What's going on this spring near Eastham?

Spring.  Finally.  That means the outer Cape is a burst of color--green, pink, blue, and smells--lilac, honeysuckle, peony, freshly mown grass and salt air!  

A magical time to celebrate the season and see the sights!

But there are attractions, besides the National Seashore, that make spring a special time to visit Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast. 

 Here is a sampling of a few events coming up during the next few weeks.  Check them out and give us a call if you can sneak away for a couple of nights to celebrate the season.  We would love to host you!

Concerts at the First Encounter Coffee House

Cape Cod Restaurant Week

Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theater

Heritage Museum and Gardens

Cape Cod National Seashore

Provincetown

What's for Breakfast?

Here at Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast we serve a full, hot breakfast cooked especially for our guests from fresh, local ingredients.  The entree may contain fresh herbs or vegetables from our organic garden.  This morning we offered one of our signature dishes: Cheesy chive egg soufflé along with  fresh fruit cup and herbed heirloom tomatoes. 

Blueberry cake adds another dimension for those with a sweet tooth.  








And, as usual, the sideboard holds our home-made almond-maple granola and freshly made yogurt.  Sound good?  Why not join us one morning  here on scenic Fort Hill, in the National Seashore, overlooking Nauset Marsh and the Atlantic.

Sitting on a pot of Gold: Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast, Overlooking the Atlantic

A picture really does not do this awesome sight justice.  It was a fast moving thunderstorm, leaving a clear, cool blue sky behind it that produced a double light-show rainbow.  We feel so lucky to live and work here at Fort Hill.  How many people can look out their kitchen window and know that they are sitting on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

You could be lucky too!  We still have a few vacancies in the house and cottage.  Give us a call before we are full!

Breakfast Delight...Panna Cotta at Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast!

It's a busy time here at Fort Hill...the summer has been glorious and the beaches at their best! This morning we had home-made vanilla bean panna cotta and fresh fruit topped in a berry compote as a first course. it was a big hit! Here is a before and after picture as well as an easy recipe I picked up while we were in Italy last fall. I double the recipe for the B+B gang.

Fort Hill Panna Cotta

Serves 4-5

1/2 cup half-and-half
1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup plus 2 Tb. Sugar
2” piece vanilla bean, split
grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 small orange, optional

Butter five 1/2-cup ramekins.
Pour gelatin on half-and-half. Stir to dissolve.
In medium-heavy saucepan, mix cream, sugar, vanilla bean and gelatin mixture.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to boil. (Don’t boil over pan!)
Cook until the mixture begins to thicken slightly, then remove the pan from heat and discard the bean.
Stir in lemon zest if desired.
Pour into ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (5 hours) or overnight.

To un-mold: run a knife around the sides of the ramekin. Place a serving plate on top and invert the mold on the plate. Or dip each mold quickly in hot water and then invert.
Serve with fresh fruit, shaved chocolate or make a caramel sauce.

Best use for Garlic Scapes!

It's garlic scapes time! Here's one of our favorite recipes...among several that use garlic scapes.  Don't you just love the way these tender green shoots look in a harvest basket?  They taste even better than they look and are prized for their delicate garlic flavor.  We grow our own organic garlic and harvest their tender green shoots in June.  

Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast's  
Cannellini Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip

Ingredients:
15 ounces cannellini beans, canned, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
1/2 cup very good extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon joice
1/4 teaspoon seas salt (or to taste, depending on beans and cheese)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
1. Add beans to bowl of food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add the garlic scapes and olive oil. Process for 30 seconds.
2. Add the lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper and process until the dip is thick and creamy and the garlic scapes have been incorporated into the beans. If the dip is dry add a bit more oil. Serve with whole grain crackers or sliced baguette.

Oysters and Lupins!

Love Oysters? This is the weekend to be here on the outer cape enjoying Wellfleet Restaurant Week....it starts today!

And Fort Hill is in bloom.  Get a load of the lupins in bloom with Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Marsh in the background.  It's right out the door...come join us!

We have a 2-night min vacancy in the Lucille suite here at the FortHill Bed and Breakfast...just 10 minutes from some great restaurants in Wellfleet and in the middle of the best views on Cape Cod! Give us a call or drop us an e-mail. 

View over Fort Hill to Nauset Marsh, Coast Guard Beach and the Atlantic

Fort Hill is in Bloom!

