Don't miss Small Business Saturday

I don't know what inspired American Express to designate tomorrow as Small Business Saturday, but I hope their inspiration flows to American shoppers for this holiday season. Small businesses can't compete with big box stores for Black Friday-type shopping extravaganzas, but here are a few things we do better than the big chains.

First, for every dollar you spend at a locally owned business, nearly 70 cents stays in your local community. If you spend that same dollar at a big box store or a franchised operation, just over 30 cents stays local. So if you want to do something to boost your local economy, shop locally.

Second, small business owners typically support local groups and causes. They sponsor kids' sports teams, participate in community events, donate to charity drives. They take the overused term "giving something back" and turn it into a way of life.

Third, in an age where every city offers the same chain stores and restaurants and hotels, locally owned businesses add a flair and vibrancy to a city and its culture. In Omaha, one need look no further than the Old Market District to see the veracity of this claim. You can find a Gap or a Cheesecake Factory anywhere. But where else can you find something on par with our Flatiron Cafe or M's Pub? Where else is there a Souq's boutique or a Lotus?

There are times in life when we want the reliability of a chain franchise. Sometimes, you just want to walk through the door and know that you can get exactly what you've gotten before. But for the holidays this year, how about trying something a bit out of the ordinary?

Unchain your life this holiday season; shop locally.

How about an apple muffin?

If you can stand another apple recipe, try this one for apple muffins. It's the best I've found -- especially now that I've tweaked it to my own liking.

3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or use 1/2 applesauce instead of the oil)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmet
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (I use half-and-half)
1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Macerate the apples for 45 minutes. (Translation: toss the apples, sugar and oil or applesauce together and let it sit.)

Preheat the oven to 350. Test your oven temperature; some ovens can be as hot as 400 and still bake these perfectly. Mine works best at 350.

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the milk and egg into the apple mixture until smooth. Then stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Add the nuts.

Fill regular or oversized muffin tins three-quarters full. I sprinkle a few chopped walnuts on top before baking. If using regular sized tins, bake for 20-25 minutes. If using oversized tins, bake for 30-35 minutes. These muffins don't get very brown, so test them with your finger or with a toothpick. Be careful not to burn them on the bottom.

Cool on wire racks. And enjoy!

Apples and cranberries make this recipe great

Today's recipe is for apple cranberry bread. You can use dried cranberries or fresh/frozen. Either work well. The fresh cranberries pack more punch.

Apple Cranberry Bread
2 cups peeled chopped apple (I prefer Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I use at least twice this much; I love cinnamon)
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat over to 350. Grease a standard loaf pan.

Combine apples, sugar and oil. (If you let this sit for about 30 minutes, the apples will be more tender in the batter and more flavorful in the bread.)

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to apple mixture, mixing just until dry ingredients are moist. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Spread batter in pan.

Bake for one hour. Makes one loaf.

If it's fall, it must be apple season

Around these parts, we wait all year for locally grown apples. From Nebraska City to Mondamin (Iowa), from Omaha to Hamburg, you can find the best apples on the planet right here. Right now.

So to kick off apple season, how about a few apple recipes. Here's one for today.

Apple Doodles
2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely diced peeled tart apple
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients. Sir half into the creamed mixture. Stir in the apples and walnuts. Stir in remaining flour mixture.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 3 in. apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 13-15 min or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Let's promote small businesses in Midtown

At our meeting last night, several members of the Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association's board of directors commented that what we need in Midtown Omaha is more retail. The conversation was sparked by talking about a proposed pharmacy just a few blocks away -- and the consensus that with 18+ pharmacies already in the neighborhood, we probably don't need another. But we do need retail.

As a small business owner, I think what we need are retail stores that are locally owned. All we need to do to see an example of how these small businesses can drive an economy is to look at Omaha's Old Market. While there are a couple of chain restaurants in the Old Market, there aren't any chain retail stores (at least, I don't think there are). These small businesses -- and the combination of shopping, dining and entertainment -- help boost the entire city's economy. What could that combination do for Midtown?

We have a number of small businesses in Midtown, of course, but they are primarily service-oriented. Even at the new Midtown Crossing development, most of the commercial space is devoted to service businesses.

What would it take to draw retail to Midtown? How can we encourage small and locally owned retail operations in our neighborhood?

I know the people who stay with us at The Cornerstone would frequent those businesses, just like they frequent our neighborhood restaurants and bars. While that wouldn't be enough business to support a retail store, I think the trend here is clear. People who are attracted to this type of neighborhood clearly want to spend their money as close to home as possible.

There are lots of groups being formed under the banner of a "Buy Local" campaign. So far, I haven't seen any of them do anything significant to encourage small businesses to open their doors and then grow. What can they do to encourage this type of business? What can the city do?

The money is here. Now bring us a way to spend it close to home.

Good to get away, and good to be home

Innkeepers share at least one thing: It is tough for us to leave our businesses and get away for a few days. This past weekend, Mark stayed home while I went to Denver to celebrate my friend David's 50th birthday. While Mark entertained our guests, cooked for them and did their laundry, I spent four days with two of my dearest friends, catching up on old times and creating new memories.

After a drive of nearly 9 hours to get home, I'm happy to be back in my own space, with my dogs, my partner and my guests. Nothing feels quite as good as coming home after a trip away.

And we keep that in mind for our guests. We want you to feel as "at home" as possible while you're here in our home. All we ask is that you don't let the dogs out. Oh, and put on some clothes before you come to breakfast.

Sometimes you just get lucky

When our phone rings late at night and someone asks if we have a room for the night, we tend to be a bit skeptical. After all, we're inviting these people into our home, and we try to make sure they'll be happy -- and that we will, too.

