Greetings, Blog Friends.
The recent snowstorms in Maine and the Northeast have kept this innkeeper busy. Rain fell on top of the 8 inches of snow we had recently and shoveling it was my cardio---for the week!
It's funny...I think about how much being an innkeeper brings out in me sometimes. Every innkeeper has to be a convivial host/ess. Every innkeeper has to have an eye for detail, be perceptive, be a good business person. Many innkeepers must be good cooks, as well (I write about this neverending journey herein). The facility projects in this inn (a large 7,700 sqaure foot home--the largest I have ever owned!) and maintenance, including shoveling, bring out what I
lovingly call my "hearty, stalwart New Englander" personality component.
Things like snow happen. You manage them. (You might even enjoy it in the process). You move forward. I guess maybe innkeepers are "mindful"---being in the moment, be it stirring muffins, chatting and learning from guests, or be thinking "I want everything to be in its place for them" before their guests even arrive. Hospitality even with all its "less glamorous" moments is an amazing challenge. But..."it's great work if you can get it." (didn't Gershwin write that?)
Anyhow...over the holidays I had some guests that had read this blog prior to arriving at the inn. At our first breakfast Evelyn and Ken handed me a wrapped gift. It was a lovely book called "Recipes from Home" by David Page and Barbara Shinn (pictured above). I thanked them for their kind gesture and while they were out exploring Western Maine (or napping--they really needed to escape their career for a few days) I baked cookies for them and flipped through the pages of this engaging cookbook.
"Home" apparently is a restaurant in New York City. It evolved from a need in the neighborhood for good home cooking. The authors/owners of the restaurant provide us with their delicious take on the classics. I blinked when I flipped through to find a recipe for ketchup. Yes, the "lowly" condiment (my Creole friend, Denise, in New Orleans refers to ketchup as being New England's 3rd spice---hahaha! She's such a "stitch!"). The authors explain they do not buy ketchup in their restaurant--they make their own!
It struck me a little happy to see how they made it with tomatoes, paprika, garlic, allspice, etc. Wow, I thought! How reliant are we on such basic condiments! Think of all the variations one could make and serve by knowing the basic components--and then adapting them to make them their own. You can have your own Variety No. 58! Yes, folks, from this book came not only a great array of recipes--but the happy creative inspiration that makes us want to investigate food further, to explore where no other foodie has gone (this is starting to sound more like Star Trek! Hahaha.)
The truth is: we rely too much on convenience items. Yes, they are convenient and, in most cases, part of our habit/past, but we've evolved a bit. We've learned as cooks that homemade tastes better, and that it is better for you. We also learned that sometimes it is the simple mindfulness in cooking that keeps us tied to our heritage as Americans. Why then, have we become a society of "lid pullers?" "Nuke this, rehydrate that, order this..."--it is us, my foodie friends, that will change the way we feed ourselves and our families, perhaps our culture.
We love to cook and play and entertain and learn. We can impact and teach others with our knowledge. (Our families reap the benefits of our work and passion of food, too!) This book prompted these feelings. I hope you can check it out.
Back to the inn on this chilly Maine evening. The lights on Long Lake are glimmering white reflections on the dark water. It is a still evening and a good night to sit down with a blankie and open a cookbook or two. Be well.
Keith A. Neubert
Innkeeper-Chef
Inn at Long Lake
Naples---18 degrees
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