Our Brand New Spa–Come Bubble Your Troubles Away!

The tub new spa is a bit smaller than our older one and very roomy for our “couples” only soaking.  There are three seats, including two side-by-side recliners, 36 jets (!) and beautiful revolving underwater colors, if you like a little light.  It’s hard to get a good picture of the new spa unless you dangled from the gazebo ceiling! The tub is made by Cal Spa’s division “OC Hot Tubs”.  I thought Orange County motorcycles were gorgeous, but this spa is pretty lush!  Bill and I tried it out on Thursday night and it was just perfect.  The operations and materials are quite “green” and so far, our guests say they love the new spa.  So in addition to fine regional cuisine, the most comfortable beds, and extra special whatever we can think of for our guests, we now have a new spa with a beautiful view.   The ex-spa works fine–and we’re looking for a home for it.  It sprung a leak around a seal (we think) but other than that, it works fine.  So if one of our former guests would like it, we can arrange for that to happen.  You will have to haul it away!  It was very sad to see it leave the gazebo (and quite a project to get it out of there!)

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King Boletus (Porcini) and Chanterelle Mushrooms

This year’s Wild Mushroom Celebration is October 22th- October 24th. The cost includes a two-night weekend stay with our amazing breakfasts and A 3-course Wild Mushroom and Washington Wine Dinner at The Depot Restaurant.

Our Sunday morning breakfast will be our annual Wild Mushroom Breakfast featuring Veronica Williams, our professional forager, as guest hostess and discussion leader. We will add two extra courses onto the Sunday breakfast to make it even more decadent! As an add-on special, Veronica will take you foraging on Saturday for wild mushrooms for an additional $50 per person. The cost of the basic package is $550 plus tax per couple. $590 plus tax for The Dunes Suite.

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We always have the great Farmers Market, followed by the live productions at Harlequin Productions, Capitol Playhouse and the Washington Performing Arts Center. Couple those with Lakefair, Sand in the City, Harbor Days and the smaller one day festivals and events, and Olympia is quite the place to be!

At the Swantown Inn we have limited availability, so make sur eyou plan and book your room soon. Or treat yourself to a Day Spa experience at the Attic Day Spa.

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From June 24 – June 27, 2010, at three venues, experience the best Jazz Festival in the Northwest! The main location  is Saint Martin’s University Campus – Marcus Pavilion in Olympia Washington. However you will see musicians at other venues too, such as the Olympia Farmers Market.

The event features dance lessons (Balboa, Foxtrot, Charleston), great bands, and large dance floors (so you can really strut your stuff).

If you are too late for 2010, start planning for 2011. Check out the very informative Jazz Festival web site.

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We still have some availability for the Fourth of July weekend. So why not visit Olympia and take in the sites, sample the food, and generally relax in our great little city.

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The Puff Pastry Tart recipe I use at Boreas is derived from the KCTS Cooks Breakfast cookbook compiled from the kitchens of viewers of Public Station KCTS in Seattle. We have contributed to this cookbook.  This is, by far, one of my favorite breakfast cookbooks and contributing towards viewer supported public television is something we love to do!  This recipe was originally contributed by Kim Walton of Seattle.  Thank you, Kim!!  And our guests thank you also!  There are three parts to this surprisingly easy recipe.  It can be adapted in many ways by cutting the puff pastry into four pieces and making a savory filling or even a larger version of this lovely tart.  I also have made these tarts in mini-muffin tins for just a bite for our “second” pastries at our three and four-course breakfasts at Boreas Inn.  I will add an image when I remember to take a picture next time I bake them! (Sorry!) Enjoy the recipe!

Puff Pastry Cheesecake Tarts

Cheese Filling

2              tablespoons butter at room temp

1              8 oz. package cream cheese at room temp

1              egg

1 ½        teaspoons vanilla

4             tablespoons brown sugar

3             teaspoons lemon juice

½-1       teaspoon lemon zest

1             teaspoon orange liqueur (optional)

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and set aside.

Blueberry Filling (or any other berry of your choice)

2          tablespoons water (less if using frozen berries)

1          tablespoon cornstarch

1-3       tablespoons white sugar (depending upon sweetness of berries)

1           tablespoon lemon juice

1           teaspoon lemon zest

1           cup berries

2           teaspoons orange liqueur (optional)

Pastry Shells

1          package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1          egg beaten to brush on pastry

Preheat oven to 400 and spray regular size muffin tins with cooking spray. Open up the puff pastry sheets and cut the pastry into three long rectangles along the folds.  Cut each rectangle into three squares so you have nine squares per sheet. Press each square completely into the muffin tins so that the edges show above the top of each tin opening.

Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of the cheese filling on the center of each puff pastry. The cheese mixture will puff up during the baking process.  Place a dollop of the fruit filling on top of the cheese filling. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and bake approximately 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Note: You can use a canned peach or apricot cut side down over the cheese filling instead of the berries.  If you’d like to be able to use only a few puff pastry tarts at a time, after composing the tarts (don’t bake!) wrap tightly in plastic, place muffin tins in the freezer and once frozen, gently pop each tart out of the tin, place in a zip lock freezer bag and put back in the freezer.  Place the frozen pastries into muffin tins in desired numbers, brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

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For details on the Olympic Air Show visit their web site.

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