Cat 'n Around in Catskill

This year in celebration of Henry Hudson’s discovery of our beautiful river, the Catskill Cats will be decorated in themes depicting the wonder of the this great valley we call home. The town of Catskill is just 20 minutes from the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn.

60 painted fiberglass felines will be sCATered along the historic Main Street in the Village of Catskill for this summer-long celebration, starting Memorial Day weekend (May 23- 25, 2009). Bring the kids, bring your camera and spend an afternoon prowling about with the capricious, whimsical, imaginative kitties. Don’t forget to visit the wide array of shops, galleries and eateries as you stroll. We guarantee you’ll go home with a smile
on your face.

Cat’n Around Catskill 2009 will culminate with a live auction of the fabulous felines at the Cat’s Meow Auction and Gala
on Sunday, October 4th at The Historic Catskill Point on the Hudson River.

The kitties will be looking for a permanent home. Come bid on the cat of your dreams and own a piece of history and memorabilia of the Quadricentennial Celebration.

We are especially excited about this year's litter of cats because two of them are being painted by Stanley Maltzman, a wonderful local artist who also teaches a drawing and pastel workshop here at our inn. This year the class is scheduled for July 26 - August 1, 2009. Check out our workshops website for more details on this class with a master artist.

This is an example of Stanley's work.

We happy to have one of Stanley's paintings in the permanent collection at the inn.

Goat Cheese, Cilantro, and Mushroom Crust-less Quiche

I mentioned this recipe on Twitter the other day and someone asked for it. So here it is!

(I forgot to take a picture of it, but I'll come back and add that later, the next time I make this.)

This is a nice and easy dish to make and works well for breakfast and dinner. It is not quite a quiche, more like a souffle, because I make it without a crust. Who needs crust when you have all that cheese!

Serves 3 to 4

• 1/2 cup of sautéed button mushrooms (I like them well browned).
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 large egg yolks
  
• 1 - 1/2 cups heavy cream
  
• Kosher salt and black pepper
  
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
  
• 2 - 4 fresh chopped cilantro (or 1/2 tsp of dry cilantro)
  
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmiginao cheese
  

Saute the sliced mushrooms in butter until well browned. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, and heavy cream. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and whisk until blended. Whisk in the goat cheese, cilantro, mushrooms, and Parmiginao.

Set 3 or 4 5-inch ramekins on a baking sheet and pour the egg mixture into them, dividing it evenly.

Bake until the filling is nicely puffed and browned, 40 - 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 - 20 minutes before serving.

Testing New Shampoo

One of the "jobs" I have is to buy the guest shampoos and soaps that we put in all of our rooms. We currently have some very nice ones, but I'm always on the look out for new products that our guests might enjoy.

Here are some new products from a company called Gilchrist and Soames. Some have an eco-slant (paper packaging for shampoo, etc) and others have new delicious scents, like Italian Bergamot (orange). If they pass the test, you might be seeing one of these in our guest rooms in the future.

The Crocus are Blooming

We had some lovely Spring weather today, so I took the opportunity to stroll around the grounds and found the crocus were in bloom!

This means the tulips won't be far behind!

The Irish March in Greenville

The annual St Patrick's Day parade was held this passed Saturday. It seemed like the biggest one we've see to-date -- at least the area fire departments were well represented.

This is the start of parade.

Wouldn't be a parade without the bagpipes!

The parade marches right in front of our inn so we get a front row seat.

The high-stepping Irish dancers put on a good show.

The lone green-dressing dog in the parade was with the Greenville Democrats Club

Here is a high school marching band. We always appreciate these bands because our daughter was part of the flag team on her high school marching band so we know how hard they work to put on these performances.

Some more Irish spirt!

Here is part of the line up of Fire Equipment. Lots of trucks, engines, pumpers, and rescue.

Greenville has some nice shiny equipment! Now they just need a Dalmatian.

Signs of Spring

It was a beautiful Spring day today. Around 50 degrees - perfect for working in the garden.

I spent most of the day working outside. It felt wonderful to be out in the fresh air.

I trimmed the front fence line, cleaned up the flower beds getting them ready for mulching, and started a major trimming job.

As I worked on one of the flower beds I found lots of signs of Spring, like this Lamb's Ears. I love Lamb's Ears - so velvety soft and calm.

There are hedges all the way around the pool area and they have been growing like wild for the last several years. I tried to hire a local company that had been highly recommended to trim them, but after accepting the job, they never showed up! So I've started doing it myself. It may take a while, but I'll get it done. Here is the before picture with the first bush trimmed.

And here is some of what is left to do!

I spent maybe 30 - 45 minutes on the project today and here is how it looks so far.

Sort of hard to see as the light was going fast.

New Mugs Just Came In

We just got our new shipment of mugs for this year. Great new colors and shapes.

These mugs are hand-made by Deneen Pottery. I always like to try new colors each year. If you have a favorite from the past and would like to see it again, just let me know.