The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for September 3 - 7, 2007
Local beef

These are Richard's Moroccan Burgers. Made with Hickory Nut Gap Farms' beef, they are a delicious addition to today's deli case. Much to my surprise, people keep telling me they don't know we have as many seats as we do. YOU know you can come and sit with us or take our "Gourmet Comfort Food" with you. (It's fine with me if you tell your friends too.)

In this newsletter I'd like to crow some more about our local farmers...what abundance, what fortune. Lucky for all of us.

Shepherd's Salad

Here is today's version of this favorite salad. Can you see B+L Organics' Sun Gold tomatoes? Oh my, they are so good!!!

We've been hearing a lot about the challenges of farm life, keeping open fields, making sure our area stays as beautiful as it now is. We don't want to close the doors, but we want everyone to remember why they came here - and do what they can to help keep it that way for the next visitors too.

One way to help is to buy from these farmers - or from us. Thanks!

The Egg Lady Cometh

ALL of the eggs used in our quiches in our deli case are local. Our Egg Lady comes each week, bringing us her beauties and, these days, produce too. As my friend Jim says, with gusto, "It doesn't GET much better than this.!"

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 September 3 Labor Day – we’ll be closed
Tuesday September 4 Chickpea Cakes, Sesame Tabouli + Cucumber Sauce 10.50
Wednesday September 5 Citrus Grilled Chicken with Caper Sauce 9.95
Thursday September 6 Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Figs 13.25
Friday September 7 Crab cakes with Richard’s Gorgonzola Slaw

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. (Yes, you can order in advance too.) Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

Say, we'll 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.


Wednesday, September 5
Eggplant and Tomato Gratin with Three Cheeses
(locally-grown Eggplant and Tomatoes!!)
Full: 32.00
Half:16.00

Beauties for our tables

Here are today's Globe Amaranth, not quite in their vases, but filling the kitchen with color.

There's talk of moving the market to a larger spot just down the hill from here. Not quite sure how it will all turn out, but for now, you do know, I hope, that you can find these farmers on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

OH! Before I forget!!! I'll be doing some cooking demonstrating next Saturday morning right across the street from here. I'll probably fry up some Green Tomatoes, sample some Spinning Spider Goat Cheese with some Natural Bridge Bakery bread and, well, you'll just have to come by to see what else might strike my fancy. September 8 from9:00 - 10:30.

We have a new sign!

Emily's father George built it.
I painted it (my sister Heather helped.)
And Jaime, pictured here, added her artistry.

Cute, yes?

Bobbsey Triplets?

Oh we keep doing this.
Emily and I showed up in nearly identical clothing the other day. And then, a few hours later, Adam arrived. He missed the message about the red shoes, but otherwise, he fit right in.

Scary!

A Note From Laurey

Hiya,

September 1. Can you believe it? I, for one, am quite happy about it. It’s been a hot summer around here, hot and dry and I hope that this march along the calendar will result in cooler days. I am pretty sure I ended up underneath the covers last night, a good sign, from my point of view.

My little brain has been full of all kinds of things lately. The idea of reducing our carbon footprint has been weighing heavily on my mind. A couple of years ago I heard Ray Anderson speak. He’s the head of a billion dollar collection of carpet manufacturers and his goal for his companies is to have them all be “carbon neutral.” NO carbon footprint, meaning, they will do all that they can to use less, use what they DO use in a more efficient way, and beyond that, to purchase carbon offsets – sending a payment to a company who does really good things for the earth.

A month or so ago I ran into a friend of mine at the Tailgate Market in North Asheville. He told me that his business, Bend of Ivy Lodge, had just made the commitment to become Carbon Neutral. He and his wife have made all kinds of changes to the way they live and work and, to make up the difference in what they use and how they can reduce, they have hooked up with a local company, Appalachian Offsets (www.wncgbc.org), which buys compact fluorescent light bulbs for folks who can’t afford them on their own. And the people installing the bulbs are volunteering. Most of the money goes right to the light bulbs. A very good thing.

Well, we’ve been evaluating what we use and have set internal goals for doing all that we can to reduce our energy footprint. We already recycle everything, compost everything, have switched to more environmentally –friendly disposable ware for our catering, and are paying attention to switching off things when we’re done using them. And, to make up the difference, we have decided to purchase these offsets from Appalachian Offsets.

This will make us a Carbon Neutral Business. This, we think, is a very good thing.

And so, we know that this is sort of buying our way out and the better thing is to reduce our energy usage and we’re working on it. You might notice that the lights are off in the cafe sometimes. If it’s bright outside, we’re going to keep them off. We have plenty of windows and, if it darkens, we’ll turn those lights back on. We’re probably going to get a more efficient washing machine and dryer. We’ve already switched to cold water detergent. That makes a big difference too.

I’ve been tossing around thoughts on what the new vision for this company is. My mentors, the folks at Zingerman’s, describe a Vision as The North Star. And so, if a star has 5 points, I’ve been thinking that those five points are: running a really good business, making really good food, taking care of each other, taking care of our customers, and taking care of the Earth. We’re all still mulling this over, but here, printed for the first time, is the way I’m currently thinking about it. How’s that sound?

Okay – that’s a pretty serious beginning to September. A bit later today I’m going to go home, collect the pup, pack my toothbrush and a couple of t-shirts, and go to see my sisters in Kentucky. A weekend on the farm. Nice. I’ll get to see the baby too. I’ll show ‘em to you next week, okay?

Cheers,
Laurey



Appalachian Offsets
Tye and her newest toy

Spike gets a lot of press time in my newsletter.  Tye has been very patient with it all, happy to share the attention.  Yesterday she received a new toy in the mail.  Chris sent her a stuffed Dungeness Crab.  Added to her stuffed King Salmon, she's a happy dog indeed.  She carries her collection from room to room, never wanting to be very far from any of them.

• • • •