— Things that happen on the farm at Big Mill B&B, fun things to do in eastern NC and my crafts & recipes.

Couscous Salad Recipe – It’s Tasty and Vegan

by Chloe Tuttle on June 23, 2007

in Recipes

When I lived on a sail boat, this was one of my favorite things to make. The couscous cooked by just pouring boiling water over it so it didn’t heat up the cabin. And we could add to this salad any crispy veggies that we happened to have.

It is one of those good-for–you salads and I am always surprised at how many folks have never heard of couscous. It is a great salad for picnics, dinner parties and pot luck dinners. And my men friends actually like it, even though they pretend to have never heard of it.

Print Recipe

Couscous Salad Recipe

This tasty Couscous Salad is vegan and very tasty

Prep Time25

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: couscous salad, picnic, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Servings: servings

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

10 ounces plain couscous 1 box
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 spring onions and tops, chopped
6 radishes finely diced
1 small cucumber or English cucumber diced
1 medium red or orange sweet bell pepper diced
1 can chick peas 15-ounce can, drained
1 cup garden peas frozen
1 2.5 oz. can black olives drained and sliced
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley minced
2-3 leaves fresh mint minced
4-5 lemons juice
1/3 cup olive oil
8-10 grape tomatoes halved
1/2 cup snow peas cut into pieces - OPTIONAL

Instructions

Cook couscous according to package directions, adding the sea salt to the water. (If you do not have directions, do the following: Put 2 cups of water and the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 1 ½ cups couscous and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.)
Stir in the diced onions, radishes, cucumber and pepper. Add the chick peas, garden peas and olives. Stir in the minced parsley and mint.
Add the lemon juice and olive oil, both to taste. If needed, add more of both
Serve chilled over a bed of leaf lettuce. Just before serving, add the halved grape tomatoes. If you plan to keep some of the salad, do not add the tomatoes to the entire salad, just to the portions that you plan to serve.
This salad will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

You’ll find more Big Mill Bed & Breakfast recipes here and here on Chloe’s Blog. Enjoy! Please visit us at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast in Williamston, N.C.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Bacon and Sweet Onion Custard Quiche with Crusty Hash Brown Crust from Chloe’s Kitchen

by Chloe Tuttle on June 9, 2007

in Recipes

Growing up on a farm in eastern North Carolina, we always had fresh, free range chicken eggs. We also had duck and guinea eggs. But we never had quiche – we just didn’t know it existed!

Print Recipe

Bacon Custard Quiche

Quiche is a quintessential dish, whether it's breakfast or dinner. Bacon is the perfect filling.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon custard quiche, bacon custard quiche recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 476kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

20 ounces 3-4 cups frozen shredded, potatoes , like Ore Ida Country Inn Peppers and Onions Hash Browns If you cannot find these, use plain shredded hash browns and add 1 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tablespoons butter reserve one tablespoon
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt divided
10 ounces bacon
1 medium sweet onion like Vidalia, diced
6 medium free range chicken eggs (they really are tastier)
1 1/2 cups Half-and-Half
½ teaspoon fresh ground mixed or black peppercorns
¼ to ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped chives (if using dried chives, use less)
1 ½ cups grated Jarlsberg cheese or good quality Swiss

Instructions

Thaw potatoes and drain, pressing out any excess water. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease or spray one 9-inch deep-dish glass quiche dish, preferably straight-sided.
Melt butter and stir melted butter, grated Parmesan, and ½ teaspoon of the salt into the hash browns. Press the potatoes into the pans, forming a crust, making sure to press out the sides.
Bake potato crust for 30 minutes or until it is brown.
Remove from the oven and cool. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile brown the bacon in a large skillet. Remove the bacon and drain, leaving some of the drippings in the skillet. When bacon is cool, crumble it and set aside. Cook the onion in the bacon drippings until onion is transparent, but not brown. Remove from the pan and drain well, pressing out most of the liquid.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cup half-and-half, 1 teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, 1 Tablespoon chives and the remaining ½ teaspoon sea salt.
Spread the Jarlsberg cheese over the cooled potato crust. Lay bacon and onion over the cheese, placing some on the sides of the dish. Pour the egg mixture into the dish. Fill as full as you can without overflowing.
Place in a center rack of the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes until the custard is set or when a straw or knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean.

Notes

Big Mill Bed and Breakfast near Greenville NCRecipe from Innkeeper at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Nutrition

Whirligigs and Tobacco

by Chloe Tuttle on June 6, 2007

in Good Fun

A whirligig can do all things: milk a cow, catch a fish, decorate a tree, wash clothes, even ride a bicycle…anything that has movement. I have been fascinated with these wonderful toys for as long as I can remember.

whirly gig in eastern NC | Whirligigs are everywhere at Big Mill B&B-this one overlooks the tobacco field | https://chloesblog.bigmill.com/whirligigs-and-tobacco/

Whirligig overlooks Tobacco Field at Big Mill B&B

Maybe I shouldn’t assume that everyone knows what a whirligig really is… Whirligigs are whimsical, wind-driven folk art that might remind folks of a “comic weather-vane.” Most are made of wood by craftsmen and are used purely to decorate or add joy, often to a garden.

Please note the plant in the background – it is newly planted tobacco. North Carolina is still a tobacco-producing state. Although Big Mill B&B is totally non-smoking, our guests who feel they would like to enjoy a pipe or a smoke outside are welcome.

