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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for September 27 - October 9, 2004
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| A subtle diner |
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Ain't she sweet?
Princess Mini-Pauz graced us with her presence earlier this week. She was a sight to behold. Fresh out of a hospital visit (she is a Hospice "Clown"/visiting nurse), she sat down for some our our Baked and Fried Chicken and a quiet lunch. We got one look at her, though, and made her give us a private consultation. I must say, we all felt better after her ministrations. Laughter is a wonderful thing. Thanks, Miz Pauz. |
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What's in this issue: |
1. A Pink Guest
2. What's in this issue
3. Don't Postpone Joy - the contest
4. Dinners to go
6. Casserole of the week
7. YUM!
8. A Note from Laurey
9. Us
If you'd rather not receive these weekly notes, simply scroll to the bottom of this page, follow the instructions about "unsubscribe" and that'll be that. |
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| Don't Postpone Joy |
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Fall is in the air. We’ve had quite a month here (September, that is) - two hurricanes, major floods, lots of weather. We’re used to being quiet up here in this little mountain place, but all these tempests have really put things in perspective.
I think of Don’t Postpone Joy when things like this happen. You really just never know. (I guess “You Really Just Never Know” might have been a good bumper sticker, but it sort of takes on a negative spin. “Don’t Postpone Joy” is the positive way of looking at things.)
Did I tell you about this motto? I used to live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. There was a tiny little toy store called “The Last Woundup,” which sold every little wind-up toy you could imagine: clacking teeth, back-flipping kangaroos, hopping frogs, bucking cowboys. They had carousels, cars, banks, and all sorts of other things too.
Best of all, though, they had these wonderful bumper stickers with the heartening, comforting message: Don’t Postpone Joy. At the time I was in recovery from a very scary cancer encounter. I bought one of the bumper stickers and stuck it on my car. I bought another and gave it to a friend with a car. And then another. And another. A few years later I moved here. I brought a supply of the stickers with me to give away.
At one point, The Last Wound Up closed, which, ultimately (I’m condensing here) provided the stimulus for me to print my own, which, as you see, we now sell (and give away) here in the shop.
There are a lot of stories about these words. They have changed a lot of lives, have had quite an impact on a lot of people. I have heard about people who decided to take a job because a book, with the bumper sticker as a bookmark, fell off a shelf when they had just finished asking “what should I do?” I’ve heard of a person who decided to sell her house and take off around the country in a camper: her sentiment? “It’s not too late – Don’t Postpone Joy.”
We applied for, and recently received, the US trademark for this motto. It’s ours now.
Which means it is time to celebrate. I’ve hinted at this celebration before but it is time to get specific. We will have this celebration in early November, which gives you a whole month to prepare. We’re looking for works of art, poems, performances, sculptures, stories, photographs. We know you’re creative so we’re keeping the parameters very wide. Work on these creations and plan to bring them in for a big party. There’ll be a contest (but everyone will win) and it will be a time to share these creations of yours. We’ll display them for a while and then you can have them back (unless you REALLY want to give them to us.)
We can’t wait to see what you bring. |
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The nightly dinners for the week (Call 252-1500 to order) |
Dinners-to-go are available Monday through Friday.
Here's how it works:
Just call us in the morning and we'll take your order for that night's meal. Then come back between 4:30 and 6:00 to pick up your dinner - all ready in a heatable container. Simple, yes?
Monday Sept. 27 Chicken + Vegetable Sauté w/ Lemon Parmesan Rice 9.25
Tuesday Sept. 28 Roast Pork Tagine with Almond Couscous 10.25
Wednesday Sept. 29 BBQ Ribs with Corn and Tomato Succotash 10.00
Thursday Sept. 30 Beef-stuffed Peppers w/ a Spanish Romesco Sauce 9.75
Friday October 1 Shrimp Scampi 12.25
Monday October 4 Chicken and Dumplings with Fall Greens 9.50
Tuesday October 5 Eggplant Parmesan with Antipasto 9.00
Wednesday October 6 Roast Pork Loin with Sauerkraut and Apples 10.25 *
Thursday October 7 BBQ Chicken, Cole Slaw, and Sweet Potato Fries 9.75
Friday October 8 Laurey’s Crab Cakes 11.00
** - this means low-carb. Hope it helps you.
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Dinners to go for the whole month |
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| The Casserole of the Week (for two weeks) |
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Casseroles are made each Wednesday.
Call to order on Tuesday if you can.
Orders will be ready on Wednesday between 4:30 and 6:00.
Order a full pan for 9 (or so) or a half pan for 4 or 5.
