Wordless Wednesday - Before Pics

Room 5 bath

Room 6 vanity

Missing are before pictures for the Room 3 bath and the Room 1 bedroom.  After pictures should be available next week!

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Gluten-free, dairy-free peanut butter cookies

Here at the Inn we do our best to accommodate special dietary needs.  Some of our guests can't have gluten, some can't have dairy - and on some occasions, like last weekend, we have both kinds of special diets in the house.  The peanut butter cookies are a cinch to make and you don't need any special baking mixes, xanthum gum or soy milk.

Ingredients:

1 cup chunky peanut butter (I usually have an organic or natural peanut butter in the pantry)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder




Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all the ingredients together - dough will be very sticky.  Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper; drop dough in balls onto sheet.  Using a fork (dip in water between cookies) flatten cookie dough with crosshatches.  Leave some space between cookies for spreading.

Bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes.  They will not get very brown but will stay the tannish color of the peanut butter.  Allow to harden for 2 minutes then move to wire rack to cool.

Enjoy them!!!
Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Wordless Wednesday - Visitor to the Backyard of the Inn

Woodpecker at work

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Crockpot Pork Chile Verde

We have a winter special on our rooms through the next few weeks, until February 13th. $30 off the room rate for any room, any night and no two-night minimum stay on Saturdays. Check back in this space for our Valentine's weekend special which I will post soon.

Most of the ingredients

This is an updated post of my crockpot pork chile verde recipe, now with pictures!!  It's not a breakfast recipe, but an easy and comforting winter dinner recipe. It's only relation to breakfast is that you should get it started in the crockpot after breakfast so it's ready at dinner time. I used a pork shoulder, but you could also use a pork butt or a chuck roast.

2 lb. pork shoulder
1 small shallot or onion
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles (mild or jalapeno, depending on your heat preference)
5 tomatilloes, papery skins removed, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. Mexican seasoning
1/2 Tbl. oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Trim the visible fat from the meat and stick it in the crockpot. Add shallot/onion, then tomatilloes, then tomatoes with chiles. Add spices. Stir it around a little to distribute the spices around the meat. Add chopped cilantro on top. Cover and cook on low heat for about 8 hours.

We had this for dinner with multi-grain tortillas, shredded cheese and sliced avocado. You could add other fixings like salsa, shredded lettuce or rice for a more substantial meal.  My friend Shellie and her daughter Raquel added goronzola bits and pickled jalapenos on top.  As prepared this had just a little spice - good for me - and Jim added hot sauce to his because he likes to sweat while he's eating Chile Verde. The recipe was adapted from Make it Fast, Make it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. I should note that this chile verde is not as green as some, because we used red tomatoes in addition to the tomatilloes.

Hope you enjoy it - it's perfect for a cold winter evening!


Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Fiddle away this weekend in Shepherdstown, WV

This weekend (January 13, 14 and 15) brings the jams and workshops of the Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat to our little town, just in time for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend.  One of the featured performers at the Friday night concert is Elke Baker, a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion.  She's been teaching the Retreat since its inception 10 years ago.  We have some vacancies and a great special - $30 off any room, any night.  Enjoy this video of a solo performance by Elke from 2008!

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV