The holiday season brings up memories of holidays past

For me, they are often memories of wonderful food and recipes from my farm bed and breakfast. I have been writing Chloe’s Blog since 2007 and have gathered some great old family favorites and some new and exciting recipes that my mom never heard of.

Click to get all 7 holiday recipes

While waiting on the plane to carry me back to Big Mill B&B, I decided to dash off a quick blog post in honor of Vegetarian Awareness Month (October). 

I’ve been 95% vegetarian for decades, so it is second nature for me. But it can be quite a fun adventure to explore the tastes and textures of vegetarian recipes.

Here are eight recipes from Chloe’s Blog to make it easy to dip your toe in:

Rutabaga & Rice Soup

Gazpacho – Chilled Tomato Soup

Good-For-You Couscous Salad

Zucchini Grape Tomato Quiche

Barney’s Killer Salsa

Hayman Sweet Potato Fries

Chloe’s Sweet Potato Soup

Bon Appetite!

Big Mill Bed and Breakfast  252-792-8787

If you like figs, you will love this Fig Bread –
I bet you will like it even if you don’t like figs!

Homegrown Figs are just wonderful

I love figs and fig trees; I now have four fig trees planted in my orchard. That might be a bit obsessive, but this is a farm and I can share. When figs get ripe, they come in great profusion, so I needed some recipes to use all these great fruits of the gods. I make Fig Preserves or Jam and Fig Bread.

Click to get the Fig Bread Recipe From Big Mill BB innkeeper Chloe

Do you need an easy punch recipe for that special summer party?

This great-tasting party punch is quick and easy to make and pretty – and you can do most of the prep ahead of time. Here is the recipe. [continue reading…]

Does washing berries in a vinegar wash keep them fresh longer?

Fresh picked berries are yummy. Recipe for storing berries below

Everyone has an opinion. I think you should at least give it a try, then decide. I know the vinegar wash works for me, but then I think white vinegar is “gold.” We use it here at Big Mill B&B for an eco-friendly cleaning product. I also use it as a fabric softener. [continue reading…]

Innkeeper’s Suet Recipe
Our special Earth Day gift to birds here at Big Mill Bird & Breakfast

Earth Day  is just around the corner, so it seemed like a perfect time to celebrate the birds we love with a suet recipe they delight in eating.

When I am cooking for the bed and breakfast guests, I also make suet for our lovely feathered travelers. And this suet recipe is made from things that we all have in our larders, especially innkeepers. Recipe below is easy!  Click here for Suet Recipe for the BIrds

The mighty Roanoke River is heaven for the Rock Fish Fisherman

Rock fish – Striper in the Roanoke River – photo courtesy Capt. Mitchell Blake

Check for dates for when the Roanoke River basin is open for Rock Fish fishing or Stripers with some rules, of course. The minimum limit is 18 inches and only one river bass above 27 inches can be kept, in the creel, as they say. Click to get Rock Fish Stew Recipe

When I was growing up we always had a winter garden of all kinds of greens and root vegetables, including turnips and rutabagas.

In cold weather my mother would make rutabaga rice soup that I now associate with life on the farm, warm fires and being happy. Other than my family members, no one I know has ever heard of this soup. If you like rutabagas, give it a try. Even if you aren’t sure if you like rutabagas, give it a try. You might surprise yourself.  Recipe below is easy.  Rutabagas make a great Rice soup – recipe below

This Pumpkin Bread is quick, EASY and, oh, so tasty.

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pumpkin coconut bread, pumpkin coconut bread recipe

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 272kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• ¾ cups sugar
• ½ cup cooked unsweetened pumpkin (canned works great)
• ¾ cups self-rising flour ***
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup coconut sweetener & shredded , reserve 1 Tablespoon. (Use a brand name coconut)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 mini loaf pans.
• Whisk eggs in medium-sized bowl. Add oil and pumpkin. In another bowl mix flour, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
• Add dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir. Fold in walnuts and coconut.
• Pour into loaf pans, filling about ¾ full. Sprinkle with the reserved coconut.
• Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until loaves are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cooking times vary, so keep checking to see to see if it is done.

Nutrition

Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.5mg

When we all ate from the land and did not import exotic foods, we ate what was fresh. So in the fall of the year and for Thanksgiving and Christmas we had lots of pumpkin dishes. My folks let me grow pumpkins in the corn patch.

I hope you’ll give this easy holiday recipe a try. I bet it becomes a new holiday baking tradition!  click to read more about Chloe’s Pumpkin Bread