Grab your helmet, your bike and your honey and let's go!

We finally got our bikes out today. Ray filled the tires with air and we dusted off the seats and took off. We have been busy bees here lately at the inn. Experiencing the busiest month since we opened a little over a year ago, we are slowing down a bit and catching our breath before the next wave of lovely guests grace us with their presence.

Two bicyclist from Portland stayed with us a few nights ago. Arriving by train, these two were celebrating their one year wedding anniversary by riding their bikes back to Portland. Oh, to be young, vibrant, energetic and in love! But, hey what a way to remember your first anniversary.

The Willamette Valley and Albany in particular is known for it's scenic and fairly easy bike riding trails. With a new bicycle map put out early this year, it's easy to stay on course, explore all while riding through quaint villages, vineyards, berry fields and even through acres upon acres of Christmas trees. You can get your map by contacting the Albany Visitor's Assn. at www.albanyvisitors.com.

You can also check out the Albany Bicycle Critierium this year on Saturday, August 15th. Over 600 bicyclists will be competing at different levels for the championship. Downtown Albany boasts one of the best venues for this type of event.

Also, if you are feeling like a little wine tasting on your bike ride, check out the "Vine Ride" also happening on Saturday, August 15th. The ride starts in Newberg, Oregon and takes you through some of the most scenic wine country Oregon has to offer. Your ride is ruled by you and can be as long or short as you like. The website is www.vineride.com for more info.

As for me, I can barely ride my bike in a straight line without the wine so I will stick to staying around town and watching the criterium. But, I might be doing it while sipping a little Pinot Noir.

Sounds like the perfect pairing to me!

But, I Only Came For The Cake!

Hey, have you ever sat a meeting or went to a baby shower or a wedding and all you could do was stare at the cake and wonder when it's going to be cut? Seriously, who will admit they have actually done this. Well, I will and I have. In fact I do it quite often!

My love for cake probably came from my grandmother. She would bake a sheet cake every time we went to her house for dinner. It was always there waiting for me, staring at me, wanting to be cut and devoured. I had to be good and wait for everyone else but that didn't mean I couldn't think it about it or oogle it or yearn for it throughout the entire meal.

Several events held here at The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn involve desert and many of those deserts involve cake. Whether it is a homemade, old-fashioned lemon iced bundt cake by me, a gorgeous piece of art made by Trina, our cake baker and cake decorator, or simply picked up at our farmer's market in downtown Albany, desert is always a part of our bed and breakfast experience.

So, whether it's cake, pie, cookies or whatever I decide to bake for the day, please, just come for the cake! We won't make you wait. It will be waiting for you!

Innkeepers Have Escaped and Found Enjoying Cannon Beach, Oregon!

We escaped a few days ago to Cannon Beach, Oregon. A little time to catch our breath, walk on the beach, shop and of course enjoy a little brewery sampling.

We stayed at The Cannon Beach Hotel and were treated to a suite complete with sparkling cider, a fireplace and a separate room that housed an old claw-footed tub just for me! Needless to say, I soaked for over an hour and enjoyed every minute of it.

We had only been to Cannon Beach once before and this was our first time staying over-night. We love the town, the beach is so clean and oh my gosh, the cottages and beach houses are so dang cute. The picture in the middle was probably my favorite. Next summer we would like to rent a beach house and invite a houseful of our "near and dearest" to come stay. How fun would that be?

For more information on Cannon Beach and The Cannon Beach Hotel, please read my corporate blog at www.obbg.org. Click on "visit our blog" and enjoy!

Now it's back to Albany, reality and doing what we love...innkeeping!

One Can Never Have Too Much Fun...Can They???

So, what is sweet, red, luscious and only found in the Willamette Valley? No, no not me silly! It's Oregon's world renown Pinot Noir.

Wednesday we loaded up my parents, my sister and her kids and headed north. I had made one of my lists I am so famous for and had four wineries and the Aviation Museum in McMinnville on it along with a quick Voodoo Doughnut stop for my nephew Quentin and of course a little longer stop at the Pioneer Square Mall for JoJo. Needless to say, way too much planned for one day. So, we chose Adelsheim Vineyard in Newberg and Sokol-Blosser Winery in Dundee for tasting.

Both wineries are located near the museum in McMinnville so they were the perfect choices for our wine stops. Adelsheim Vineyard offered a flight that consisted of four wines that were wonderful and we came home with a 2007 bottle of Pinot Noir for my honey to drink on Father's Day. Sokol-Blosser Winery in Dundee had an absolutely breathtaking view, offered a little larger flight and was the perfect place for a picnic. If anyone knows my family, the picnic I prepared had already been eaten so by the time we got to Dundee, we were looking for a snack.

