Foodie Retreat at Murphin Ridge Inn {Travel}

At Murphin Ridge Inn in southern Ohio, guests enjoy spacious rooms, expansive views and perfect understated service. There is only one distraction from the calm, and it's a good one: the food. A visit to the bed and breakfast starts with finding a handmade cookie in your room. Make a cup of hot coffee or tea in the gathering room to compliment the treat.

(Click pictures to view them full size.)

Explore the grounds by hiking one of the marked trails or enjoying the vistas while seated on a rocking chair. Flower and vegetable gardens are tucked into sunny spots all over the property. You can view the plants that provide inspiration to meals including a patch of asparagus, plenty of peppers, and herbs galore.

The Inn truly comes alive during dinner. The seasonal menu throws more than just a nod to the locavore movement. Plates are filled with local everything from Adams County meats to Ohio creamery cheeses to garnishes from the gardens around the Inn.

On the night I dined with six-year-old Lillian, our starters were the stand out dishes. A pear and celery soup surprised me with subtle sweetness from the pear and deep earthiness of the celery root. Lillian, usually vegetable averse, gobbled the house salad, a lightly dressed romaine lettuce with apples and nuts. We later enjoyed our dinner of hot dog and potato wedges (her) and house-made butternut ravioli (me).

There is an air of comfortable elegance at Murphin Ridge Inn. The warm atmosphere is perfect for inspiring a child to be on her best behavior. Dinner service is neither too stuffy nor lax and includes quick bread service and coloring books to encourage quiet calm children.

After dinner we enjoyed chatting with chef Brad. He is clearly excited about using Adams County bounty in meals and also sources from Cincinnati's Findlay Market. Sherry McKenney, co-owner of Murphin Ridge, was busy preparing desserts but made time to talk to us about breakfast options.

After a cozy evening without television (Lillian can survive!) we slept comfortably. The next morning we followed a cat back to the Inn for breakfast.

We munched on homemade granola, yogurt, and fruit in the company of friendly guests before the entrée. On the day we dined, breakfast was orange French toast and locally sourced pork sausage. The menu rotates daily and seasonally.

Lil and I spent a few more hours in the morning playing tennis, following kitties, and watching birds at the dozens of feeders.  We reluctantly packed our bags to leave Murphin Ridge Inn and vowed to return to the truly relaxing retreat soon.

When you go:

• Murphin Ridge Inn is a pleasant 2 hour drive from Columbus. Suggested stops along the way include Serpent Mound Memorial and Purple Turtle Bakery in Washington Court House.
• Bring a book. Rooms do not have television, though the common area does. Free wifi is inconsistent around the site and cell phone service may be spotty. Murphin Ridge is a great place to take a break from the 24/7 on-call world.
• Consider a romantic stay in one of the cabins. These are for adults only and feature vaulted ceilings, hot tubs, and secluded, wooded surroundings.
• Be prepared for the outdoor activities you might want to enjoy. The pool is open seasonally and many nights include a campfire.
• Buy gift certificates for 10% off now through January 15th.
• Restaurant reservations are available for those who do not stay overnight. The Inn also offers holiday dinners and a summer Farm-To-Table series.

Murphin Ridge Inn 750 Murphin Ridge Road West Union, Ohio 45693 Make reservations online or by calling 877-687-7446 or 937-544-2263 Follow Murphin Ridge Inn on Facebook and Twitter for news and specials.

Murphin Ridge generously provided an overnight stay, dinner, and breakfast for Lillian and I. All opinions remain my own.

Make Your Own Stainless Steel Straws

I rarely use a drinking straw. In the entirety of my nearly 11 year marriage to Alex, we have only purchased one box of 100 plastic straws, many of which were used for crafting, not drinking, purposes. Along came Lil and our family's straw consumption sky rocketed. Straws are fun for kids and easier to use than a drinking glass. Lil is more likely to finish a drink, especially a smoothie, if she uses a straw.

As the straw waste and news reports about the dangers of BPA began to pile up, we found ourselves looking for a safe and reusable alternative.

Glass Dharma and other companies make beautiful glass straws. At $7 each, even with a lifetime guarantee against breakage, we just couldn't see investing in this option.

Alex, a materials scientist by education, thought he might be able to make straws at home from a safe, easily attainable material. Stainless steel is free of potentially dangerous chemicals like BPA, unbreakable, and easy to clean. With just a few simple tools, most of which we have around the house for plumbing, Alex created a set of stainless steel straws.

Here's how:

1) Buy tube stock from McMaster-Carr hardware supply. A shipped 6-foot length of 5/16-inch diameter round tube 304 stainless steel costs around $40. Other diameters are available.

