I also found a few tulips kind of cut off from the stem and hyacinths drooped to the ground.  So I picked them up and put them in vases around the inn.  The hyacinth smell great and tulips look beautiful.

First I would like to note that I don’t offer granola on the side daily with breakfast, I offer it as breakfast if you are staying more than one day.  The other point I would like to make is that ‘Kismet Granola Bar’ evolved into what it is and it has become favorite of many of the guests.

When I had opened the inn, I would mix all the ingredients with yogurt which I some guests were able to finish and some not.  I felt bad wasting the food when a guest couldn’t finish it so I decided to mix the dry ingredients and have the guests mix the amount they want with the yogurt.  This turned out to be kind of hard as well because some guests were allergic to seeds or some to coconut ~ finally, I decided to server each ingredient in a small separate bowl and have the guests make their own granola.

The most important part about the ‘Kismet Granola Bar’ is that the yogurt is homemade which means there are no additives like the store bought one.  Sadly even the organic ones have sugar added to them which I find very strange.  I make my own yogurts with milk purchased from ‘Balfour Farm’ at ‘Bath or Brunswick Farmers Market’ the yogurt is often thick and creamy with cream on top.  I use whole m ilk so it forms really good cream on top which I mix in with the rest of the yogurt.

I also cook the oats with my homemade ghee then add a little bit of cinnamon to it, sometimes I might add an apple, sometimes I might add coconut butter instead of ghee.

The fresh fruit like apples, pears are always sauteed in ghee and cinnamon sometimes I will add blueberries to it.

Here is the list of the bowls ~

Homemade Yogurt

Oats cooked with water then add pinch of salt, ghee, cinnamon.

Dried Fruit ~ all the fruits are organic without any additives i.e no sugar or anything else is added, it is simply the fruit grown organically and dried ~      mango, pineapple, California and Turkish apricots, apples,

Seeds ~ raw organic sesame, flax, sunflower which I roast again I don’t add any salt, honey just roast them.

Seasonal fresh fruit ~ if it is berries I just serve them in a bowl without if it is pears, apples I will saute them in ghee with some cinnamon.

Dried coconut

Homemade jam ~ carrot, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry ~ one kind only.

I serve different kinds of teas specially during summer time I will make fresh mint or other herbal teas from the garden.

Together, we have been going to yoga classes in ‘Santa Monica Yoga’ taking classes with Nathalie which has been great.  She is very contemplative ~ after her classes I feel strengthened without any pain in any part of my body.  We have also been going to great restaurants and watching sunsets at the beach.  We walked from her house to the beach which is about three miles and got there just in time to watch the sunset from beginning to end.  It was so serene and simply beautiful to sit there with her and watch the deep colors of yellow, orange, red dye the sky, then the Ferris Wheel light turning against the sky with its reflection on the water and the mountains and the distant clouds changing colors.   There there were the tall elegant palm trees that captured the eye with splendor, a fisherman, children playing, lovers walking holding hands, parents sitting with their babies, even the helicopter above sounded calm!  It was a beautiful evening!

Kismet Inn

Bath, Maine

Enjoy accommodations as the all-organic bed and breakfast overlooking Bath’s Library Park — Kismet Inn. Handstitched linens, a hand-carved wood-frame bed and a to-die-for breakfast will make you feel right at home; 207/443-3399.

The write up is short and simple but accurate because Kismet Inn does strive to be all organic, local, scent free ~ a place where people can come to enjoy and let go of the pollution of life.

I thank Cnn.com for recognizing the Kismet Inn as one of the top ten coastal inns in the country and look forward to receiving all of you as my guests.  The short paragraph also said, the places to see Popham Beach where I go regularly to to watch the sunset.

Here is a glass of carrot juice ~ the carrots are from ‘Fish Bowl Farm’ in Bowdoinham, Maine.

1. The rice must be organic Indian Basmati rice.  It cannot be California, Texan or any other kind simply because none of them elongate as well as Indian Basmati rice where the Basmati rice originates from.

2.  Use high quality pot, the more rice the bigger the pot must be.

Preparation and cooking ~

1. Soak the rice in cold, salt water for a few hours.

2. Boil water, add the soaked rice once the water is boiled.

3. Let the water come to boil with the rice rising to the top, taste it to make sure it is not cooked just al dente then sieve it in a mesh colander.  If the colander has big holes you will lose a lot of the grains.

