Getting away from it all can include some unexpected perks. Visiting the Inn at Valley Farms in Walpole, NH will introduce you to a host of amenities you’d never expect.

With multiple lodging options, guests can choose to stay at the main house, a 1774 Colonial home with three elegantly appointed suites. A multi-course breakfast is served on an antique dining room table on fine china by candlelight. The food itself is made from organic, fresh, and local ingredients. So local, in fact, that many of the ingredients come right from the Inn’s own farm.

The farm is sustainable and features fresh vegetables and fruit. The innkeepers raise beef cattle (different from dairy cows), lamb, chicken, turkey, and pigs – specializing in older breeds of pig that aren’t commercially available anymore. Guests are encouraged to visit the chickens and help collect eggs. And when there is a surplus of vegetables, they are always shared.

Bordering the farm on two sides is a 500-acre orchard, from which the innkeepers get their fruits. Guests are welcome to walk across the property and pick seasonable offerings. Milk and ice cream come from local dairy farms. Fair trade, locally roasted coffee is served. The farm makes its own maple syrup and while healthy, fresh, and organic, the food is anything but boring. Popular dishes include Crème Brûlée French Toast, Strawberry Rhubarb Compote, and Chocolate Amaretto Pound Cake.

If you’re looking for lodgings that are more appropriate for younger children, the Inn also offers three-bedroom cottages with kitchens, and for longer stays, the Farmhouse. All in all, the property sleeps 28, making it perfect for extended family reunions or other big events.

Even if you don’t stay at the main house, guests can take advantage of hiking trails on the property, picnic tables, grilling areas, a sandbox and a swing. In fact, if you do a little advance shopping, you could arrive at the inn and not leave the farm until you’re ready to go home.

For more bed and breakfasts at working farms, use the Advanced Search and choose “Farm” under the “Accommodation Types” tab.

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You could go traditional and have hot dogs and hamburgers for Father’s day, or you could go savory and sublime with these Lobster Cakes with Mango Rhubarb Salsa – recipe from the award winning kitchen at the DesBarres Manor Inn in Guysborough, NS. Curious Dads and Culinary Dads can even visit the Manor for cooking lessons, they specialize in lobster fresh from the local wharf and prepared a myriad of ways.

Lobster Cakes with Mango Rhubarb Salsa

Ingredients:

For the Lobster Cakes:

• 454 g (≈ 1 pound) fresh lobster diced small
• 4 tbsp finely diced green onion
• 1 tbsp finely diced shallot
• 2 tbsp finely diced jalapeno
• 1 tbsp minced lemon grass
• 1 tbsp small diced red pepper
• 1 tbsp small diced yellow pepper
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ¾ cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• flour for dusting cakes
• 2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)

For the Mango Rhubarb Salsa:

• ¼ cup diced mango
• ¼ cup diced rhubarb
• 1 tbsp diced red pepper
• 1 tbsp diced yellow pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• Fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:

Lobster Cakes:
Combine the diced lobster, green onion, shallot, jalapeno, lemon grass and red and yellow peppers in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chopped coriander, mayonnaise, fish sauce, bread crumbs and egg. Mix all ingredients. Add salt and fresh ground pepper, if desired.

Shape lobster mixture into 6 equal sized cakes, then lightly dust cakes with flour. Heat olive oil over moderately high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add lobster cakes to pan, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 2 minutes per side.

Mango rhubarb salsa:
In a small saucepan, combine mango, rhubarb and red and yellow peppers. Add rice wine vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coriander and fresh black pepper.

For more savory main dishes, visit our recipes page.

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June 9-12 will be the 33rd annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL.  Thousands of visitors from all over the world will touch-down this weekend in a quaint Illinois town that has more in common with Clark Kent’s home town of  Smallville than the comic book version of Metropolis. In 1972, DC Comics declared Metropolis the “Hometown of Superman.”  If you visit in June, that couldn’t be more true.

Sea of Supermen, Courtesy Metropolis Planet

Multiple Supermen, costumed heroes, sidekicks, and villains flock to the Superman Celebration. Superman Celebrities like Brandon Routh (Superman in Superman Returns), Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns), and Alaina Huffman (Black Canary in Smallville) attend the event which includes a carnival, a window painting contest, a BMX bike show, a baseball tournament, costume contests for children and adults, bench press and dead lift competitions, Superman Trivia, a Super Dog Show and more.  Start at the 15-foot bronze statue of Superman and have a super time!

Stay right in town at the Summers Riverview Mansion Bed and Breakfast.  Built in 1889, the Mansion features elegant Victorian detailing coupled with modern amenities.  The inn is just one block from the Ohio River and five blocks from Superman Square.

When you’ve had your fill of caped crusaders, Metropolis is just 30 miles from some of the most beautiful country in Illinois.

Shawnee National Park is filled with waterfalls, canyons, hiking and biking trails.  Situated in Southern Illinois Wine Country, the area offers bouldering and birding.  In the heart of it all, find The Irish Inn, the perfect elopement spot for Lois and Clark!

To find more “super” vacation ideas faster than a speeding bullet, try our advanced search feature.

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June 3 is National Egg Day, a special day for bed and breakfasts everywhere.  Believe it or not, this is a 2 thousand year old holiday!  Originally, the holiday was created by Emperor Claudius Nero Germanicus of Rome as a kind of early marketing campaign.  You see, eggs had gotten a bad rap due to a poultry plague, so good old Claude challenged his nobles to set an example to the peasants by eating eggs.  The only noble to accept the challenge, Augustus Antonius, invited people from far and wide to witness him successfully eating a dozen boiled eggs.  In honor of his survival, the Emperor proclaimed the third day of June as the Holy Roman Day of Eggs.

Today we have more options when imbibing eggs, like this delectable recipe for an omelet that’s also a taco:

Tortilla Omelet (Bonshaw Breezes Bed and Breakfast, Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato 2 large mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green or sweet red pepper
• 1 tablespoon diced onion
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• Pepper to taste
• 4 fresh spinach leaves
• 2 slices cheddar cheese
• 1 flour tortilla (10 inches)
• 2 slices deli ham
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Sour cream and salsa, optional

Directions:

Coat a 10-in. nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray, sauté the
tomato, mushrooms, green pepper and onion until tender; remove and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs, milk, parsley, basil and pepper. Pour
into skillet, cook over medium heat. As the eggs set, lift edges, letting
uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are set, top with the spinach, cheese slices, and tortilla. Invert pan to flip the omelet; return the omelet to the pan tortilla side down. Place ham and sautéed vegetables on one side of omelet.
Sprinkle with 3/4 cup shredded cheese; fold the omelet over the filling. Cover and
let stand for 1-1/2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from the heat.
Top with remaining shredded cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

For more egg-cellent egg recipes with which to celebrate this holiday, check out our recipe page.

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