, you just might see this recipe in it!

 Lemon – Chocolate  Angel Food Cake

Lemon and chocolate together is pretty amazing.  The idea from one of Danielle’s  favorite Swiss chocolate bars.

1 ½      cups    egg whites (about 1 dozen egg whites), at room temperature

1 ¼      tsp.      cream of tartar

½         tsp.      salt

1 ½      cups    sugar

1          cup     sifted unbleached flour

⅛         cup     corn starch

1          tsp.      pure vanilla extract

2          tsp.      pure lemon extract

The zest of two lemons

1          cup     dark chocolate (good quality), chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whip the egg whites in the bowl of a stand up mixer with the whisk attachment until foamy.
3. Add cream of tartar and salt and keep whipping until soft peaks form.
4. With the mixer running, gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and continue whipping until stiff and the sugar has dissolved. This will take about another 45 seconds.
5. Sift the remaining ½ cup sugar with the flour and corn starch 3 times.
6. Carefully fold flour into the egg whites. You want to do this very gently. Towards the end add the vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon zest, and chopped chocolate until the chocolate bits are evenly distributed. Don’t overdo it.
7. Carefully spoon the batter into an ungreased angel food pan.
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until light brown on top.
9. Cool the cake in the pan by putting it upside down on your counter if your pan has “feet” if not put it upside down around the neck of a bottle until it cools to room temperature.
10. Run a long, sharp knife blade between the cake and the pan and loosen the cake out onto a plate.
11. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting into slices with a serrated knife.

1. You can bring your own, and we will gladly share with you our favorite put-in spots.

2. Our “Kayak on the Bay” package  has been popular for many summer seasons now.  We give you our kayaks and a picnic lunch and take you out to a spot specifically chosen for you based on your experience and what kind of paddle you’d like to have.

3. We have a new “Putt, Paddle and Pedal” package for the over-achievers out there who like to be super active Maryland kayaking vacation.  This 3 night, mid-week package includes not only kayaking but golfing and cycling!

4. Sultana Projects, the folks behind the Schooner Sultana, offers  public paddles guided by one of their staff naturalists!  These outings are incredible opportunities to see all the flora, fauna and history of the Chesapeake Bay area from the unique vantage point of the water. There are 10 public paddles, starting this Saturday, May 11 and ending with a full moon paddle on Friday, October 18.  The Chester,  Sassafras,  Choptank  and Miles Rivers, as well as some “secret” creeks are some of the destinations.  Kayaks are provided so all you have to bring is a snack, water and binoculars! These are sure to fill up quickly, so if this is something that interests you, we urge you to check it out right away.

Happy Paddling!!!

One of the very best places for lunch in Chestertown is Evergrain Bread Company.  This lovely bakery serves up artisanal loaves, wonderful coffee and terrific soups and sandwiches for lunch.   Just recently, they’ve  begun “Evergrain After Hours”  on Fridays from 5-10pm when they serve Neopolitan pizza made to order!  It’s so nice to have another casual place to send our guests after they arrive on a Friday evening.  You can even bring your own bottle of wine and really relax!  Another new addition is the outdoor seating shown in this picture from Evergrain’s Facebook page:

Can’t you just see yourself sitting there, enjoying an espresso and a pain au chocolat?  If your imagination is up for it, you can even pretend that the river you can see just down the street from these tables  isn’t the Chester but the Seine…it’s a lot quicker and cheaper than a weekend trip to Paris!

Evergrain is owned and run by  young local Douglas Rae, who eloquently explains his passion for a good loaf of bread in this video.

When visiting Chestertown, do yourself a favor and stop by Evergrain for a coffee, bread or lunch.   We promise you’ll love it!

The latest issue of Maryland Life Magazine reveals the winners of their 3rd annual readers poll.  We’d like to give kudos and a shout out to all of our friends that were winners!!

One of our dinner recommendations is the Osprey Point Inn in Rock Hall, MD and apparently we are not alone!  The Upper Eastern Shore winner in 5, yes, count ‘em, FIVE categories,  The Osprey Point is the “go-to” spot when someone wants a romantic, fine dining experience.

The five categories they won were:  finest restaurant overall, best crab-cake, best fine dining, best  marina, and best place to get married.   We might have to take issue with that last one,  but of course we only do weddings for up to 22 people, so we’ll  have to let  that  slide…:)

There were several other Kent County MD winners, including:

Java Rock – coffeehouse

Imperial Hotel – happy hour

Durding’s – ice cream

Brooks Tavern – dessert

Waterman’s – crab house

Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge – park

Again, all places of interest that we recommend to our guests regularly at our Chestertown Bed and Breakfast.  How much fun!  We say it all the time, we are so very lucky to live in such a special place.  Why not come and see for yourself?

Earth Day is on April 22nd this year and on the 20th (Saturday) Chestertown will throw its annual celebration with live music, a food court and more than 30 vendors featuring earth friendly products and services.  As always, Earth Day coincides with the Mutt Strut held by the Humane Society of Kent County.  Folks register to walk with their dogs to raise money for the shelter and can then participate in antics including doggie limbo and a look alike contest!!

