Lavender Blueberry Scones
Last Sunday Amy (me) and Rita went to Gettysburg’s Taste of the Town to share our Lavender Blueberry Scones as part of the Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Trail table. It was a lot of fun to meet other people from the Trail and other restaurants and businesses in the area, and it was especially fun to try all of their delicious food!
Reid’s Orchard and Winery
Reid’s Orchard and Winery did a great job of coordinating our table and getting everything ready for the day. Their winery is located in Orrtanna where they have wine tastings and also lots of wonderful fresh produce from their orchard. If you’re in downtown Gettysburg, stop by their tasting room at Jennie’s House, which is the birthplace of Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Good Intent Cider
Could these two be any cuter?? They were there representing their new family-owned cider company Good Intent Cider. Each small batch is made from Adams County apples and bottled by hand. Visit them on Saturdays on the square in Gettysburg at the Farmer’s Market starting April 28.
Martin House Bed and Breakfast
We’re not the only Martins on the block! Lynn and Duke has opened their family home to guests as a cozy bed and breakfast. The Martin House Bed and Breakfast is located in Fairfield, PA with beautiful, natural surroundings.
Hauser Estate Winery
Hauser Estate Winery was there with their Jack’s Hard Cider, which is made from their home-grown, farm fresh apples. Visit their beautiful winery in Biglerville, PA, or if you’re downtown in Gettysburg, stop by their tasting room on the square.
In this photo, you can also catch a glimpse of the Apple Cider Donuts from Hallabaugh Brothers Fruit and Farm Market. Visit their family-owned farm market in Biglerville, PA.
Check out more wineries, orchards, restaurants, and lodging from the trail at gettysburgwineandfruittrail.com!
Take a trip to France in this cool film created by photographer George Owens on a day in the life of another photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. Even if you’ve never been to France, some of the surroundings may look familiar 
You may be well-aware of the history of the Ragged Edge (and if you’re not, you can read a bit of it here), but you may not know that there was a novel written that was influenced by this house and the previous owner. 1 Ragged Ridge Road was inspired by a trip the authors, Leonard Foglia and David Adams Richards, took to the little town of Fayetteville (or “Fayette”, as it’s called in the book) where they stayed in a mansion that had been turned into a bed & breakfast by a woman who wanted to share the spirit of Christmas all year long. The B&B in the book was called “The Christmas Inn”, and if you had visited the Ragged Edge a few years ago, you would remember the array of Christmas trees that were up all year long and see the similarities between the character in the book and the owner at that time.
It is a fictional novel, in that the happenings surrounding the original owners (the Kennedys) in the book did not occur, but it is an interesting, suspenseful mystery, and it is fun to see the places mentioned in the book that are familiar places here in town. If you like a good mystery, you may want to check it out.
We have also heard that it was to be turned into a movie, but we haven’t been able to track it down, so if you see it anywhere, let us know!
It’s been one of the coldest weeks we’ve had in quite a while here in Chambersburg, and Bananas Foster is just the right thing to make you feel warm and cozy inside. If you used up all of your rum in your eggnog, and open flames make you a little nervous, then this recipe is for you. It’s very easy, and gives you all of the deliciousness of traditional Bananas Foster, without all of the theatrics. Pour it over pancakes, waffles, french toast, or just eat it with a spoon.
Bananas Foster Sauce
1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Maple Syrup
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pinch of Salt
4 Bananas, sliced
2 tsp Vanilla
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in banana slices and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Fran giving out lollipops to school children in Islampur
Many of you have heard that Lew and I traveled to India in November, so we thought we should show you a little of what we did there. This was my tenth visit and Lew’s fifth. We want to thank those of you who have blessed our mission work with your giving and also in your prayer support. We had a wonderful time seeing all that the children are learning in their schools, such as dance, drama, and scripture, in addition to their regular subjects. These children are like little jewels in the midst of much poverty. It was a privilege ministering to many people as we traveled through the villages of West Bengal. There was a team of 6 from Chambersburg Brethren in Christ Church that accompanied Lew & me, and it was an amazing experience for each of them, as this was their first time in India. The traffic is always wild and there are people everywhere – women carrying firewood for the day’s cooking, men plowing their fields, and children playing along the streets. Right now we are working to see how we can help some of the families there become self-sustainable. Our desire is to implement a few small businesses, so eventually these free tuition schools can run on their own. The church is growing in North East India. I have posted a few pics for you to see a bit of what we experience while we are there.
