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Museum Hill Bed and Breakfast Newsletter

08/14/2006

Volume 1, Number 2

August is here and the big event coming up this weekend is Trails West. This event is huge and celebrates the cultural heritage of St. Joseph. The following link: www.trailswest.org is the home page for this event and lists all the activities going on during the three-day festival. This year’s theme is called "Crossroads of a Nation." The event will be held in the Civic Center Park across from us. I still have some room availability for anyone who may want to make a weekend of it and enjoy a truly awesome event.

"Crossroads of a Nation" I believe is a very appropriate theme for this year’s event. St. Joseph is truly a town where history has been sort of buried as time passed on. Not many people know this town was the major starting point for the movement West and the last major re-supply area. The Patee Museum has a really cool display on the second floor with an original horse buggy completely outfitted with all the equipment and gear the usual settler would pack on the journey west. When I first saw it, I was astounded just how much they got into those. And to know that horses pulled them from St. Joseph, all the way West through the Sierras and into California and Oregon, just creates admiration and respect to the people who first settled the land. The West would not be what it is today without those pioneers or without St. Joseph as the last primary link before the long journey.

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Recently we found a very cool place. Schweizer Orchards is a nice little farm on the outskirts of town. The produce is very fresh and we were able to pick blackberries, some of which we used on our morning fruit salads, others we have frozen to have in the fall and wintertime. This is becoming a rare thing to be able to go pick your own fruits. It is nice to still be able to see that in this area. Soon apples will be in season to pick and in the fall many other events are supposed to be going on here, including hayrides. Their website is www.schweizerorchards.com.

There is a real appreciation for these things as when I was growing up, I used to work the farms in South Jersey and nothing beats being able to pick your own fresh produce from the farm. As well as getting real apple cider when it is in season and being able to enjoy the country farm environment with hayrides and bond fires on a cool autumn evening. Fresh corn is in season now and together with a BBQ chicken meal and a cole slaw or salad, this makes a nice and simple good summertime meal. Don’t forget the wine!!!!!!

Platte City has got a real neat event coming up on Sept 8 and 9. It is called the End of Trail Rally. The website:  www.plattecitymo.com/MotorcyleRally has more information. From the history of this event, Platte City has hosted it for 2 years, and it is not the typical rally. The event draws people from all over and community involvement seems to make it become a very welcomed attraction.

I found two interesting write-ups on this at

www.cycleconnections.com/articledetail.asp?TypeID=2&ID=792

www.cycleconnections.com/articledetail.asp?TypeID=2&ID=385

I will be there with information on day riding routes throughout the local area while promoting staying at the B and B as a home base after traveling the routes. The routes will also be good for those who may want to take them by car.

Atchison, Kansas-We recently visited Atchison, Kansas and what a nice little town that is. Again, I am just amazed at all the history. This website: http://www.atchisonkansas.net provides a lot of good information about the town.

The Amilia Earhart Museum is not only just about Amilia herself, but of some history of aviation during that time period. More information is at: www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org The visitors’ center is unique initself as it has a wonderful railroad museum.

Down at 519 Commercial St, there is a little outside mall that has a beautiful antique shop called Lintiques. This shop has some of the finest antiques in the area. The phone # is 913-367-4647. In the same building is another store called Parker House, Inc, and this place has very elegant home décor and furniture. The place also as has a quaint little restaurant that features homestyle cooking. More information can be found at: www.parkerhouseinc.com.

This site: www.atchisonkansas.net/v_haunted.htm has information on some fun tours throughout the town.

One of the things I truly love about this entire area is the dining out. There are so many little establishments out there in set in the old buildings and homes, and it is nice to get away from the chain restaurants and get out to experience the grace of the old homes from a time past. As I find more places, I will be talking about them in future newsletters.

I was attending a luncheon meeting last week in Kansas City with the Lodging Association and talking to someone about what St. Joseph and the surrounding area has to offer. The conversation drifted into the historical areas of Virginia. Virginia is well known for its history and tourism, especially Williamsburg. During our conversation we both began talking about how in touring that area, while it is nice to see the old homes and learn about the history, everything is roped off and you are many times kind of pushed through the exhibits. Here, people are able to "experience" the homes, whether it is a Bed and Breakfast, Museum, Restaurant, or part of a Homes Tour many of the local towns do annually in which owners open up their historic homes for complete tours. The architecture is also well varied, more so than any other part in the country.

