New Cooking School Calendar at the Captain Freeman Inn

by Donna Cain

Cooking School at the Freeman

We have a fabulous time each winter during our Cape Cod Culinary cooking schools at the Captain Freeman Inn. Chef Carol will continue conducting the class. This year’s calendar is filled with some new comfort foods including bread and soups, all from the areas that we love in Europe including Italy, Spain and France.

The cooking school package includes a one or two night stay at either the Captain Freeman Inn or our sister property Brewster by the Sea Inn and Spa. The package includes a fabulous breakfast each day, cooking school for two and wine tasting and dinner afterwards. We pair both red and white wines to compliment our evening meal. Guests can sample different wines and decide which one they would like to enjoy with their meal. The dinner always concludes with a wonderful dessert or biscotti that I love to dunk in the dessert wine:)

Savory breakfast the the Freeman

2014/2015 Schedule

November 8, 2014- France

In Paris the crisp fall air is filled with smells of baking bread and simmering comfort food. The flavors are amazing but the best part is that these classic dishes are simple and fun to make. We will make French bread, classic French Onion soup and French garlic sausage and butternut bisque that will transport you to Paris.

mushrooms from a previous class

January 17, 2015 – Northern Italy

Winter chills mean fragrant country loaves and simmering soups overflowing with the bounty of the Tuscan hills. We will make country bread, stracchiatella, chicken and egg soup and hearty white bean and kale soup. Flavors to delight an Italian palate.

February 7,2015- Spain

Winter is the season for warm bread dipped in fragrant olive oil and simple but beautiful paella, the comfort food of Spain. This hearty and simple rice sauté traditionally loaded with seafood and poultry. We will honor our local seafood bounty and prepare a sausage and scallop delight with all of the seasonings of Espagna!

February 21, 2015- France/Provence

As the cold mistral winds blow across the lavender fields of Provence, learn to shape French loaves in many shapes and sizes and enjoy classic Bouillabaisse, the provencal city of Marseille’s world famous seafood soup made with our local bounty of fish and seafood.

March 7, 2015- Southern Italy/Sicily

As spring approaches the hills of Sicily we will make hearty Sicilan country bread and two wonderful soups: Ribolitta (literally bread soup)and escarole soup with veal meatballs.

April 11, 2015- Spain, Portugal and Morocco

Where northern Africa meets southern Europe the flavors of Spain, Portugal and Morocco are all influenced by their common geography and unique histories. We will make traditional flat bread with its soft pillowy texture and amazing flavors. To accompany our bread, a selection of delicate soups and hearty tagine highlighting the local flavors of the region.

Our winter classes fill up quickly so it’s important to get your reservations in early. The package price includes best available room at time of booking giving you even more reason to book early so that you can reserve your favorite room.

Bon Appetite and Exhaling on Cape Cod!

Brewster conservation

by Donna Cain, innkeeper and owner

For us, conservation is a lifestyle. For example, we strive to do the right things in being green at the inn, using farm to table practices and reusing things whenever possible. This philosophy took on a new twist when we lost part of a beautiful Norwegian Maple in the back of the Captain Freeman. This tree is probably about 125 years old, based on it’s size and countable rings. When we purchased the Captain Freeman our new neighbors came over to introduce themselves and laughed when they said they had adopted our tree, as the inn had been vacant for several years. The grass on the rest of our property was several feet high, but our gracious neighbors had mowed the grass around the tree and had set a bench at the base. It really was a lovely thought as their grandchildren came to visit in the summer, and they all gathered around  this tree to let the kids play in a small  pool. Since then we have lovingly restored the grounds around the inn and have also enjoyed it’s shade and respite in the summer months. This past winter we had several North Easters that brought down two large limbs of the tree.

Side lawn at the Captain Freeman

We were saddened as it was evident that the tree was diseased and would probably have to be totally removed in the next few years. My husband Byron cut up some of the branches and again our neighbor came and asked if we would mind if a friend took some of the wood as he was a craftsman that made lovely bowls. We were glad to share and know that the wood was put to some good use.

This morning as we were finishing up breakfast and had a surprise visit from Craig McConchie. Criag is a talented artist who specializes in wood and glass. He brought us a beautiful round bowl made from our tree:)

Wood bowl by Craig McConchie

Byron and I were both so tickled when we looked at this web site, Tobias Wood and Glass and saw all of his beautiful pieces.Some of Craig’s other pieces that can be purchased on Etsy include:

Wood bowls

Stained glass

Stained glass

We had a great conversation with Craig and were delighted to learn that his grandparents use to own “High Brewster” We had heard many stories from our guests about this restaurant and inn that was renowned for their great home style meals.

High Brewster Homested

High Brewster was built in 1738 by the Winslow family on the north edge of Lower Mill Pond. It was run as an inn for most of the past century. The Thorne family bought it in 2001 and have been restoring it ever since.

I was also excited to learn that Craig raises chickens (I have wanted to get a chicken coop for year) and honey and would be able to provide us with some fresh eggs and honey for our breakfasts at the Captain Freeman Inn.