Have you ever seen a yellow Magnolia?  We know that spring has arrived here at Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast when "Butterfly" is showing her colors!  Time to get those windows washed and mow the lawn....Spring has arrived!  We have vacancy for most dates in 2014 but the phone is beginning to ring so be sure to make your reservation soon if you want the best choice of accommodation. The Nantucket Cottage gets the ocean view AND a view of the Magnolia!

Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast-Overlooking the Atlantic

info@forthillbedandbreakfast.com

Mother's Day Escape

Give her a couple of nights away from the work of every-day life!  Kick back, relax and renew.   We have a 2-3-night vacancy in the Lucille Suite this weekend.  Full Breakfast, quiet adult-only, luxury accommodations in a knock-out seaside location in the Cape Cod National Seashore Fort Hill Area of Eastham.  We are known for our warm hospitality and for the privacy of our historic accommodations.
You won't be sorry.....she'll love it!    :-)

Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast, overlooking Nauset Marsh and the Atlantic

Vernal Equinox Sunrise from the Cape Cod National Seashore

To celebrate the first full day of spring we took an early morning walk to catch first light. It was SO worth it!

Sunrise over Nauset Marsh looking east from Eastham to Coast Guard Beach from Hemenway landing in the Fort Hill Area, a short walk from the Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast.

Today is one of 2 days in the year that the sun rises due EAST...and when you are in Eastham on the eastern most edge of MA, that means the sunrises with all of America at your back!   From now until the solstice in June it starts it's journey NE along the horizon. 

Fort Hill Area...The jewel in the crown of the Cape Cod National Seashore!

Here is another of my favorite shots of the Fort Hill Area, Eastham, MA! This one was an early summer shot... green meadows, forests and marsh. You can clearly see the Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast across from the Captain Penniman House, as well as most of the Fort Hill Area of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The Red Maple Swamp trail runs along the lower left-center of this picture, obscured by the thick tree cover. The Fort Hill Area offers scenic views, walking trail, and historic tour as well as luxury lodging for adults who love a quiet, natural setting.

Please feel free to share this awesome bird's eye view. 
Visit our web site for availability and more photos.

Fort Hill Area of Cape Cod National Seashore
Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast (Sylvanus Knowles House)
Captain Edward Penniman House (red roof)

Location, Location, Location!

Walk out the door of your private suite or cottage to some of the most breathtaking views on the outer  Cape.  Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast is the ONLY lodging located inside the Cape Cod National  Seashore's Fort Hill Area.

Nauset Marsh with Nauset Beach/Coast Guard Beach in the distance. Fort Hill is ocean-front with a full-moon-high tide filling the marsh and covering the grass. Soon the marsh will turn green and the fields will be filled with wild flowers.  The walking trails in the Fort Hill Area are among the most popular in the park.  Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast is a National Historic property that sits directly across from the historic Captain  Penniman House whale bone arch.

We feel so privileged to be located in the Fort Hill Area of the National Seashore and to be able to share this special place with our guests at the Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast.  Isn't it time to think about making your reservation for a stay?  We are located 5 minutes from Orleans and 10 minutes from Wellfleet.

Oh Yum! Blueberry Cake at Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast

Some of the pleasures of staying at a B+B are waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and good things baking in the oven, and the sound of a crackling fire in the fireplace.  Isn't it time for you to stay at Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast-overlooking Nauset Marsh and the Atlantic in Cape Cod National Seashore?

                                Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast Blueberry Cake


Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar (3/4 if you like it sweet)

1 cup sour cream or( 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 plain greek yogurt)

2 eggs 

2 tsps. baking powder

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour 9" tube pan

Beat eggs with sour cream, add oil and vanilla, than add dry ingredients.  Dust blueberries with a little flour to keep them from sinking in batter. Fold berries into batter. (Batter will be thick.)  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

It was a relatively mild February weekend and allowed us to get out on to Coast Guard Beach for a lovely winter walk. The beach is ever-changing so we never get bored walking the spit! It was low tide, sunny, 50 degrees with only a slight breeze...a rarity for sure on a February day at the Cape Cod National Seashore.  Some clever devil has collected all the flotsam and jetsam from the beach and crafted a make-shift lean-to.  I suppose it might be in the approximate location that was once Henry Beston's Fo'Castle shack on the outer beach that was washed away in the Blizzard of '78.  The beach is still changing...with every storm.  Aren't we lucky to be so close?

There is always something new to see when you come to Cape Cod!