Helicopter Whirlygig by Volis Simpson

Called the Junkyard artist, Volis Simpson created many yard art beauties like this helicopter. I was lucky enough to meet him; he has since passed away.

King Tobacco growing on the farm at Big Mill B&B

It would be way too sanctimonious for us to refuse, since they can see the beautiful plant growing just outside the door. In a few months, this plant will have pretty, albeit sticky, pink flowers. I will keep you tuned to the progress of King Tobacco.

Tobacco is a beautiful plant and grows on the farm at Big Mill B&B | https://chloesblog.bigmill.com/whirligigs-and-tobacco/

Tobacco Plants at Big Mill B&B

Big Mill B&B, Williamston, NC tel. 252-792-8787
www.bigmill.com

90 miles east of Raleigh, NC
103 miles south of Norfolk, VA
94 miles west of Nags Head, NC
145 miles north of Wilmington, NC

Big Mill Baby Boomers Band

by Chloe Tuttle on May 15, 2007

in Good Fun, Miscellaneous

Oh, it is always fun at Big Mill. This week we had, as I have named them, The Baby Boomers Big Mill Band…They are still working on what to call themselves.

Boomer-band-plays-at-Big-Mill-BB | https://chloesblog.bigmill.com/big-mill-baby-boomers-band

Allen, Jay Niver & Barney Conway play at Big Mill B&B

Each of these fellas played in a band in high school and, so they tell me, once you get it in your blood, it never goes away.

Barney on keyboard, Jay on drums and Allen on Sax.

They played their first “gig” to a most appreciative crew of Big Mill folks. These guys are from all points, somehow finding each other again in Eastern North Carolina. This will be a regular thing, so maybe you will be lucky to hear this music in the making.

For email updates to Chloe’s Blog subscribe HERE.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Big Mill Clothesline and the Washington Post

by Chloe Tuttle on May 8, 2007

in Green-Friendly Tips, In the News-Media

I hear Going Green is now trendy and it is high time. Yes, we hang our sheets on the clothesline.

Washington Post article shows Innkeeper at Big Mill B&B conserves energy by hanging clothes on clothesline | big-mill-clothesline-and-the-washington-post

Eco Friendly Innkeeper Chloe hangs Sheets and Quilts on Clothesline

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast has been Green long before the rest of the world noticed. But they notice now!

In May the Washington Post ran a story on Eco-friendly Inns and used a photo of the Big Mill Clothesline with the innkeeper hanging out sheets. I am thrilled finally be in the main stream, well almost….

Click here to read the Washington Post story where Big Mill was featured.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

click here to get email updates to Chloe’s Blog subscribe HERE.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast
Williamston, NC tel (252) 792-8787
www.bigmill.com

DISTANCES to BIG MILL B&B:
90 miles east of Raleigh, NC
103 miles south of Norfolk, VA
94 miles west of Nags Head, NC
145 miles north of Wilmington, NC

All the Flowers Are Blooming!

by Chloe Tuttle on May 7, 2007

in In the Garden

All the flowers are popping out and the grass is green and growing fast.

Flowers are blooming everywhere on the farm at Big Mill B&B | https://chloesblog.bigmill.com/spiderwort-edible-flower-in-the-big-mill-garden/

Flowers are Blooming everywhere at Big Mill

Time will move slowly if you just relax in the hammock or sit in the wicker swing that hangs from a pecan tree planted that my folks planted in 1922

I make an annual pilgrimage to Virginia Beach in search of the elusive heirloom white eggplants After my Cook’s Garden is planted, I just pamper the seedlings and wait for the produce.

Ginger lilies bloom at Big Mill Inn and perfume the air | https://chloesblog.bigmill.com/spiderwort-edible-flower-in-the-big-mill-garden/

Ginger lilies are just popping up, waiting to perfume the night air.

The sturdiest perennials like the peonies, tradescantia (spiderwort), ginger lilies, everlasting sunflowers, old garden phlox, and the herbs are up and fighting for equal space in the garden

I miss my dad and my cousin Bobby Gurkin in the spring. They both used the Old Farmer’s Almanac religiously. Even after my father died, I could call Bobby and ask him if it really was all right to plant potatoes on a certain day. And he would tell me. The planting is tied to the phases of the moon, and only on certain days do you plant root crops and different days for above ground crops.

So begins spring at Big Mill B&B… we just enjoy the outside, never forgetting to sip lemonade under the shade of the old pecan tree.

For email updates to Chloe’s Blog subscribe HERE.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, NC
tel. 252-792-8787

90 miles east of Raleigh, NC
103 miles south of Norfolk, VA
94 miles west of Nags Head, NC
145 miles north of Wilmington, NC

Bunnies at Big Mill?

by Chloe Tuttle on April 30, 2007

in In the News-Media, Miscellaneous

In May, Playboy ran a pictorial shot at Big Mill.

Playboy did photo shoot at Big Mill B&B and took photos of co-eds of ECU on our bicycles

Well, the bike is here without the co-ed!

They were in Greenville on location for a photo shoot of the Coeds of Conference USA. They called me, came by Big Mill and we struck a deal. The photo ran in the May, 2007, issue and if you look closely, you can recognize the Big Mill Bicycle and hammock. oh, well…maybe we just don’t appreciate these things.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787