Fresh Tomato Sun Sauce Recipe from Pond Mountain Inn

Let the sun do all the cooking. This Pond Mountain Inn favorite is prepared by our host Kay. Once the ingredients have sunbathed you’ll love how the ingredients pair so well together with such robust flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Tomato Sun Sauce Recipe

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 30 min. + Sunbathing

YIELD: 4 -6 servings

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds Fresh Ripe Plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

¼ cup Julienne cut Sun-Dried tomatoes with Italian Herbs (Bella Sun Luci*)

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

¼ cup minced fresh Italian Parsley

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Spaghetti or Angel Hair pasta

Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Mix tomatoes together in a large glass bowl (cover) or wide-mouth Mason jar along with sun dried tomatoes, parsley, oil, grated Parmesan cheese and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and let the sun do the work until juices are released from the tomatoes – approximately 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, and toss into a serving bowl with the Sun Sauce. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with grated cheese.

* If  Bella Sun Luci sun dried tomatoes are not available in your area please use your local favorite sun dried tomatoes packed in oil.

 

 

Star Gazing at Pond Mountain Inn

Intrigued by the clarity of the night sky and the absence of any artificial light we joined the Dorset Astronomy Club. Our first question, like many others, is “what can I see through a $200 telescope?” The short answer – a lot!

Star Gazing at Pond Mountain Inn Without a Telescope

Let’s begin by mentioning what can be seen without a telescope – quite a bit! The International Space Station (ISS) passed by twice last week while having dinner outside with friends. And, with an untrained eye, having ISS Detector app on my telephone is the best way to distinguish the space station from roaming satellites. After only a few sightings, the two are easily distinguishable – the space station has a much larger and brighter footprint. Satellites are quite common – we saw three in fifteen minutes the previous Sunday night!

The broad swath of milky light stretching across the night sky is, of course, the Milky Way Galaxy that never disappoints. The Big Dipper sits directly above our home in the summer, which is somehow very comforting. And, the annual Perseid Meteor Shower two weekends ago was disappointing again this year with large amounts of cloud cover. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for next year…

We see shooting stars about 30% of the time – last summer we saw an incredible meteor streaking across the night’s sky that lasted just a split second – absolutely magnificent!

Planets are easily visible to the naked eye, especially the notable three – Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, but are virtually featureless. The meteor strikes on the moon are nicely apparent with a pair of department store binoculars.

And, there is so much more to see….

A $200 Telescope Certainly Improves Things – A Lot!

The Moon’s craters come alive with a telescope and it’s easily the most impressive object in the sky given its proximity to earth. There are now eight planets, with the absence of Pluto. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are the “big three” in the sky revealing nice surface characteristics that we hope to share with you in the future!

Kay and I certainly look forward to learning so much more about the night sky and will share photographs of what we see and experience from Vermont… Stay tuned! And, it may be even better in the winter!

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Duncan Miller at Pixabay.com

 

 

Pond Mountain Inn Recipe for Lemon Soufflé Pancakes

Our Pond Mountain Inn guests love these pancakes! After emailing the recipe to so many of our guests we decided to make it easier for everyone. These delicate pancakes at this bed and breakfast are wonderfully light and fluffy – Vermont Maple syrup complements the tangy tartness of the fresh squeezed lemon.

Kay, one of the hosts at Pond Mountain Inn, is known for creating extraordinary breakfasts.

 

 

Kay’s Lemon Cottage Cheese Soufflé Pancakes

Ingredients

• 6 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup canola oil or high quality vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon McCormick® Small Batch Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups large curd 4% milkfat cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

 Instructions

Beat the egg whites until firm, then set aside.

In a food processor or blender, combine the egg yolks, oil, salt, baking powder, cottage cheese, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, and flour, blending until smooth. Pour the batter into a bowl. Fold in the egg whites.

Meanwhile, heat a nonstick griddle or large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then lightly brush with melted butter or oil.

Pour the batter, about ¼ cup for each pancake, onto the cooking surface.

Cook until the tops are bubbly, then turn and cook until the bottoms are golden browned.

Serve hot with warm maple syrup and or blueberry compote.

Yield: Serves 6

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Pond Mountain Inn

 

 

Find Out What Makes Our Coffee Incredibly Delicious…

Our Philosophy at Pond Mountain Inn

One of the defining characteristics of an excellent bed & breakfast is the emphasis on serving the finest cup of coffee available. We serve a non-flavored Viennese Roast in the Main House during breakfast, which is the lightest of T.M. Ward’s Espresso roasts – it’s unusually smooth, delicately strong, with a nice velvety finish. And, to really make our morning coffee interesting we add French Roast, a blend of Arabica beans, which is a very dark roast with smoky overtones. This hybrid recipe brews an outstanding cup of coffee! They’re both delicious and we hope that you enjoy them too!

History – T.M. Ward Coffee

One of the oldest institutions in Newark, New Jersey is the T.M. Ward Coffee Company; originally opened by Timothy Ward in 1869.  Unlike many businesses over its 140 years of continuous existence, Ward’s has remained a locally-based, family-run company that embraces its employees.