One week later on April 28 we have the annual Taste of the Town, a  smorgasbord of food and drink from our bevy of terrific restaurateurs. This has been a popular event from the get go:  who doesn’t like to eat and drink??  Throw in a silent auction and raffle items and you have the makings of an out and out festival.  But wait, there’s more.   The eating and drinking takes place from noon to 3pm.   That very morning, from 9:30 to 11:30, more than 30 local artists will be “painting the town”.  Literally.  They call it the “Quick Draw”: a timed plein air painting event, and the results from those 2 hours of painting will be on display and judged just before the opening of the Taste of the Town.  You can vote for your favorite and even purchase a painting at the “Wet Paint” (ha!) sale from 5:00 to 7:00 that very afternoon.

That’s a very full day indeed.

We hope to see you soon out and about in Chestertown!

We don’t have all the details yet but will post the program as soon as we know it.   We’ll also be offering a Chestertown Jazz Festival special for that weekend at our Chestertown Bed and Breakfast, so stay tuned and  save the date!!

By Anders Sandberg from Oxford, UK via Wiki Commons

But now it just seems so obvious because it does look a lot like Swiss chard, a delicious vegetable.   Of course one must remember that the entire chard plant is edible and rhubarb is NOT:  its leaves are toxic, so it is quite important not to mix up these two look-alikes!   Only the rhubarb stalks, or to be more precise, petioles, (something else I learned today!) are used to make the typical jam, cobblers and pies that it’s so famous for.   Sometimes rhubarb is used in savory dishes, usually in a sauce or glaze; but the sweet treats that it stars in are much more common.

Rhubarb does seem to be one of those polarizing items that people either LOVE or HATE.  Most of us here at our Chestertown Bed and Breakfast are in the love camp…

If you are one of the rhubarb lovers out there, check out The Rhubarb Compendium, which has more information on the vegetable than I’ve ever seen compiled in one place.  Here you’ll find rhubarb’s history, unusual uses for it (natural hair dye, anyone?), and so many recipes you won’t know where to begin.

But to get you started, here is a foolproof and super easy recipe for a strawberry rhubarb filling that can be used in a pie, or as a crisp or cobbler.   Rhubarb and strawberries are in season at the same time, so they are a natural pair.  The addition of ginger is optional, but we like the contrast that its bite gives to the sweet-tart filling.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE FILLING

• 4 cups rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 4 cups strawberries, halved or quartered
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated OR 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon or orange juice
• pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Let sit for about 20 minutes.

To make crisp or cobbler, spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.   Place strawberry rhubarb mixture in dish and top with your favorite crisp* or cobbler topping.  For a pie, simply place filling between 2 pie crusts, or just use the bottom crust and top with crisp topping instead of another pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crusts are browned.

See…it doesn’t get much easier than that, does it?

*Another easy recipe:  Brampton Inn Crisp Crumb Topping

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, or 1 tsp. of your favorite spice or combination of spices
• ½        cup      confectioner sugar (or ¼ cup of light brown sugar)
• ½        tsp.      salt
• 1          cup      unbleached flour
• 1          stick    (8 oz.) unsalted butter cut into 8 chunks, at room temperature

Mix spices, confectioner sugar, salt and flour in the bowl of a stand up mixer with the paddle attachment.  Add butter chunks and mix on low until combined but still crumbly.

Crumb topping can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

As spring comes around again, our thoughts turn to flower buds and new growth in the garden.  We anxiously watch the new asparagus patch to see the baby spears emerging from the ground.  Rhubarb will make its way into the muffins for breakfast and the early lettuces might show up in sandwiches at tea time.  For us at the Brampton Inn, eating “locally” is getting easier every year…How lucky we are!

This year, the second day of spring also brings us an intriguing annual event :

For the third year, Washington College presents the  Locavore Literary Festival in downtown Chestertown.  This year it’s spread out over 4 days, Thursday, March 21 – Sunday March 24.   There are various talks and demonstrations by both local and national food writers extolling the virtues of being a locavore and, more specifically, how it helps to build  communities.

There will be samples, demonstrations, and even a mini farm market.  On Sunday, Colchester Farm CSA (community supported agriculture) offers a tour of the farm from 3-6 complete with more samples, events and even music.  Danielle, Michael and Rita all have shares in the farm and enjoy the fresh, local produce from May to November each year.

This is a wonderful opportunity to see Chestertown and learn something fun at the same time.  If you are in our area be sure to check out the Lit Fest!

When is the last time you did a puzzle start to finish in one or two sittings? You can’t remember right? Many of our guests didn’t seem to remember either yet when they discovered our selection of gorgeous wood puzzles from Artifact Puzzles they went right to work. These puzzles are hand made in Seattle WA.

Jody and Robert concentrating on the task at hand. They finished two puzzles in two days. The first one with a little help from Ginni who stayed up until 11:30 pm to work on one. It’s OK she and her husband Mark got to sleep in and have a late breakfast!

Scrabble and Monopoly are other games that are regularly enjoyed in the parlor or taken to the guest rooms. A glass of wine or a cup of tea always rounds up a quiet afternoon spent inside our Chestertown Bed & Breakfast.