Off to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland and the look on my mother's face when we pulled up was priceless. Not located in the best part of Portland but totally worth the trip, we saw a lot of families, young people and tourists like ourselves in line waiting to order their Cap n' Crunch or Grape Powder doughnuts. "A dozen to go please", and we were off to find dinner.

Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl is one of our favorite Portland dining digs. Truffle Garlic Fries, burgers, Falafal Salad and pizza then time for the mall. Poor Jo only had about 30minutes to shop before the mall closed. So, like a girl, speed shopping is second nature. She made us all so proud!

Ray drove us all back to Albany and needless to say, we slept like babies Wednesday night. A great day with my honey, my family and and a memory of a very fun day we can cherish forever! Even my dad thanked me for planning such a great day. And I am looking forward to doing it again!

What I Have Learned

I have learned that sometimes our guests can teach me something about Oregon that I never knew!

Traveling from places like Cape Cod, Colorado and even France, recently our guests have had the opportunity to explore a bit of the Willamette Valley. Wine tasting in the most sought after region in the country and eating lunch at a really good roadside cafe can make for a perfect day.

Cafe 22 West is about 8 miles from Salem towards the coast. With yummies like Strawberry Belgian Waffles, Aunt Ida's Fruit Stuffed Pancake, Crepes, The 22 Deuce and Biscuits and Gravy, you can't pass it up. I tried the Veggie Wrap with Tots and Ray had a burger with fries. We kept watching people go by with bowls of strawberry shortcake and ice cream cones and wondering where in the heck they were getting those. Next to the cafe, is a fruit and vegetable stand/nursery/ice cream and shortcake stand. One owner for both the cafe and stand, sneaking back over to have a seat on their beautiful umbrella covered patio to enjoy your desert is no problem.

So, if you wanna come stay at The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn, wine taste in our luscious Willamette Valley, have a very yummy lunch, we can tell you that Cafe 22 West is worth the stop!

For Natalie...My Overnite French Toast!

I promised my dear friend Natalie that I would publish this recipe. This is my most favorite french toast recipe because when you dig down far enough, the cherries taste like candy.

Overnite French Toast

6 Tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1 long loaf of French bread, thick sliced

6 large eggs

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sliced almonds or chopped walnuts or pecans

Melt butter and mix with brown sugar. Stir until moistened. Press sugar and butter mixture onto the bottom of a 13"x9" glass baking dish. (It's ok if mixture doesn't cover bottom.) Spread dried cherries or cranberries over butter and sugar mixture. Top with bread slices.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly pour this mixture over bread and press bread down to absorb egg mixture. Sprinkle with nuts.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnite.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap from dish and bake uncovered, 45-50 minutes or until bread is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Now, because I don't know how to behave in following any instructions, I "always" have to twist a recipe to make it "mine". In doing this, here at The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn, we put a bit of liquor and/or chocolate into every meal. Well, not every meal but heck we sure try to.

So, instead of vanilla in this recipe, we use Pear Liqueur from Clear Creek Distillery in Portland. Shave a little semi-sweet chocolate on top before serving and you have the perfect breakfast! Served with an egg scramble of green onions, farmer's market fresh eggs and a little grated parmesano reggiano, sided with a bowl of fresh cantaloupe and you might be seated at our dining table enjoying breakfast at our inn!

Have fun making this yummy breakfast for your family Natalie. And when you find that sweet candied cherry at the bottom, think of me. Love you my sweet friend!

Northwest Culinary Cuisine & Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes @ The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn

Okay, so I know this is a gorgeous picture of my peony bouquet and pink cupcakes!  I took it this morning after clearing our guests breakfast dishes.  I made vanilla cupcakes and decided to drop a spoon full of cherry jam in between layers of batter.  Topped with cherry frosting and put under glass, this was one of my most wonderful artistic creations.

Yeah, whatever, blah, blah, blah!!!   A box of cake mix, a jar of jam and a plastic can of frosting.  Whoopie!  But hey, they looked so pretty set by my farmer's market bouquet I had to take a picture. 

Being a little creative, relaxing and enjoying ourselves and our guests here in Albany is what makes innkeeping fun.  The last few evenings we have opened bottles of wine, ate Marion Berry Pie (again from the farmer's market), and chatted with our guests and new friends about their day.  

