The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for March 3 - 7, 2008
Making some glass
My friend John snapped a couple of pictures of me at our last glass-blowing session at Penland. Though it looks fairly tame here, it is actually very hot, very scary, very exciting. Leaning out over the pipe, turning and shaping and forming and imagining what is to come is a rare experience. And then, trying to match the picture in my mind is a whole other thing indeed.

This piece turned out well, a black vase with a folded lip. Black heats up very quickly, and then cools down just as fast. All colors act differently and so, after becoming accustomed to creating a piece in clear glass, the challenge increases when color is put in. Big picture? Very fun!

More local heat
I showed you some Lusty Monk mustard a couple of weeks ago. Snap! We sold out. Now we have a second flavor (the original is back on the shelves). Give their Chipotle "Burn in Hell" mix a shot. Yesterday I had our day's sandwich special for lunch: turkey, Bermuda onions, Deb's Beer cheese, and this mustard for a nice kick.

Slow days call for a zip of flavor. We've got it right here.

Cooking in Swannanoa
Looking for a very fun cooking experience this summer? I suggest you explore this unusual school. As far as I know, this is one of the only places where you get such a wide array of culinary experience. Every day, actually twice a day, you get one or two different teachers. Some are culinary professionals, some local favorites, some are self-taught experts in the field. You can attend for one or both weeks - the curriculum is completely different each week. And this year, in an interesting twist, each day will be devoted to one single ingredient. I'll be teaching on the first day of the first week, a day all about squash and onions. There are field trips, guest speakers, and plenty of opportunities to get your hands in the food. Take a look. I'm told the classes are filling up. I recommend you make sure to save your spot.

Swannanoa School of Culinary Arts
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 is this week's menu:


Monday March 3 Maple Thyme Roasted Chicken w/Scalloped Tomatoes 9.95 Tuesday March 4 Spicy Seafood Cous-cous 12.75 Wednesday March 5 Hickory Nut Gap Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Potatoes Thursday March 6 Duck a l’Orange 12.50 Friday March 7 Grilled Salmon with Granny Smith Apple Slaw 13.25

Our website
Special casserole of the week
We make a special casserole each week, usually on Wednesday. Order before noon 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.

Saffron Seafood Risotto with Butternut Squash
Full: 48.00
Half: 24.00

A touch of Blue
Here's a little bottle I made recently. Still coming along, this one has some irregularities, but that proves it was made by hand, right? One of these days I'll be so proficient that all my glass-making attempts will be regular. And at that point I can start making the irregularities on purpose. For now, I continue to be pleased when I just plain make something that IS something. It was not that long ago that my attempts often resulted in an unrecognizable blob. This is beyond that, to be sure, even though it has its quirks.

Spring time is Maple time
Okay - it is not quite spring but it ALMOST is and I'm sure that the sap is beginning to run (or is certainly thinking about getting ready to run.) We have Organic Maple Syrup here. It's from Vermont, of course. I guess that syrup from Maine or New Hampshire or Canada would taste pretty good too, but there is, to me, something very special about the maples in my home state. I rarely pull petulant, stomp my foot insistence, but when it comes to Maple Syrup, Vermont's is all I'll allow.

Another new piece
I'm going to collaborate with Jacque, a woodworker friend of mine. She's just started turning wood, making wonderful bowls, pepper grinders, and even croquet sets. She's imaginative and very talented. She keeps saying that it'd be fun to combine our play: making glass to go with her wood or wood to go with my glass, each inspired by the other.

I played around with some shapes like this recently, vaguely natural, inspired by gourds and tomatoes and vine things. She's going to turn some low bowls. Together our pieces should be fun to see. I'll let you know how they turn out.

A Note From Laurey
March 1, 2008
Do you know about “Rabbit Rabbit?” Each first day of a new month, before saying anything else out loud, say “rabbit rabbit.” They say you’ll have good luck if you do. It’s worth a try, right?

These days I wake up, groggy and warm, surrounded by the dog and the cat. The cat has been out for his morning survey already, and has come back, licked me to say hello, and settled in for his pre-dawn snooze. The dog has not moved much. She no longer stirs from the cat’s comings and goings, well, much more than taking note and rolling over for more sleep.

I am glad it is almost spring. I realized that next week is when the time changes. I’m getting to the point where I dread the dark days, long for the light, crave the long afternoons, late evenings. I feel like I am holding my breath, waiting, waiting, waiting for it to come. March 21, officially spring, always made a big difference to me as a child. I heard things differently on that day, felt the snow start to melt, sensed the buds moving, the birds returning, the warmth arriving.

Here things are different in some ways. We don’t have nearly as much snow as we did in Vermont when I was little. We rarely have a freeze, almost never have blankets of white. But still, this morning, when I stepped outside, I felt different. My ears are tuned to the birds. Are they here yet? Are they on their way? When, when will they arrive?

Some daffodils in my yard will pop out this week. Baby Crocus and mini Iris have already shown themselves. My apple trees’ buds will turn into flowers soon, the cherry will not be far behind.

It has been a long, dark, cold time. I will not miss it this year when it turns warm. I’m getting bees pretty soon and am almost giddy with the idea of providing a place for them to live, gather pollen, make honey. It feels hopeful to me. Away from the dark. Letting in the light.

I said “Rabbit Rabbit” this morning. I hope it works.

Swinging into the heat
Behind me is a sketch of what I was trying to make. After inflating the bubble, a glass blower swings the pipe, elongating the piece until it reaches the right shape. Mine kept coming out lopsided until a friend pointed out that a 360 degree swing was necessary. Tossing that hot glass into the air is wild, sort of like swinging a pail of blueberries overhead (and you've all done that, right?) The consequences of dropping the piece are significantly greater with glass, you know. Makes it that much more of a thrill.

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