September 29
Black Bean Enchilada Casserole with a Fall Pumpkin Sauce
Full 28.00
Half 14.00
Wednesday, October 6
Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Paella
Full 45.00
Half 22.50 |
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YUM!!! - Xochitl ("So-cheel") |
Wow oh wow - do we LOVE these chips and salsas!
One of those "oh my we gotta get this stuff!" finds from this summer's Fancy Food Show in New York, we're extremely happy to be the temporary home for these jars of salsas and bags of chips (temporary until they get tucked into your shopping abg, that is.) They are GREAT!
We have a Medium-spicy Chipotle Salsa and a mild Asada Verde for you to try. And the chips, thin, crispy, Mexican-style Corn chips are the perfect accompaniment.
These products are carefully, considerately made. And they taste so good you might want to start dancing. WE certainly do. |
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| Coming Soon |
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All kinds of really fun (not to mention delicious) snacks from "People Gotta Eat" - (cool name, huh?)
We've known about them for some time - figured it was time to share with you. Come see. Here's what you'll find in our shop - as soon as they arrive:
Killer Pecans
3-Pepper Walnuts
“Hoochie Coochie” Cashews
Tree Nuts
“Poco Loco” Peanuts
They're all great. You'll see. |
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And - from the bakery! |
Our Kris has been baking up a storm. Have you tried her muffins – a new kind every morning? We are collecting a hearty band of muffin regulars who are very appreciative of her talents.
I’m particularly fond of her fruit coffee cakes, her fruit trifles of the day (you MUST try them!!!), not to mention her cakes. You know it takes time to get used to a new set of ovens, a new set of ingredients, a new kind of pans. Well, I’m happy to report that she is all settled in now, and we are delighted and amazed at the constant stream of treats that are emerging from her little corner of the kitchen.
Cakes, pies, YUM!!!
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| A Note from Laurey |
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September 25, 2004
Today I sit at my desk at home and compose this note to you. It is a big day for me and, as you will soon understand why, I have taken the day off. This morning I have a few hours to think quietly.
This afternoon I am going to walk to the top of a hill north of here and, in front of my family and a few friends, I am going to join my life with someone else’s. For me this is a very very big deal. It’s not like I have been alone all these years, but I have never, before now, that is, met someone with whom I felt I wanted to share the rest of my days. I now have. And this afternoon is when I will say these words, out loud and in front of other people.
I met Chris almost a year ago. My new shop was 14 days old. I did a ribbon cutting in the morning and then scurried off to the airport to catch a plane to San Francisco for a women chefs’ conference. I was spinning, to say the least. So much had happened. The new shop had been a huge undertaking, straining me (and anyone who had to deal with me) for months. I had just, a month before, had a deep and very moving mediation with someone who had hurt me very badly. I was ready to move into my new space and my new life, clean and open to what might come.
In San Francisco I had dinner with my mentor, who mentioned this Chris, telling me she thought we’d have a lot to talk about. I made it a point to find her, Chris, and did have a good talk about our businesses (she owns a very nice restaurant in Seattle.) We ended up having a dinner together, a coffee break here and there, passing chats in between seminars. But we were otherwise engaged in our lives and that, for a while, was that.
Thing change, however. We all know this. Just when you think your life might be heading in one direction, or maybe not heading in any direction at all, someone comes along and everything, just like that, is different. Those conversations turned into calls, letters, and visits, and now here we are.
Our families have come. Hers from Seattle and Colorado, mine from Kentucky and Vermont. We all cleared out the furniture in my living room last night and Chris and I cooked foods of our mothers (hers is no longer alive either). Our families told stories, relaxed, and shared these foods. Today, after the words, we will all share foods from our current lives in food: Laurey’s (yum!) foods and Flying Fish (Chris’s restaurant) specialties.
But more important than the food is the realization that I have found this lovely person to share my life with. I had gotten used to the way things were. I was okay on my own. But I can now say that this is so much better. This, this sharing of love, of life, of interest, of adventure, is so very much better.
I was not sure about telling you all of this. But, on a whim I sent a note to the New York Times and they called earlier this week to say that we will probably be in tomorrow’s “Weddings and Vows’” section of the Sunday paper, so I figured that you might find out that way and, well, it seemed better for me to tell you myself, right? So there you have it.
We have a glorious day for this Holy Union. The sun is beautifully bright right now. The air, clear. I feel so full and so happy and so, well, just, I don’t even know what to say. I just feel so happy.
(I’ll be away for the next week which is why you see two week’s worth of menus and dinners to go. I will not be writing next week because we will be out in the southwest, being quiet and sharing this new life.) See you in October.
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Contact Info: |
Laurey@laureysyum.com
828-252-1500
67 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801 |
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