4. Put the pot back on the stove add ghee or butter, saffron if you want potato, sweet potato, lavash bread or nothing just the ghee and saffron then add the rice from the colander.

5.  In a very small saucepan bring some water to boil, add ghee and saffron ~ I usually make this while the rice is coming to boil then.

6.  Add the boiled water, ghee and saffron to the rice.

7. Traditionally you wrap the lid around a clean, cotton cloth then put it on the pot to absorb all the moisture to prevent the rice from being soggy however, I don’t do it and the rice is never soggy.

8.  Put the stove on the lowest temperature/flame you can.

9.  Depending on the size of the pot and the amount of the rice you can cook it anywhere between 30-60 minutes.

10.  Serve it on a platter.

This rice can be eaten with many different kinds of stews.  If cooked with the right and high ingredients, it is extremely aromatic.  Enjoy it ~

Hence, ‘A Gift for the Overworked Mother’ has been taken a liking to many young mothers with their husbands calling, emailing to book one night with just a massage, or couple of nights with dinner, massage, sometimes yoga classes are added to the stay, sometimes exfoliation is added and most recently the young mother stayed four nights enjoying four yoga sessions, two dinners, two massages and an exfoliation which literally had her glowing.  She had her exfoliation this morning before breakfast, then she oiled her body with ‘Sesame Oil’ from ‘Avena Botanicals’ in Rockland, Maine.  She dressed up came down for breakfast leaving after breakfast glowing, restful going back home to her two young children and her husband.

The day she arrived another young mother had come for a stay.  She was here from Friday to Saturday.  She also had dinner, yoga, massages, met up with her friends, walked around town and chatted with me as much as we could.  It was like having my own children to take care of these young mothers, each one as beautiful as the other they are ~ It makes me feel even better when I can send back a rested, restored mother to her family!

I wanted to make sure I provide the guests with protein, greens, fruit and of course the coffee and tea!  Over the Memorial Day Weekend, my guests who stayed for four nights were were served four different kinds of breakfast.  They were a family of 5 whose son was graduating from ‘Bowdoin College’ ~

First breakfast was served on Friday morning.  The first thing I should mention about my breakfasts is that the coffee beans are fresh, I buy whole organic, fair trade coffee beans from local coffee roasters ~ ‘Wicked Joe’  in Brunswick, only about ten miles distance from the inn or or ‘Coffee by design’ in Portland, Maine.  I call them the night before asking them to roast just a pound of beans for me in the morning, I pick them up shortly after it is roasted so this way the coffee doesn’t go stale.  I also make sure to keep them in tight lid jars inside the cabinet.

As for my tea, I never use tea bags because I believe tea bags are just dust of tea.  Proper good tea must be loose leaf tea, brewed properly in good teapots.

I also make sure to make my own jams so the guests don’t get all the preservatives that go into the store made jams or even others that may not be in supermarkets are just too sugary and too generic.  I make different kinds of jams such as carrot that is not offered in any other place and many others.

The bread is also local from ‘Borealis Bread’ that distributes bread only within coastal Maine.  All the ingredients that I use are local from Farmers Market so fresh ~ the only non-local ingredients are spices.  So for these guests, I served wild mushroom omelet the first day, Kismet Inn style granola second day, haloumi cheese the third day,  saffron eggs the fourth day.  When I asked them to tell me their favorite one, interestingly enough each one chose a different breakfast so all the four breakfasts served were liked a lot by the family.

Considering all the health problems we are facing ~ I think I have made a good oath and good choices for breakfasts according to my guests that is.  I was very happy to hear that.

Here is What it says ~

BEST RESTORATIVE RETREAT
Kismet Inn, Bath
Steam showers, Japanese soaking tubs, all-natural linens, yoga classes, spa services, and made-from-scratch meals prepared with primarily organic and locally sourced foods welcome guests to Shadi Towfighi’s sublime B&B, a downtown oasis of tranquility. Hint: Reserve a truly indulgent yet healthful dinner prepared and served by Shadi. Rates: from $210, including breakfast. 44 Summer St. 207-443-3399; kismetinnmaine.com