Dinners at the Farm, Madison Connecticut

What happens when great personalities come up with an idea to generate awareness of the importance and vitality of our local farming community? Things like Dinners at the Farm happen. And they’re happening right here on the Connecticut shoreline at Madison’s Barberry Farm and East Lyme’s White Gate Farm.

Beginning this weekend and continuing for several weeks you have the opportunity to eat delicous food prepared by some of the best chefs in CT and at the same time reconnect farming, cooking, and eating. Each event includes a tour of the farm followed by a 6 course menu including paired wines. And that’s not all. Dinners at the Farm also strengthens our community by helping to raise funds for local agricultural and humanitarian non-profit organizations.

There are still limited tickets available so check out the schedule and tickets page today.

Barberry Farms is just 2 minutes and White Gate Farm is just 30 minutes from our door. Make your farm dinner an overnight stay and enjoy a continuation of great local food during breakfast at the Scranton Seahorse Inn.

It’s great to be in good company.

Strawberry Jam

As I mentioned in a previous post we’re very excited about our part in the CSA at Bishop’s Orchards. Part of our share last week was a few quarts of strawberries. Because we had such terrible weather this spring our strawberry crop here in CT was not abundant. In fact the season lasted just a few short weeks and I didn’t even get out to pick any. This is why the CSA is so perfect!

Strawberry jam on the cooktop...

Strawberries are my favorite berry so I need to make homemade strawberry jam at least once a year. Yesterday I made my champagne strawberry jam. The perfect sweetness of the local strawberries, the sweet champagne and tart fresh squeezed lemon juice produced several jars of perfect jam.

My guests went crazy spreading it over my homemade buttermilk biscuits this morning.

Community Supported Agriculture at the Scranton Seahorse Inn

We had a very exciting weekend at the inn. Not only was it a beautiful spring weekend but it was our first weekend when we cooked with the fruits and vegetables from our CSA share from Bishops Orchards. Connecticut has had a wet & cold spring so we’ve been anxiously waiting for our local & sustainable produce to be ripe for picking. Let’s back up a bit…

What’s a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture? As far as food propositions go it’s about as simple as it gets. You find a local farm and buy a share and every week during the growing season you pick up a box of whatever goodies are being pulled from the fields right now. It also lets you enjoy the best parts of sustainably grown fruits and vegetables without the responsibility for the weeding and watering. In our case, our CSA share from Bishop’s supplements our own gardens and what we buy at the farmers markets.

In our first box we were very excited to find multiple varieties of lettuce, sugar snap peas, spinach, basil, and strawberries! And, in turn our guests enjoyed fresh strawberry scones and strawberry lemon muffins. I also made a delicous spinach frittata, a guest favorite.

I’m looking forward to creating some magnificent menus this growing season and providing fresh & healthy meals to our guests.

Loving Your Local

As I mentioned at our last Business With A Twist Chamber Meeting it’s an honor to be associated with so many varieties of special businesses in our small community. The Scranton Seahorse Inn and hands on expressions has a great deal from June 15th – July 15th for all Madison Chamber Members. For the next 30 days the Scranton Seahorse Inn is offering 50% off room rates and h.o.e. is offering 1 hour massages for just $50 (a 30% discount).

Word of mouth goes a long way and we want you, our fellow business owners, to experience our first class services yourselves and then spread the word! Please, in the spirit of this offer our special is available only to the business owner or representative and is not tranferrable to family or friends.

Call the inn at 203.245.0550 to book your room and a massage. Or, call Bob directly at 203.779.9215 if you wish to book a massage only.

All policies apply and cannot be combined with other packages or offers.

Connecticut Renaissance Fair

There’s a great spring time festival happening right down the road in Guilford at the fair grounds location and it starts Easter Sunday with an Easter egg hunt. The Connecticut Renaissance Faire is happening over multiple weekends in April and May. Here you can escape to the past and experience a romantic age lost to time as you wander the streets of an 11th century springtime faire. Thrill to a full day of musicians, acrobats, fire eaters, knights, jousting, comedy and magic on nine stages featuring the best variety entertainment at any festival in New England – all included with your admission! New acts and old favorites return from around the world to chase thy cares away with smiles and laughter.

Shop ‘til ye drop at New England’s largest Medieval Marketplace featuring hand crafted and unique items you can’t find anywhere else! Dine like a King on succulent turkey legs, exotic foods, traditional festival fare, tasty treats and scrumptious desserts at our food stalls! Whatever strikes your fancy, you and your family will find it at The Connecticut Renaissance Faire.

Book a room at the Scranton Seahorse Inn and when you bring back your admission ticket you’ll receive 15% off your room rate.

New Website and Blog for Scranton Seahorse Inn

Scranton Seahorse Inn is pleased to announce the launch of our new website and blog, developed in WordPress by InsideOut Solutions, our website host.

Welcome to The Scranton Seahorse Inn!

The Scranton Seahorse Inn is located in the heart of the village of Madison on the Connecticut shoreline. This wonderful inn, opened January 2006, is close to spectacular beaches, charming boutiques, elegant restaurants and outlet shopping. Housed in the 1833 Greek revival home of Sereno Scranton, the Scranton Seahorse Inn offers its guests the convenience of luxurious newly appointed accommodations along with the charm and ambiance of a historic New England homestead. Whether you are in town for a relaxing getaway, business trip, or a fun-filled adventure, let us become your home away from home. Discover our seven guest rooms, each with private bath, cable TV, state of the art heat and air conditioning and internet access. Enjoy a Jacuzzi bath in three of our guest rooms. Our deluxe first floor suite includes a charming fireplace in addition to a rain shower Jacuzzi. Come see for yourself why we were selected as a winner in the 2007 Shoreline Newspaper Comfiest Bed and Breakfast category and Best Bed & Breakfast by the New Haven Advocate 2008 Readers Poll. We graciously anticipate hosting your stay.

A Lesson on Beer & Cheese

Join us on Friday May 13th for a special Beer and Cheese pairing. This month we explore some of New England’s tasty microbrews paired with our favorite Connecticut made cheese’s.

From young to old and mild to bold we’ve got some great cheeses paired up with very special Microbrews from all over New England. These happen to be two of the innkeeper’s favorite things so this is sure to be a great event.

All inclusive package including a comfy guest room and reserved seating for event starts at $270.00. Please call the inn to reserve a space today. This is a great gift for the beer and cheese lover in your life!