Last night, our phone rang at about 11, and the caller asked for a room. Mark answered the phone and told the caller that we had a room available. When he hung up, he figured they'd go elsewhere, as they didn't indicate when they'd arrive or confirm that they wanted to stay here.

As luck would have it, the couple arrived just before midnight, and I knew as soon as I answered the door that they would love the house. What I didn't know yet was that I would love them as well.

Judan and Christopher live in Fairfield, Iowa, where they are active with the Mahariji University. Judan told me that they both grew up in Fairfield, and we had a wonderful talk about that town and its incredible approach to welcoming this university and its followers, as well as its unique and effective approach to economic development.

She further told me that she believes Fairfield draws positive energy from the universe because there are literally thousands of people meditating there every day. I think she must be correct.

We spent an hour talking about Fairfield, and about life, this morning while they had breakfast. (Thank you to our neighbors Will and Gary for the freshly picked zucchini and apples, which I baked into apple zucchini bread last night and served for breakfast this morning.) I found their positive outlook and approach to life refreshing and reaffirming.

I wish Judan and Christopher safe travels. I thank them for reminding me of the many ways in which this life draws people together.

Oh, the questions they ask

Anyone who deals with the public on a daily basis can tell countless stories about the people they deal with. Here are a handful from this week.

• We had an e-mail from a woman who said she is extremely allergic to dogs. My response said that while our dogs don't roam the house and are never allowed in the guestrooms, they do live here with us. She took the time to call us (no doubt on our toll-free line) to say that she won't stay with us because of the dogs. What did she think we would say? That we'll get rid of the dogs so she can spend one night with us?
• A man called earlier this week to ask about a Friday night rate later in the month. Mark told him that the least expensive room available was $125 per night. He replied, "Yeah, good luck with that." And then he slammed down the phone. Really? The rates for that night at the downtown chain hotels range from $139 to $249. Guess we should wish them all good luck with those.
• Another man called a while back to ask what our policy is on letting children stay with us. I told him that we are happy to have children stay, depending on the number and their ages. He responded that he and his wife would like to bring their eight (yes, eight) children to stay with us. He wanted one room, because the kids, after all, can sleep on the floor. When I told him that I didn't have any rooms big enough to accommodate their family, he accused me of hating kids. Don't tell my nieces and nephews; I'm keeping that a secret from them.
• Always a favorite are the people who call and ask if our rooms are nice. Obviously, we think they are, and we recognize that some rooms might be "nicer" than others -- maybe bigger or with more windows or whatever. So what are they expecting to hear? Book any room except that one -- it's not nice.
• And then there are the people who really just want you to do their work for them. They don't want to stay with us but they want us to give them contact information for other hotels, provide information about what's going on around town or, like the caller at 7 this morning, they want you to give them a visual map of the city. They don't want to book a room; they want a tour guide.
  

Of course, the vast majority of callers are thrilled to have found us, are anxious to book a room and can't wait to experience all that our city and our house have to offer. To each of them, I say "thank you," truly from the bottom of my heart.

Yes, Walt Disney, it is a small world after all

An innkeeper's life gets sidetracked by chores like laundry and cleaning and paperwork. The joy, for me, lies in the guests who grace our business (and our breakfast table).

This morning, three of four guests having breakfast together graduated from Omaha Central High School. So did I; so did my three sisters; so will two of my nieces. We compared notes about teachers and classmates and the pride associated with graduates of this incredible school.

Then we turned our attention to other topics, which is when I found out that one of our guests went to Tarkio College. She was there during my sophomore year. To give you some context, Tarkio was a small school with about 400 students in the early and mid 1970s. So Pamela and I were there, along with our mutual friend Linda Brown, at precisely the same time. Commence more reminiscing, more shared friends.

And then it turns out we all knew Passionetta Prince, who was murdered in Omaha three-and-a-half years ago. And whose killer goes on trial later this month.

And we all knew her because we all are, to one extent or another, involved with the John Beasley Theater.

Just when you think the world is a vast, unimaginably complex place, you find out just how small it really is. I think the moon, the stars and the power that be for putting me in a place where my path can cross with incredible people like those I met today.

Lessons from a cookie

My mission this past weekend was to bake as many gluten-free dishes and treats as possible. We had three guests who required gluten-free cooking, and all in all, I think it went pretty well.

Until that second batch of peanut butter cookies. Two lessons learned:

First, Jif chunky peanut butter has way more oil in it than Skippy Super Chunk. The extra oil make the cookies spread, looking less appealing. Unless, of course, you're a dog, which leads us to...

Second, if peanut butter cookies are cooling on a wire rack on the butcher block, Lucy will, in fact, find a way to get said rack onto the floor. I don't know how she managed it, but she pulled the cookies onto the floor. She was at least kind enough to share them with Izzy. So we had two dogs with upset tummies. And no cookies for our guests.

All duly noted.

The case of the missing teaspoon

Help me, my dear readers, solve a tiny mystery. Why do B&B guests steal teaspoons?

I'm not talking about fancy teaspoons. Nothing silver, nothing monogrammed, just plain old everyday flatware. Teaspoons.

We bought a new set of flatware last week because in our service for 16, we were down to four matching teaspoons. The rest disappeared. I blamed caterers (please forgive me), and I blamed myself sometimes for possibly misplacing them. I occasionally blamed a guest -- and then immediately took that back. I mean, really, why would anyone steal a teaspoon?

But today, after only seven days in use, our new set of flatware is missing a teaspoon. The saddest part? I know which guest pocketed the spoon. What I can't figure out is why.