~Fran
Our team from Chambersburg Brethren in Christ – Lew, Jamie, Brandon, Debra, Steve, Fran, Luke, and Pastor Larry Locke
Our family in West Bengal – Jagannath, Christenjali, Lew, Pampa, Fran, and Bapi
School children doing a drama about the birth of Christ
School children in Midnapure
Bracelets that the kids made with colors signifying who Jesus is
Tea Gardens in Darjeeling
Lady carrying sticks for cooking
Many of you know that we entered the “C is for Cookie Contest” sponsored by the Franklin County Visitor’s Bureau. Well, guess what? We won! So, it’s only fair that we share the recipe that provided us with these bragging rights. You can read more about the contest in today’s Herald Mail newspaper. Even better than bragging rights, all of the proceeds went to the Salvation Army of Franklin County.
Dark Chocolate Espresso Truffle Cookies
Dark Chocolate Espresso Truffle Cookies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
6 T unsalted butter
2 T instant coffee
2 C dark chocolate chips
½ C flour
¼ tsp baking powder
2 T dark or dutch process cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 C sugar
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350º F. Melt chocolate, butter, instant coffee, and 1 cup of chocolate chips in sauce pan over low heat. Cool. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Then mix in chocolate mixture. Mix together flour, cococa, baking powder, and salt. Mix at low speed until combined. Stir in remaining cup chocolate chips.
Roll into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
With Lew and Fran being gone during the month of November, we didn’t get around to having a Christmas open house this year. But, we wanted to give a peak inside for those of you who aren’t able to come and stay with us during this Christmas season…
One of our favorite things to serve this fall has been Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast. Whether you are able to visit us this fall or not, you will want to make this at home, because it is oh. so. good.
Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast
1 Loaf French Bread, sliced 1 inch thick
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 15 oz can Pumpkin
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C White Sugar
1 Egg
2 T Pumpkin Pie Spice
12 Eggs, beaten
2 C Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/3 C Maple Syrup
Chopped pecans for garnish
Line the bottom of a greased 13×9 inch baking dish with half of the french bread. Beat together cream cheese and pumpkin in a mixer. Stir in sugar, brown sugar, egg, and 2 T pumpkin pie spice until well-combined. Spread the pumpkin mixture on top of the bread. Top with remaining slices of bread.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup. Pour over bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Remove french toast from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking for 25 – 30 minutes until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
Serve with chopped pecans and maple syrup. Eat and enjoy.
While we love hearing positive feedback from our guests, we also appreciate suggestions for improvements. Who better to tell us how to improve our guests’ visit than from our guests themselves? One suggestion that kept popping up is the desire for a bathroom door in our Azalea room. Initially, we left it off because of the size of the room and not wanting to take up precious space with a door. But, in many cases, privacy trumps space. Lew was finally able to get a door fixed up and installed in the room. And, what do you know, it didn’t really take up much extra space after all. So, here you go… thanks to our guests (and Lew), our new Azalea bathroom door…
While all of our guests have their own unique story and situation, every once and a while we get someone with an exceptionally interesting reason for being here. Andreas Zingg found his way here to our little B&B while en route from Switzerland to New Zealand, where he is doing research in Forest Growth and Yield. Rather than flying, Andreas prefers a slower means of travel, such as train or boat, because he says he misses too much when flying. So, from Switzerland, he hitched a ride on a container ship, and after 3 weeks of sailing across the ocean, he arrived in New York.
He found our inn online while searching for a place to stay on his way to Philadelphia. He was excited to see some Amish folks during his drive through Pennsylvania, which is one of the things he would have missed out on had he flown! From Philly, he will be boarding another container ship that will take him through the Panama Canal and on to his destination in New Zealand. He will be staying in New Zealand until the end of November, head to Australia, then to Tasmania, back to Australia, and will then head back to Europe on January 5th, arriving back home to Switzerland on January 21st.
Andreas shares all of the experiences from his travels on his blog Mit dem Strich. Unfortunately, it’s in German, but he has some great photos on there that we can enjoy. I used Google Translate to read some of his posts, so if you’re curious, just copy/paste into that and you can get an idea of what it says. Of course, we were excited to see photos of our B&B included in his journey. We’re so glad he found us and was able to share some of his journey here with us!
~Amy