So all in all a great day! So much fun to have a beautiful bowl to remember our beautiful tree. We are talking about what species we will replace it with ….. thinking about a Tupelo or Swamp Oak Tree.

Farm to table with family in Virginia

by Donna Cain, innkeeper and owner

We just spent a couple of days visiting dear family in Richmond. We were greeted with a wonderful dinner at Byrons Aunt Jean’s house where we were able to meet all of the grand and great grand kids. What an incredible treat and blessing. There is something so endearing about southern hospitality. Life just seems to go at a slower pace and in this case, is all about family. I had  heard many stories about  Byron’s cousins, Jan and Alan, who had built a home in the country. Both had tired of Alan having to travel and being away from family so they decided to switch careers and build a family farm. Byron and I had talked about this many times and were anxious to see what country farming is all about.

I was especially excited as I believe and support the “farm to table” movement and strive to serve our family and guests fresh vegetables, herbs, eggs and meats whenever we can and the Captain Freeman Inn. I would also love to have a chicken coop one day at the inn where our guests could enjoy fresh eggs in the morning. Jan and I had the opportunity to talk, and she is a wealth of information about the affect of diet on ones health.

Before we toured the farm we visited in their large beautiful log cabin surrounded by family and a nice warm fire. Jan’s oldest daughter was visiting from Canada and they have three darling young children who were very happy to be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa.

Since spring is the muddy season on the farm, Jan loaned me a pair of rubber boots so that we could see the entire farm. We left Harrison in the car as we did not want him to excite the chickens. We meandered down to their country store and saw Alan’s beautiful lake off to the left of the property. I was tickled to see a John Deer tractor….always thought they were kinda cool. (next time I’ll have to ask if I could have a short drive and maybe move some hay with it:))

First shot is of the family. Note the mobile chicken coup in the background that Alan is building. At first it seemed kinda crazy but once I stopped to think about it, it made perfect sense. Successful gardening is all about fertilizing the soil. (Nanna always told me that chicken manure is the best fertilizer to add to the garden soil) Alan will move the coup around their fields which has wire mesh on the bottom to allow the “bird poop” (excuse the graphics) to fall below. They have nesting boxes along the sides to pick up the eggs daily.

Farm helpers

The chickens just looked so happy and were fenced in the orchard area where new pear, apple and peach trees were growing.

New chickens for fresh eggs

Jan holding one of their prized chickens

We were lucky enough to meet a new calf that was just born last week. The Mom’s name is Button, and they were looking for a new name for this cute little guy. This area is used for milking which they do once a day. I was interested in learning that the new breed of milking cows can now be milked once a day which is perfect for small gentlemen farms that may combine working a regular job with having a few animals at home to feed their families. I grew up in the Berkshires in dairy country and remember very well having to stop our car as the cows moved to and from the rolling country fields to the milking parlor twice a day. Having to do the milking once a day (by hand I might add) seemed like a huge advantage, especially on the cold winter days. They had 6-8 milking cows with two almost ready to give birth. They sell the delicious milk in the store. When we opened the frig in the store I saw 3 large bottles of milk with cream on the top with customer’s names on the top. These bottles are reused each time.

New calf…..name TBD

Mamma Button

The rest of the milking herd

Chicken processing site:(

Now here is the picture Byron thought I should leave off….but hey this is a part of life. This is the chicken/turkey processing center. The farm sells fresh milk and cream, fresh eggs and fresh chicken meat and yes the poor chickens have to be killed so that humans can enjoy the fresh meat on their tables. State health code allows them to process the chicken meat but the cattle have to be processed by a licensed butcher.

Byron and Jan- cousins

Frozen beef

Byron is from Wyoming and always enjoys when we serve meat for dinner. When I looked in the store freezer I so wished we lived closer so that we could enjoy the benefits of grass fed beef from this farm.

2 blue birds pirched on top of the fence post

The last part of our tour included a visit to Julie’s house (Jan’s sister) which is right next door. We could see the beef cattle grazing in the far field. I was tickled to see a wide variety of birds flying around and ecstatic when I saw a Bluebird pair pirched on a near bye fence post. They were my mother’s favorite bird, and I have always loved them too. This just made my day!

The farm also includes a large vegetable garden, blueberry and strawberry patch, all sold in the country store. Jan said it was fun in the summer to visit with some retired old time farmers that love to see what they are doing. They always love to share stories that are filled with good clues on how to make the farm run more smoothly. I am learning that our elders are always filled with good advise.

As we were walking back to the house Jan shared that when they started the farm they did not know a single thing about farming. They have just jumped in and learned along the way. I was so impressed. What a great way to tackle a new life adventure.

Oh I forgot to mention that their son also helps on the farm and has a bee hive. There was a mystery last year as all the of bees left the hive. That happened to many neighbors which is a concern. They were going to try again this spring and hopefully be able to sell the honey in the store.

Thanks Jan and Alan for sharing your farm with us. Just wished we lived closer to help out and to be able to benefit and enjoy all of your farm to table bounty.

So Byron, do you think we can build a chicken coop now at the Captain Freeman Inn?