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Welcome to The Morning Star Update!
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Greetings!
Could July possibly be over? I think that the whole month was just a blur. People often ask me what summers are like for us at the bed and breakfast and I always have to answer that there isn't any set pattern that summers follow. It seems as though no two in a row are the same. The only thing that the summer months have in common from year to year is that we have more leisure travelers and last minute reservations. But our summer will soon fade away for the year. In Kansas, the schools resume the third week of August and with them more or less comes the return of our routine. We look forward to seeing returning friends and some of our favorite KSU parents with the approach of the school year.
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 Sugared Peach Muffins
(from A Taste of Morning)
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. + 2T granulated white sugar, divided
1 T. baking powder
1 c. honey vanilla yogurt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. orange extract
2 c. peaches (fresh or frozen), peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare muffin cups* with baking spray or with butter and flour. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3/4 c. of the granulated sugar and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, eggs and orange extract. Stir yogurt mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in peaches Divide into muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Sprinkle muffins with the remaining 2 T. sugar. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.
* The muffins can be baked in a standard size 12 muffin tin or in 10 one-half cup ramekins placed on 2 baking trays.
Do you have a favorite type of recipe that you would like to see in The Update?For more information about A Taste of Morning or to order your copy, click here. |
 Spider Daylilies
It sometimes seems as though my favorite daylily is whatever one I am looking at a given moment. Amongst the dozen or so varieties that I have, a few stand out as really special. One that I am partial to year after year is this red spider daylily. I wish that I could remember the variety. Maybe one of you knows. Can you identify it for me? A daylily with the word 'spider' attached to it, has petals that are at least 4 times the length of their width giving the flowers a leggy appearance. I'm not sure that this close-up photo does complete justice to the length of the petals. But I really enjoy this lily - not just because of its pretty orange hues - but also because of the openness of its form. Each flower seems to sit delicately atop its stalk and sprawl out into the sunshine, its form providing a nice contrast to all of the puffy and ruffly day lilies. Do you have any gardening tips that you would like to pass along? |
 Movie Recommendation: Real Women Have Curves
I usually feature a book recommendation every month, but thought that I might do something a little different this time around. So I am passing along a movie recommendation from Liz from Kansas. Real Women Have Curves, starring America Ferrara and George Lopez is a coming of age story about an 18 year-old Mexican-American student (Ferrara) being encouraged by one of her teachers (Lopez) to go away to college but being pressured by her mother to stay with the family and keep working in her sister's dress factory. This movie was the winner of several Sundance Film Festival awards in 2002 and is available on DVD. Though I would say that this movie is clearly in the chic-flick category - and neither Bill nor I are big fans of that genre - we thought that this was a nice film.
I have several books recommended by Update readers and guests that I have either started or am looking forward to starting. So please keep the recommendations coming. |
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Coming soon: The new Morning Star website. Thanks for reading The Update! Enjoy the rest of your summer and I hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Laurie Pieper
The Morning Star B&B
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Sunset Zoo
| With the busy lifestyles that many people lead, it is sometime easy to forget about the interesting things to do in one's own town. For me, it had been many years since I had been to the zoo. In talking with one of our guests who had had a lovely afternoon at the Sunset Zoo, it occured to me that it was time that I get myself back out there. I realized that not only is it a good place to see animals that one doesn't ordinarily see in Kansas, but it is also a good place to look at attractive landscaping, listen to the birds, and just get away from the outside world.
August 29th - September 5th: Wildcat Week at the Zoo, Free Admission with a current KSU student, faculty or staff I.D.
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Dates to Remember
| August 6th through September 11th: From Sea to Shining Sea, Romantic Paintings of America by Mark Flickinger, Strecker-Nelson Gallery
Now through September 12th: Pieces of Time - Quilts From the Historic Costume and Textile Museum, Beach Museum
August 1st: Brew 2 Shoe, (10K Race)
August 11th - 14th: Reasons to Be Pretty (play), Manhattan Arts Center
August 14th - 15th: KHJA/Flint Hills Pony Club Horse Show, Weber Arena
August 22nd: Petpoolooza, Cico Park Pool
August 23rd: Classes Begin, KSU
August 30th: 20th Annual Mercy Golf Classic, Colbert Hills Golf Course
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Wild Flower Garden at Sunset Zoo
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