THE MORNING STAR BED & BREAKFAST, LLC

617 Houston Street, Manhattan, KS 66502
House in March
Welcome to The Morning Star Update!
Greetings!

While Spring is officially here, the change of seasons is not yet fully apparent in the garden; but it looks as though in a few weeks there shall be daffodils and tulips blooming and then things will really be under way. Kairee and I have been out clearing the beds, making room for perennials' new shoots to find their way. Since we still have a bit of work to do, we are glad that the weather isn't pushing us to move more quickly. We're getting there! I hope that your Spring is off to a pleasant start as well!

Barkley Scones
Barkley Scones
    Some dear guests from Oregon sent us this recipe for their favorite scones. These are lightly sweet, moist, plain scones - the kind that are perfect for topping with butter and your favorite jam.Yum!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:
3 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. + 1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Beat in:
2 c. heavy cream*

Turn mixture out onto a floured work surface. Divide in half. Pat each half into a disk 6" wide, then cut into 4 slices. Arrange slices on baking sheet. Let sit for 15 minutes before baking. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Enjoy while warm. 
 
* I was out of heavy cream when I made this batch of scones, so substituted 1 1/2 c. 1% milk with 3/4 c. melted butter stirred in, which worked fine.
Tama Wong
Book Signing at The Morning Star
   
    On April 24th, The Morning Star will be hosting a book signing by Tama Matsuoka Wong for her book, Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in Your Backyard or Farmer's Market. Ms. Wong is the forager for Daniel Boulud's three-Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan, NY. Together she and Eddy Leroux, Daniel's Chef de Cuisine, have written this wonderful cookbook featuring recipes such as Creeping Jenny with Tomatoes and Mozzarella, Artemesia Soup, and Wild Herb Ravioli. Foraged Flavor has been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for Cookbook of the Year 2013 in the vegetable category. The booksigning is open to the public and will be from 2:30 to 4:30. Refreshments - perhaps some from the garden - will be served. I hope that you can join us! The event should be fun for gardeners and cooks alike. I look forward to meeting Ms. Wong and having her walk around the garden. 
Consider the Fork
Consider the Fork
    Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by food historian Bee Wilson was recommended to me by Barrett from New York. A thoughtful and entertaining book about food technology, Consider the Fork is an examination of why some of our tools, have stuck around for ages, while others are passing trends. Wooden spoons, for example, are decidedly low-tech and yet,  "(n)othing does the job of a wooden spoon better than a wooden spoon." (p. 249) And it isn't just tradition or culture that keeps wooden spoons in use. These tools don't react to acids in our foods, they remain cool while be used to stir hot foods, and they don't clang annoyingly while being used. And, well, you get the idea. Others devices, such as the Egg-Per'fect - a submersible egg-shaped "timer" that relies on temperature as well as time to determine when an egg has reached exactly the desired consistency - come and go. The problem with the Egg-Per'fect, a tool which, I do in fact own but never use, is that it is silent. To use it, one has to stand over the pot of boiling water and watch the timer like a hawk. One can't sit and read the paper while waiting for the Egg-Per-fect to shout "Soft! Medium-Soft! Hard!" (p. 146)
    As always, I hope that you have enjoyed this issue of
The Morning Star Update! We have a lot of fun things coming up. Happy Spring!
 
Sincerely,
 
Laurie Pieper
In This Issue
Article Headline
Book Signing
Consider the Fork
Ladies' Weekend
Wellness Retreat
Featured Article
Ladies' Weekend
Change of Date
We've had to change the date of Ladies' Weekend to May 31st  to June 2nd ... but all is good! For reservations or more information about this special weekend, contact Laurie. 
2nd Annual Wellness Retreat
I'm working on finalizing the details for our 2nd Annual Wellness Retreat to be held the weekend of June 21st - 23rd. For reservations or more information, contact Laurie
Dates to Remember
through April 6th: The Art of Jessie Montes, MAC
through April 21st: Greater Prairie Chicken Viewing, Konza Prairie
through May 26th: Good Boy, Bad Boy - The Prints of John Boyd, Beach Musuem
through May 26th: Touch the Sky - Prairie Photographs by Jim Brandenburg, Flint Hills Discovery Center
through June 23rd: An American in Venice - James McNeil Whistler and His Legacy, Beach Museum
April 4th: Biscuits, Beef, and Butterscotch Pie - 150 Years of K-State Food Traditions, Manhattan Public Library
April 5th - 6th: Spring Dance, McCain Auditorium
April 5th - 7th, 12th - 14th, 19th  - 21st: The Sound of Music, Columbian Theater
April 6th: Prairie Photography Workshop, Konza Prairie
April 7th: Walk MS, Sunset Zoo
April 9th: Allison Balsam and the Scottish Ensemble, McCain Auditorium
April 13th -14th:
Wamego Tulip Festival
April 13th: Little Apple Chorus 37th Annual Spring Show, McCain
April 20th: K-State Open House
April 21st: Itzhac Perlman, McCain
April 23rd: An Evening of Rogers and Hammerstein
April 26th: Cabaret, MAC
April 26th: 150 Years of People and Places of KSU, Riley County Historical Museum
April 27th: Manhattan Arthritis Walk, City Park
April 28th: Swan Lake by the Russian National Ballet, McCain Auditorium
April 28th: Beastie Ballyhoo, Manhattan City Park 
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