2) Use a pipe cutter (available for around $10 at hardware stores) for to cut the steel into usable lengths. We like 8- and 6-inch lengths. The 6-foot length of tube makes 5 long and 5 short straws.

3) Optionally, bend one end at a 45 degree angle with a pipe bender (available for $20 at hardware stores).

4) Sand edges and outside with fine (220) grit sanding sponge and/or Dremel tool with a sanding point.

5) Wash well with soap and water or in the dishwasher.

Our home made straws have been in heavy use for over two years now. We rinse them immediately after use and wash in the dishwasher.

Unlike when we first made them, stainless straws are now offered on Etsy and at green living stores like Columbus' Generation Green. The most basic straws are cheaper to purchase than make from scratch.

When you create the straws yourself, you can play with bends, diameters, and lengths. They are a fun project to make as a family. Create a bunch and package sets in beautiful fabric carrying cases for unique, eco-friendly gifts.

Have you ever used a stainless steel straw? Would you consider making them yourself?

Cracking Nuts aka Entertainment in a Snack {Wordless Wednesday}

This, my friends, is how Lil occupies much of her time these days: cracking nuts in shells. The only downside is the pile of sharp fragments, some of which inevitably fly across the room and end up on the floor waiting for a bare foot to poke. Sweeping up is a small price to pay for the hours of entertainment, fine motor development, and nutritious snacking.

Modern Mistletoe: Meat, Marriage, & Duck Prosciutto Pizza {Charcutepalooza}

I recently mentioned on twitter that having the first meat of the season hanging in the basement made me feel like our house was a home again. Someone (who are you? I can't find the tweet now!) replied "It's modern mistletoe!"

That got me to thinking about how meat curing is a tasty metaphor for my nearly-eleven-year-long marriage to Alex.

Curing meat takes time and attention from both parties in our house. We help each other to procure the ingredients, turn the meat in cure, and check it as it dries.

Some couples like to have independent hobbies but we like being in each other's business. Even before I ate meat, I assisted Alex with charcuterie because it's a fascinating hobby.

Meat curing and marriage benefit from a healthy dose of humor. Much of making bacon (or duck prosciutto in this case) is icky work - there's raw meat, mildly-toxic salt, and the possibility of insects being attracted to the drying meat. The cure for the gross parts of curing is to laugh. We make jokes (sausage is especially good for word play), gently tease, and sometimes try to drip meat juice on a spouse during a photo shoot. It's all good fun.

When meat is done curing, we cook up creative dishes together. In the case of the duck prosciutto, we added it to homemade pizza. Alex made the dough and I popped open a jar of my home-canned tomato sauce. We added a pile of arugula and mozzarella before topping the 'za with thin prosciutto slices and a grate of Parmesan.

Alex and I enjoyed the pizza with a glass of wine and candle on the table in the company of our daughter Lil (who also served as the photographer for the three portraits above). We savored the from-scratch food we made together.

Curing meat challenges us to work together, listen to each other, and enjoy the finer things in life. Meat IS our modern mistletoe, the object under which we find love.

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Duck Prosciutto Pizza Makes: 1 12-inch pizza Time: 2 hours dough, 20 minutes assembly, 7-10 minutes cooking

1/4 recipe homemade pizza dough 1/4 cup tomato sauce 3 ounces fresh arugula 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 ounces duck prosciutto, sliced as thinly as possible 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F with a baking stone on center rack. 2. Make a thin circle from the dough and place on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or back of a cookie sheet. 3. Top pizza with a bit of tomato sauce, then arugula and mozzarella cheese. 4. Arrange duck prosciutto and top with Parmesan. 5. Transfer pizza to the baking stone. 6. Bake for 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly brown. Remove from oven, let rest 1-2 minutes, cut, and serve.

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This post is a part of the year-long Charcutepalooza challenge. Read below for our other meat-curing adventures and reflections.

Waste Not, Want Not Squirrel Rillettes English Pork Pie Photojournal Almost All-Ohio Mouselline How to Make Hot Dogs Like a Girl Mint Lamb Sausage Inspired by Jorgensen Farms Taco Truck Chorizo Sopito Red’s Canadian Bacon or Why I Had to Kill a Pig To Eat Meat Again The Story of the Rachel Salt Cure Old and New Cider Syrup Bacon

On My List

It is list making season, no? No matter your place on the HanuSolMas spectrum, there is some holiday that calls for presents.

In my family, gifts are made of love and time. Much of what we give and receive is handmade. We flip the consumerism coin and come up with heads and hearts - my family makes some awesome gifts.

