Our creeping phlox in the Pool Garden (a garden that used to be a swimming pool) is blooming profusely and when it returns, that signals the return of butterflies to the Inn. Here are our first two winged visitors of the season…with many more to come. We’ve counted up to 40 butterflies at one time on the phlox, which provides a purple splash of color in the middle of the Pool Garden this time of year.
For our March recipe, we’ve picked one of our popular fruit side dishes: apple crisp. Rather than serve out of a large dish, we make ours in individual portions of appley goodness topped with a fabulous crumbly topping. One entree we like to serve with our apple crisps is Dave’s vegetable and ham quiche (with homemade sausage balls on the side as well).
Driving around this week, we noticed that several trees are flowering in the Asheville/Black Mountain area and there is green starting to show on the trees. Spring has arrived! And although the daytime temperature went from 79 degrees to 49 degrees in a span of three days (that’s Spring in the mountains), we can’t help but notice Mother Nature giving us some beautiful blooms to make up for that temporary fluctuation in the weather.
We wanted to share an upcoming event being sponsored by our friends at the fabulous music venue White Horse Black Mountain. As many of you know, parts of northern Japan are coping with the effects of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami earlier this month. Akira Satake, an artist, musician and native of Japan who lives in Swannanoa (the charming little town next door to Black Mountain) along with the folks at White Horse Black Mountain, have organized a benefit concert set for Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 7pm, to help those who have been affected by this tragedy.
In “Spring is almost here!” news: You know Spring is almost here when it’s time for the annual Painters Greenhouse Herb Festival. Now in its seventh year, the Herb Festival, which will take place April 9-10, 2011, is more than just a sale on herbs (like the ones at the left, photo courtesy of Painters Greenhouse Facebook Page). While you’re picking out your chives, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, you’ll also get to be entertained by local musicians, browse local arts and crafts, and enjoy some festive fare (funnel cakes, anyone? yum!).
Ah, the popover. Light and airy, the popover is a nice complimentary side dish for our hearty breakfast entries, such as Dave’s frittata. Considered the distant American cousin of the English Yorkshire pudding, the popover has been in existence since at least 1850, and the first popover recipe to be printed in a cookbook appeared in 1876. We have no idea how much the original recipe is like ours, but here’s what our version looks like. Enjoy!
We’re starting off our participation in microlending this year with loans to two entreprenuers in very different parts of the developing world. As the owners of a small business ourselves, this is one of the ways we help other small business owners and a way to take an active role in the fight against global poverty, a cause that’s important to us.