Our Morning Brewing Process

It all begins with using exceptional filtered water – Pond Mountain Inn’s water is delivered from a 360 foot deep artesian well. By the time the coffee reaches your coffee mug, our water has been filtered twice and has passed through ultraviolet technology.

Our recipe for making great coffee begins with controlling the temperature of the water when it comes in contact with the coffee, which highlights the characteristics of our great coffee – we use both a drip coffee maker and percolator, both brew an outstanding cup of coffee!

The Coffee

We begin with great coffee. We found T.M. Ward, an exceptional quality roaster that sells freshly roasted beans. We experimented with quarter of a pound of a many different varieties of coffee and selected a non-flavored Viennese Roast as our signature coffee. We actually took the beans out of the bag, smelled them, and smelled the coffee again after we ground them. Even if you like your coffee with milk or cream, we tried a few sips without anything added and tasted it. We considered what we tasted and the aroma as we would with a fine glass of wine. We wanted to make sure that we provide the best coffee possible and I believe we were successful! Our guests will ultimately make the final determination.

We use a standardized scoop of coffee. Most experts say two tablespoons of ground coffee per 8-ounce cup, but coffees differ and tastes differ, but we found that this works for us at the inn. Occasionally, we make more coffee than we can use immediately, we always pour the remaining coffee into a thermos or carafe to keep it warm. We never let coffee sit on a burner or warming device, as this will kill the taste.

We want your morning coffee to be the best cup of coffee that you’ve ever had and we’ll keep trying to exceed your expectation; we even warm your coffee mug before pouring your first cup of coffee! See you in the morning….

Interesting Backstory

What has been most responsible for putting T.M. Ward on the map has to be its Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito “Bold Justice Blend”, a rich blend of Columbian, Java and New Guinea, with a bit of espresso. This was the longtime client’s favorite cup, and Ward’s pushed the product in support of Alito’s 2005-06 run through Senate confirmation. Bold Justice Blend became all the rage amongst the journalist and internet crowds, and to this day, the Trenton native seems to have successfully branded his own personal way of motivating Jersey’s masses.

Click here for T.M Ward Coffee of Chatham, New Jersey

A Treasured Memory at Pond Mountain Inn…

One of the more memorable things that happened last year was this drawing. What makes the drawing most impressive is that it was drawn by one of our guest’s ten-year daughter. The backstory is that Erin had received $20.00 from her grandfather to spend on vacation as she wished and decided to purchase one of our Pond Mountain Inn mugs, which was nearly the same price. I suggested a barter of sorts where I would give Erin one of our mugs in exchange for a drawing of our property – she immediately agreed then deliberated and chose to draw the Main House and Loft Apartment. A day or two later I had a beautiful drawing of our property and Erin had one of our mugs. The day after her family left we had the drawing framed and placed in the Loft. Another treasured memory….

Yankee Ingenuity and Your L.L. Bean Boots

I purchased my first and only pair of L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Shoes in 1980 – I removed the mud for this photograph. I had them resoled a few years back and replaced the laces maybe three times. They have served me well for thirty-seven years! But alas, I’ve stumbled upon a new alternative use…. The Vermont Wine Carrier – excellent for transporting both red and white! Brought to you by your friends at Pond Mountain Inn. 

Step Back in Time with Vermont’s Enchanted Covered Bridges

Sunday drives are magical especially in Vermont whether you’re destination-oriented or just like to tour the rolling hills alongside a meandering river. Sunday was magnificent, the only thing missing was a wicker picnic basket filled with essential luxuries and a crisp-cold bottle of Sancerre. Kay and I along with our “adopted parents, Hoa & Orland, of Manchester” were determined to see a few of the southern Vermont Covered Bridges we had yet to visit. Following the Battenkill for about ten minutes a distant view of the day’s first covered bridge became clearer! No matter how many times you’ve seen a covered bridge each is met with a new sense of exhilaration. The feeling is indescribable – set back in time one can almost feel the presence of those that traveled before us likely by horse across this timbered structured.

West Arlington Bridge, Built in 1852 is arguably the most beloved and most photographed in the state.

This is the quintessential Vermont photograph that everyone should personally experience… What makes this photograph even more treasured is that it was taken in front of Norman Rockwell’s home!

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) lived in this house in Arlington, Vermont from 1943-1953.

Sunderland is where we found the Chiselville Covered Bridge, named for the fine quality chisels and edge tools manufactured nearby. The bridge spans the Roaring Branch Brook and was built in 1870.

Orland and I traversed the steep riverside bank to gain a unique perspective from below.

A brief history… Vermont is rightfully famous for its covered bridges – more than one hundred span the state (Pond Mountain Inn has a complete listing). A covered bridge was built for necessity to protect their wooden structures, extend their lifespan, and protect Vermonters and perhaps their animals from the elements. Vermont Covered Bridges are architecturally very pleasing, fun to experience and remain an important part of Vermont’s legacy.

We will soon publish the first of our Self-Guided Tours, which will include more covered bridges.