And yet, we give and receive indulgences that cannot be made by hand. Our wish lists are typically exchanged over Thanksgiving which is why I'm making my wish list today. Here are a few things I would love to receive:

I feel like a disingenuous cook without a Le Creuset yet I can not fathom paying so much to replace our affordable, made in USA Lodge cast iron ware. Still, I lust after the cassis color cassoulet crock. I fell in love with club soda this summer. It soothed my sinuses and refreshed me from the months of heat. The packaging waste makes me sick though. Is a pricey Penguin SodaStream worth it? Our wheelbarrow is broken. The tire axle is bent and with cheap wooden handles and a plastic bed, it's not worth fixing. Instead, I think a cart would be more fun and utile. Our kitchen scale is an old analog one. We're using it more and more to weigh charcuterie ingredients, flour for breads, and science projects. Maybe Santa thinks a digital one is finally in order. We have several vacations planned for 2011 and hope to jump on some of Alex's business travel too. My current rain jacket does it's job well but is bulky. Alex loves his Marmot Precip and I think I would like one too.

What do you wish for this year?

PS. I keep an ongoing wish list for myself and Lil in Evernote. Do you use this app? I LOVE having my lists and notes with me at all times!

In light of the US economy, many people are opting to make handmade gifts this year and shop at small businesses. I highly encourage the shop local movement! I will publish a suggestion about central Ohio gift shops and a couple make-your-own ideas soon.

Feast Week November 21, 2011 {Meal Plan}

Ingredients and Inspiration

• This is the week of at least three feasts for our family.
• Our fridge is full of chicken stock, brussels sprouts, and charcuterie for our contribution to Thursday's meal.
• I have five or six pie pumpkins to process into puree this week. I'll give some to pie-makers and freeze the rest.
• To make the stock this weekend, we cooked several small chickens and picked off the meat. We froze some and need to eat the rest.

Meal Plan Monday - chicken soup with dumplings Tuesday - chicken burritos Wednesday - baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, salads Thursday - turkey dinner at my parents' house with 20+ family members Friday - Alex hunting, dinner TBA Saturday - lunch and dinner at relatives' homes in Napoleon, Ohio Sunday - leftovers

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup {Friday Five}

Is your Thanksgiving menu finalized? My mother is hosting dinner this year so Alex and I are responsible for very little. We're bringing a charcuterie platter for the appetizer, brussels sprouts (probably pan roasted with homemade bacon) and Alex's dressing.

If your menu isn't full of family traditions, here are five suggestions for seasonal but unique additions to the table:

1)Buffie Wellies - a tasty rich buffalo appetizer 2) Cranbellini - Add one ounce of cranberry liqueur (yes, there's still time to make it!) to the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and serve a fruity ruby red cocktail during appetizers 3) Mushroom Pie - vegetarian entree or earthy side dish 4) Cranberry Bread - an easy way to use cranberries other than sauce 5) Turkey Stock - even though we aren't cooking the bird this year, I hope we can claim the carcass for stock making.

Are you hosting or contributing to Thanksgiving dinner? If so, what will you make? Feel free to link recipes in the comments.

Cranberry Sauce, Fresh or For Canning {Recipe}

Cranberry sauce is the most neglected dish on the Thanksgiving table. It is over-sweetened to the point of tasting like jam, or worse, dumped and sliced from a can, ridge marks remaining. Why should these tart orbs be subjected to such a fate? Cranberries are easy to obtain fresh in November and full of flavor and vitamin C. It is impossibly easy to make them into an all-natural sauce. And once you do, you'll find new ways to appreciate the humble cranberry.

This sauce is a tangy antidote to any roast beast, of course. But it also plays beautifully on a charcuterie platter or cheese plate. Any rich dish that could use a balance of tart clear flavor will be improved by a dollop of cranberry sauce.

My sauce recipe is high in acid content and can be canned for use year round. I use an ample amount of apple for natural sweetness and just a bit of honey. Spices are light because they concentrate in the jar. If serving fresh, feel free to increase the spice quantities.

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Cranberry Sauce Makes: six half pint jars Time: 30 minutes cooking, 20 minutes canning

1 orange 2 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries, washed with stems removed 6 medium apples, peeled cored and chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4-3/4 cup honey

1. Peel orange, avoiding pith. 2. Place orange peel and remaining ingredients in a medium pot. Juice orange into pot. 3. Cook over low heat, covered, until apple texture disappear and cranberries 'pop'. Taste for spice and sweetness, adding more if necessary. 4. Remove orange peel and discard. 5. Serve sauce warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers and eat within two weeks or freeze for up to a year. 6. Alternately, ladle into sterilized jars with 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from water, cool, and prepare for storage.

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Added to Simples Lives Thursday 70 and Punk Domestics.