The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for June 18 - 22, 2007
Jam Babes take a trip

What fun! I packed up some cases of our Jam Babes' Organic Blueberry Jam last week and it is now on its way to Michigan where it will get to be a part of the special "Laurey and Elsie" dinner that Zingerman's Roadhouse is putting on next week. (Okay, they are calling it "Green Mountain Fare with a Blue Ridge Flavor" but I think of it this other way.)

If you're going to be up there on the 26th of June, do call and make a reservation to join us for dinner. Adam and Emily and I will be there, saying hello, signing books, and seeing how our recipes do when the Zing folks get their hands on them. I'm very excited!

Zingerman's Roadhouse
Tucked in the Garden

I had the final day of glassblowing for the summer last week. Summertime around here is simply too hot for this warm hobby. But if you come visit the cafe you'll see our window nooks filled with my handiwork. We're going to have a staff art and craft sale in July and these things will be for sale.

Last week when I was doing a reading in Chapel Hill at McIntyre's Bookstore I wandered into their garden and was completely charmed by their hanging ornaments. I came right home and hung some in my own garden. They look very nice, even if I do say so myself.

Oh those scones!

Elyse has taken over the job of baker and we're all very happy with her creations. Come by in the morning for a scone or a muffin. Come by at lunchtime for lunch and a cookie. And then see what she's made for the dinner-to-go accompaniment.

Next month, once she gets herself a bit more adjusted, we're going to have the cookie contest bake off (no we haven't forgotten). And I think we'll have them available for tasting and voting at our art and craft fair. Put July 21 down on your calendar.

Dinners to go

Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

As a reminder, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go.

Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!

Here's this week's menu:

Monday June 18 Citrus Chicken with Fried Green Tomatoes 9.95
Tuesday June 19 Pistachio-crusted Tilapia with Glazed Carrots 10.50
Wednesday June 20 Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti 10.25
Thursday June 21 Plum BBQ Pulled Pork with Roasted Sweet Potatoes 10.25
Friday June 22 Southern Fried Catfish with Braised Local Greens 11.95

Our website
Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week. Order before noon on Wednesday and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

This week's offering is:

Wednesday, June 20
Southwest White Chili
Full 32.50
Half 16.25
Oh, we'd happily make a salad and provide bread for you if you like, just let us know when you call and we'll get you all set up.


Afloat

I don't have a pond at home, so my little bird bath is hosting this glass ball. I'm not sure if the birds mind or even notice, but I do like the way it looks, bobbing and sparkling off in the garden.

A collection of floats
This is what I get to look at every morning, sitting on the windowsill just outside my office. Now you know.

Through the shop doors
Twice a week we get a market right across the street. Nice, eh?
This week I get to have my picture taken with Barry and his produce for a fancy book that is being done here in Asheville. I can't think of a nicer thing.

A Note From Laurey
June 18, 2007

Oh me. Sorry to be so late this week. We had a gigantic storm last Friday night and it knocked out the power in Virginia which caused a surge at the server here (I’m not sure what that means, except to say that I have not been able to do my newsletter until just now, Monday morning.)

And then last night, happily ensconced on my couch with the dog tucked up right next to me, I got a call from the alarm company saying that the fire alarm was going off and that I needed to come to work. Tye pouted as I got up and put on shoes and headed to town. When I got here the street was filled with fire trucks and handsome men loaded with heavy clothing and axes and such. They had already gone through the building and there was no fire, but we did realize that water was dripping through a vent in the bathroom and had caused a smoke alarm to malfunction. I was in lie-on-the-couch-doing-nothing mode but rose to the occasion and called in the people with the keys and the people with the ability to fix things and finally made it home by 11. Ah well.

Monday is my day off and my garden calls.

It’s a beautiful day and the newsletter system is functioning again and I’m going to go home now so – um, I’ll tell you a real story next week, okay?

Ciao,
Laurey


The baby Lavender plants
My friend Miss Susan, the teacher of so many lucky children in Asheville, asked to see my newly planted Lavender. It's still just baby-sized, but everything has to start somewhere. This is it so far. I'll show it to you again when it gets bigger, okay?