Welcome to the Harrison House Suites Blog!

Feel free to share your impressions of your stay with us and your time on the Islands - your favorite hike, best dining experience (you can even mention your favorite breakfast or cookie), and most memorable moment. We will do our best to keep you apprised of not-to-miss events on the Islands and news from the Inn. Stay tuned and we are looking forward to your thoughts...

Accommodations in Friday Harbor, the Tucker House Inn

Pet friendly accommodations San Juan Island

Pupcake Recipe

Cheddar-Apple Pupcakes Makes 12 standard muffin-sized Pupcakes Pupcake Batter: 1 ½ cup all-purpose wheat flour ¼ cup rolled oats 2 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup plain yogurt ½ cup water ¼ cup olive oil 2 Tablespoon honey 2 large eggs 1 Granny Smith apple, shredded with skin on 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 2 [...]

Cleaning Up Is (not) Hard To Do

Each summer, we have the pleasure of hosting guests who have enjoyed a multi-day kayaking adventure with Outdoor Odysseys. Tom Murphy, Outdoor Odysseys new owner shares with us how they do their part in reducing waste on these trips. We wanted to learn how a group of 12 could spend the better part of a [...]

Trip Advisor Awards Harrison House GreenLeader

Trip Advisor awarded the Harrison House Suites & Tucker House Inn Bronze level GreenLeaders, as part of their new GreenLeaders™ program. As GreenLeaders, the Harrison House and Tucker House Inns have met a set of environmental standards developed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® program, the U.S. Green Building Council, and [...]

Beth’s Helpful Household Tips #1

This time of year we are putting the finishing touches on our winter projects in preparation for the season. There is endless cleaning and painting underway. At each turn, Beth is at the ready with a helpful tip to make the job a bit easier or more eco-friendly. We didn’t want to keep these household [...]

Harrison House Gets a New Roof and other Winter Projects

We are pleased – and relieved – that the Harrison House has finally gotten its new roof. We had planned this project for a couple of years, but Murphy kept striking with something even more pressing to tackle. Just last April, we had crews scheduled to begin work on the roof when Lizzie’s Cottage, the [...]

Beth Fricke Joins the Inns

Meet Beth. Perhaps you have already. If you haven’t, you will no doubt have the pleasure of speaking with her as you plan your trip to the Island. Beth is our new Guest Services Coordinator and we are thrilled to have her as part of our team. She has a terrific sense of humor and easy going demeanor that [...]

BedandBreakfast-DiamondCollection_member_web

Harrison House Joins BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection

We are proud to announce that both the Harrison House and Tucker House Inns have joined the BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection, a distinction reserved for premier inns offering extensive amenities and top-rated guest reviews. To qualify as Diamond Collection properties, we had to pass a comprehensive professional two day on-site inspection that measured everything from the [...]

Sooke Exhibit, Photo Courtesy Island Guardian

The Story of Sooke

Sooke (L-112), a 3 year old Orca whale washed ashore in a place aptly named Cape Disappointment near the Long Beach peninsula, Washington, on February 11th, 2012. The Whale Museum asked NOAA if they could have her remains. “Being able to bring Sooke back to the waters which are the center of her home range [...]

Cheesecake Desserts

Creamcheese Swirl Brownies; Photo Credit: Stefan Scherperel

Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Cheesecake Swirl Chocolate Brownies Brownie Ingedients: 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1 ¼ c. sugar ¾ c. unsweetened cocoa 2 tsp. water ¼ tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 3 eggs 1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour Creamcheese: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/3 c. sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla Preheat oven to 325 [...]

Strawberry Marscapone Cheesecake; Photo Credit Stefan Scherperel

Strawberry Marscapone Cheescake

Strawberry Marscapone Cheesecake Crust 2 c. slivered almonds 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted Filling 2, 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 16 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature 1 1/3 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped 4 large eggs Strawberry Sauce ½ c. [...]

Blueberry Streusel Cheesecake; Photo Credit Stefan Scherperl

Blueberry Streusel Cheescake

Blueberry Streusel Cheesecake Crust: 1-1/2 cups flour 1/3 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon ½ cup ground almonds ¾ cup cold butter, cut up ½ cup slivered almonds Filling: 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened 3 Tbsp. flour 1 c. sugar 1 Tbsp. vanilla 1 c. Sour Cream 4 eggs 2 [...]

Blueberry Philly Cream Cheesecake, Photo Credit: Stefan Scherperel

Blueberry Philly No-Bake Cream Cheesecake

Blueberry Philly Cream Cheesecake 1 graham cracker crust 2, 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature 14-ounce can (1 1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice 1 tsp. vanilla extract Blueberry Sauce 2 pints fresh or frozen blueberries 1/4 c. sugar to taste 1/4 tsp. lemon zest 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrow [...]

Cooked Shrimp Salad

Cooked Shrimp Salad Note: This is one of our go to dinners when we want something quick, easy, satiating and are craving lots of crunchy vegetables. Shrimp 1# shrimp, steamed with beer and Old Bay 2 Tbsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar 2 Tbsp. aioli (recipe) 1 tsp. celery seeds Salt and pepper to taste 1. [...]

Tequila Lime Shrimp Salad - Photo Credit: Stefan Scherperel

Tequilla Lime Shrimp Salad

Tequila Lime Shrimp Salad Ingredients 1# shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined ¼ c. Tequila ½ c. lime juice, freshly squeezed ¼ c. red onion, sliced ¼ c. cilantro, chopped, reserve some whole leaves for garnish 1 plum tomato, seeded and diced Salt and pepper 1. Boil or steam shrimp for 1-2 minutes. 2. Place in [...]

Maryland Crab Meat Salad - Photo Credit: Stefan Scherperel

Maryland Crab Salad

Maryland Crab Potato Salad Potato Salad 1# Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes 1/3 c. sour cream 2 Tbsp. aioli (recipe below) 1 tsp. stone ground mustard ¼ c. green onions diced (reserve 1 Tbsp. for garnish) ¼ c. celery diced 2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped 1 Dill pickle, diced ½ tsp. Old Bay [...]

Japanese Crab Meat Salad

Japanese Crab Meat Salad Ingredients 1/2 # Dungeness or Maryland Blue Crab (backfin or lump, cooked and picked) Avocado Miso Vinaigrette (recipe below) 1 c. Mizuna 2 Tbsp. daikon root, julienned Edaname, tossed with sea salt Wonton wrappers or Lotus root, thinly sliced, fried, seasoned with sea salt, optional garnish 1 tsp. black sesame seeds [...]

Balsamic Shrimp and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients 1# shrimp, cleaned and deveined Heirloom tomato, thinly sliced 1# asparagus 2 oz. Prosciutto de Parma, thinly sliced 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar reduction or aged balsamic (start with 1 cup of vinegar and reduce down until sweet, thick and viscous) Parmesan or Grano Padano Cheese, shaved EVOO 1 clove garlic, minced Salt and [...]

Molly Prima and her brother, Ben Prima, at the traveling kitchen table.

The Journey of Molly and Her Traveling Kitchen Table

I have enjoyed cooking as long as I can remember. I love eating; experiencing different tastes and textures is exciting for me. My dad is Italian-American, so I was raised in an environment that revolves around food; family gatherings are like eating marathons. As a child, I never thought I would be a chef, [...]

New Chef at the Inns

Meet Molly. Or maybe you already have. If you haven’t, you’re missing out because Molly is cooking up some fabulous breakfasts! Molly Prima joined us at the end of August, jumping right into the heat of a busy commercial kitchen on Labor Day weekend. Undaunted from her “christening by fire,” Molly has been introducing our [...]