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An enchanting hideaway in the heart of Camden village that Fodor’s considers “An elegant and sophisticated retreat and culinary destination,” this Mansard style Victorian built in 1835 offers a unique experience in pampered luxury.  Subscribe in a reader
Follow us on Facebook and Win!February 7th, 2010
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Keep up with what’s new at the Inn and in the Camden area. We post everything from photos and recipes to special Facebook & Twitter only discounts and deals! Become a fan of the Hartstone Inn on Facebook and automatically be entered into our contest! When we hit 250 fans we will randomly select one fan to win a $250 Hartstone Inn gift certificate! We have 148 fans right now - only 102 to go! Tell all your friends!
Top 10 Romantic InnsFebruary 5th, 2010
“The Top 10 Romantic Inns have been carefully selected for overall romantic attributes–scenic setting and location, interior beauty and design, subtle yet personable hospitality, pampering amenities and creative activities. Each inn offers a variety of romantic offerings personalized for a truly one-of-a-kind experience. These B&B inns are sure to surprise and delight couples celebrating their love.” To read the full article visit iLoveInns.com. Visit Farmers FareJanuary 24th, 2010
The building itself is modeled after a classic New England barn framed in Maine hemlock. It’s open design and tall ceilings are perfect for their year round indoor market of vegetables, fruits and other Maine products. In addition, Farmer’s Fare has a real honest to goodness, old-fashioned butcher shop stocked with local meat and poultry. They are currently supplying all the beef for the Camden Rockland Elementary School so the students are eating local hamburgers! Not to be missed also is the café which serves breakfast and lunch daily. The long pine tables are great place to meet up with friends and enjoy a latte, pastry, soup and many other dishes made with local ingredients of course! A commercial kitchen is located downstairs that services the café and community rooms which are open to the public and used by Farmers Fare for educational classes and community events. Anytime something new opens that we think our guests would enjoy, we post it on the blog. Farmer’s Fare, located on five acres of beautiful, organic pasture and farm in Rockport should not be missed! Their website says, In addition to the building, half of Farmers Fare’s five acres of land is devoted to growing food. They plan to plant unusual crops such as heirloom and green zebra tomatoes, Italian salad greens, and long pie pumpkins. In the future, their nursery will offer new and old varieties of Maine fruits and vegetables, such as green gage plums. A wetland in the middle of the property will be used to grow plants that have been cultivated by Native Americans for medicinal aids, such as high bush cranberries and cow parsnip. We encourage our guests to stop bury and see Farmer’s Fare for themselves. They are known to host fun community activities like pumpkin carving or ice sculpting contests. Local vendors are often present offering tastings or demonstrations! Stop by hungry so you can enjoy their delicious food! Nothing tastes like local, Maine cuisine and Farmer’s Fare does it well! Visit them online at: http://www.farmersfare.com Hart Stones by Mary JoJanuary 23rd, 2010
We all know Michael can be found in the garage restoring his 1962 Daimler when he is not in the kitchen. Many do not know however that when not tending to the various needs of the inn or to her hundred’s of orchids, Mary Jo can be found tucked away in her 3rd floor bead room creating jewelry in our gift shop. Hart Stones by Mary Jo, her collection of mostly beaded jewelry began around three years ago. After what was becoming a somewhat dull house sitting experience in Mary Jo’s jewelry was highlighted at our Baubles and Bubbles event this past November. The collaborative event was held here at the Inn in and in addition to her jewelry featured pearl and vintage jewelry collections from two of her friends. There was Champagne, an array of Michael’s delicious hor d’oeuvres and lots of Hart Stones by Mary Jo is our best selling item in the gift shop with people who purchase a new piece to add to their collection every time they visit! Orange-Spiced Rice Pudding RecipeDecember 24th, 2009
I just received this request from Milt: …would like your recipe for rice pudding. It was in your news letter a while back. I misplaced it. Orange-Spiced Rice Pudding yields 6 portions If you have been to the Inn since this Spring, you may have had the opportunity to try my Orange-Spiced Rice Pudding. It has been one of our most requested recipes.
Chef Michael’s Spice KitsDecember 21st, 2009 Filling Spice Kits Today we are busy making spice kits for our last minute holiday shoppers. Gift certificates have been flying out the door and many items from our gift shop have been popular this year including Chef Michael’s cookbooks and his spice kits. The spice samplers include 15 small containers of Michael’s favorite spices, spice blends and salts that he uses at the Inn on a regular basis, including: cumin spice mix, fennel spice mix, herbes de Provence, Caribbean dry spice mix, Cajun spice mix, annatto seed, star anise, Chinese five spice powder, rosemary steak rub, apple pie spice mix, curry powder, crystallized ginger, Maine sea salt, Alaea Hawaiian sea salt, and Hiwa Kai black Hawaiian sea salt.