Wineries abundantly grace the Willamette Valley and are sometimes set against a backdrop so breathtaking that you have to have a glass and just sit and gaze.  Our guests from the eastern U.S. checked out our favorite trio of wineries yesterday.  Kings Estate, Sweet Cheeks and Silvan Ridge.  All within an easy drive of each other and all offering a little something different than the other.  Our guests favorite and ours, Sweet Cheeks Winery has the most awesome views of wine country in the area.  You can take a glass and enjoy the Oregon sunshine on the huge patio deck area and just soak it all in.  

Whether our guests take off for the day and leave our sweet town to discover wineries or covered bridges or decide to stay and relax, they always end up downtown for what I call two of the Pacific Northwest's most divine dining digs.  Sybaris and Clemenza's restaurants owned by Matt and Janel Bennett are located on First Avenue, respectively.  Sybaris offers the best of seasonal Willamette Valley faire and is always fresh and local. Clemenza's American Italian restaurant offers a very intimate and simple ambience that makes you feel like you have crossed over to a little bistro in Italy for an hour or so. Offering wines known in the region, a white and a red, their house selections at Clemenza's are as good as they come.  

Cupcakes, peonies, our lovely guests that grace our inn, our yummy picks of local culinary digs and grapes from the valley.  Sweet and ripe, sipped and enjoyed from all that is fertile and good! 

Tea and Flowers...through my window!

In my kitchen I bake cherry scones and serve them with tea. In my garden, I till the soil, plant seeds and watch each seedling emerge and stretch till it becomes a flower. So, do I like being cozy in my kitchen or dirty in my garden.  The best of both is ok for me.  

It seems like when Spring comes to Oregon, it just doesn't take its own sweet time.  It's more like you wake up one morning and you see green leaves on the trees, bulbs pushing green foliage through the cold earth and then the "bleeding hearts" begin to bloom.  The first flower to bloom in our garden this year.  

Ever since that first bloom, I enjoy my tea in the garden.  We have planted so many seeds that we have lost track of what and where we planted them.  Ray started squash, tomatoes and peppers in the house on a ledge near our kitchen window in early April.  I surprised him and planted his squash seedlings in the garden while he was in CA a little over a month ago.  Well, the surprise was on me and the snails put their bibs on and went to town!  So, we replanted some squash and sent the snails packing.  

Now I think we have several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, dill, cilantro, four types of basil, along with flower seedlings such as Bells of Ireland and Sweet Peas, among about 20 others. 

I once said that I am seriously thinking of planting a dollar bill in the soil in my garden and watch what grows.  A money tree maybe?  I doubt it.  But the earth here is so rich and full of nutrients and that makes for an agricultural heaven for blueberries, marion berries, wine grapes, grasses, clover, vegetables, hazel nuts,  and everything else that grows so naturally here. 

So, tomorrow morning I am off again to the farmer's market with my garden basket.  I will fill it with farm fresh eggs, grain fed beef, asparagus, lettuces, peony bouquets and oh yeah, Marion Berry Pie.  I am not allowed to come home without the pie.  Our guests are even getting spoiled with the pie lately and loving every slice.  Ray says that as long as he gets one slice of it, he is willing to share.  What a nice guy!

Can't wait to share our garden and make you Thai Basil Quiche or Shirred Eggs with yellow squash or Spring Frittata with cilantro or any other yummy delight we can prepare with our backyard treasures.

 

Hwy 38...an Oregon treasure!

From Albany to Newport, then down the coast to Coos Bay for a night at The Coos Bay Manor, we woke up to a 7:30am coffee wake-up call.  We enjoyed a yummy breakfast of waffles and fruit then hit the road again. Heading back to Albany, we decided to take another route. Highway 38 looked good and would take us straight to Eugene and to my favorite stop, Trader Joe's.  

A few miles down the road and we realized that we may not make it to Trader Joe's.  Rolling green hills, the Umpqua River, the herds of elk and then, the butterflies!  We saw a sign that read, "espresso, ice cream and butterflies", we had to stop.  Never made it to the Outpost for an esspresso but did get to tour the 4.5 acres of perfectly manicured butterfly and hummingbird garden.  The master gardener in the picture above was sweet enough to let me photograph her as she worked pulling weeds and dead-heading spent blossoms.  As a master gardener myself, I was jealous of her endeavor and yearned to join her but she was about to surprise us with a little secret. 

A few minutes later, just a mile or two down the road, we were graciously given a tour of a barn.  An old hay and animal barn that had been converted to several guest rooms with a personality of an old cowboy in scruffy boots. Saddles, white elephant odds and ends, and a homespun flair, this barn is set up for families, groups, parties or just a sweet couple that want to take a roll in the hay.  This treasure is not advertised, not promoted and generally not talked about too much unless you go to the Butterfly Pavilion.  Ask for Carol and she may just invite you to the barn.