To sum things up, we could not have put it better than how the speaker of the luncheon put it, that Kansas City and the surrounding areas have so much detail in historical architecture to show off, when its lost due to a demolition or neglect, it cannot be replaced. The craftsmen no longer exist and the people who still do the various skills are far and between. During his speech, he was pointing out the detailed scrollwork on the molding in between the ceiling and walls of the banquet room the luncheon was being held at.

That is what we promote, for people to experience the elegance and grandeur of a time past before it becomes lost forever.

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This is a great crock pot recipe for soup I developed myself. After everything is in the pot, you can just let simmer. I came up with this recipe while catering an event back in January. The simplicity of it plus the added benefit of everything being fresh during serving, made it a great complement to the rest of the meal we had served that evening. It required minimal maintenance, and that is key while preparing other things for an event or party.

Grille the chicken breasts in a large lightly oiled skillet. Sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Cook chicken until white all the way through, than remove from pan and cool. In crock-pot, add diced celery, onion, carrots, crushed tomatoes and canned tomatoes with chiles. Dice chicken after cooling and add. Set crock-pot on high and close with lid. Let simmer for 3 hours stirring occasionally. Than add black beans and corn. Cover and continue to simmer on high for 2 more hours. Stir occasionally. Note: if soup begins to look a little watery, add a can of tomato paste. Serve hot. On the Border tortilla chips make a great compliment to this. The soup is hearty enough to dip chips in soup. Recommended wine: Pyrtle’s Mellow Red or a good sangria. Even a margarita goes well with this. Enjoy!!!!!

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This salsa is very easy to make and is a highlight for any party. When handling the peppers, I do recommend using plastic gloves, as the pepper juice can irritate the skin. This is a pretty simple preparation. Chop and dice all ingredients, put in big mixing bowl and stir together. Add lemon juice, transfer to a Tupperware type container and chill for about 4 hours. Serve with chips and a good margarita. This salsa also works nicely as a compliment to omelets and fish. There is no need for any seasoning. The natural flavors enhance everything. Note: For more spiced flavor, just add another pepper.

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This recipe I developed from a product I used to get at a place called Trader Joe's in CA. The product was a mesquite honey and was one of the best honeys I have ever had. The closest Trader Joe's in this area is near St. Louis, so I improvised with the mesquite flavoring and regular honey. This recipe is real simple. Just combine all ingredients together and heat on stove at a medium heat. When it comes to a boil, than lower the temperature and let simmer for about 45 min. Turn off and let cool. This can be used right away, refrigerated or frozen. It will last about a week in the refrigerator. To add a little zest to it, add some jalepeno pepper juice. The beer option just gives it a little more flavor. Another alternative also if you do not want to try it from scratch, is just get a jar of regular bbq sauce at the store and add the honey and mesquite flavoring to it as well as any of the optional ingredients.

Earlier I had mentioned the BBQ chicken meal. This sauce would really enhance that. A little secret when cooking the corn on the cob in boiling water. Add just a touch of milk when the water comes to a boil, this helps make the corn extra tender. Works really well with yellow corn. When BBQing the chicken, cook at a low heat and baste about every 5-min while turning. If you are doing a roaster chicken on a grille spit, keep at a low temp, about 300 degrees and baste every 10 min. Below I have included a very simple cucumber salad recipe to add to this meal.

Very easy preparation for this. Combined all ingredients together in bowl, mix and chill for about 3 to 4 hours minimum. This salad compliments a wide variety of BBQ dishes.

If you can find a white balsamic vinegar, this is a little sweeter taste. However the red works just as well. If you decide to use the tomatoes, add them to the salad just before serving. The tomatoes tend to toughen up if they are added in the beginning and allowed to sit in the vinegar.

At the bottom of this, I will be starting an archive with links to my previous newsletters for the recipes anyone can refer back to and for new people I continually add to my list.

As always, if anyone has any cooking questions, or looking for any type of recipe for a specific occasion, contact me at any time.

Have a good day everyone and when you want to "Relive History!!" come stay at Museum Hill Bed and Breakfast. Explore the region where the "West began to get Wild!"

Sincerely,

John Courter

Innkeeper/Owner

Newsletter archive:

www.geocities.com/museumhillbandb/newsletter-07-20-2006