The kit includes a description of each of the items, recipe suggestions and references to recipes in Chef Michael’s cookbooks in which he utilizes the spices. The Fennel spice mix is one of the most popular spices at the Inn (we also sell them individually in 1 cup jars) and is used in everything from breakfast sausage to our Maine Lobster and Scallop Terrine. Fennel Spice Mix Recipe - Place 2 Tablespoons of whole fennel seeds in a small saute pan and toast over medium-high heat until fragrant and lightly toasted. Finely grind in a spice grinder and mix with 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon granulated garlic and 2 1/2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt. Foodie Travel Makes A Fun GiftNovember 30th, 2009Do you know someone who loves to cook? Someone whose ideal vacation includes hands-on private cooking classes? If so, you have just found the perfect gift for this holiday season.  Perhaps you'll prepare a meal like this... Send your cooks to this Maine Bed and Breakfast, where they’ll breathe in plenty of fresh sea air and work up an appetite exploring the historic seaport of Camden. Then they’ll join Chef Michael in his kitchen, where they’ll roll up their sleeves and get to the real fun. There are several options of Private Cooking Classes available at Hartstone Inn between November and May. Gather together a group of six to twelve friends and spend a few hours in the kitchen learning and having fun with Chef Michael. Or join him one day for a private class in the Hartstone kitchen, where individual attention is sure to give a great boost to your cooking skills. Another good option is to participate in one of several scheduled classes at our Maine Bed and Breakfast. Your cook will be thrilled with a gift of Foodie Travel. Think of it: a stay in a Maine bed and breakfast that includes cooking in a state of the art kitchen with a professional chef. For some folks, life just doesn’t get any better. Pasta Cooking ClassNovember 28th, 2009Another fun filled pasta cooking class at the Inn. This past weekend our guests learned how to make pasta in their own kitchens. Techniques included making the dough, coloring and flavoring different pastas (green from spinach, red from beets and yellow from eggs), rolling out and cutting various shapes of pasta, filling pastas such as raviolis and tortellini and cooking pasta. The dishes we made were: Spaghetti with a Creamy Prosciutto and Roasted Pepper Sauce, Pappardelle with Grilled Tiger Shrimp, Pesto and Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Sweet Potato Ravioli with a Pine Nut and Sage Butter Sauce, and Three-Cheese Tortellini with Chicken and Pesto. Thank you to all of you who participated, hopefully you went home and dusted off your pasta machines. Sushi Night at the InnNovember 23rd, 2009
The dinner started with a sampling plate (pictured at the left) of three pieces of sushi paired with three different “Hitachino Nest” Japanese beers. At the top of the plate is a Nigiri-sushi (finger sushi) made with Zeph’s Sous-Vide“Japanese braised” short ribs which we paired with the darkest beer, Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout. The next pairing (clockwise) was the Flash-Fried Nori and Tuna Roll with a Ginger-Wasabi Butter Sauce which we paired with the Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew. The third pairing was the Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale which we served with an Uramaki roll (inside out) which was filled with spicy Maine crab meat and grilled asparagus. After the pairing plate was cleared, guests were invited into the kitchen where we had platters of different sushi made up and Zeph (my Sous Chef) and I rolled sushi as fast as we could and barely kept up with the demand. For dessert we made some “sweet sushi,” a dish I created when we lived in Aruba for a culinary competition called “sushi dushi” (dushi is Papiamento for sweetheart). Sweet rice is cooked with coconut milk and sugar and is formed and rolled like sushi with fresh fruits. It’s a fun way to end a sushi party. The “In the Kitchen Dinner Series” continues this winter with a great variety of tastings and pairings including: Cheese and wine with hors d’oeuvres, Dim Sum and beer, Spanish Tapas and wine, and another chance to experience our Sushi. For the complete schedule click here. Hope to see you in our kitchen! Winter MenusOctober 20th, 2009
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Written by Meghan Small. 
Florida, Michael decided Mary Jo needed a hobby to pass the time.
On Saturday and Sunday, November 14th and 15th we had our first “In the Kitchen Dinner” and it was a great success. The idea behind the “In the Kitchen Dinner Series” is to open up the kitchen and allow the guests to interact with the kitchen staff and watch the food being prepared (some guests even rolled their own sushi!).
This winter we are offering a number of specialty dining experiences to excite your palate.