The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for June 16 - 20, 2008
I'm initiated!!
I "went in my bees" the other day, just to look around and, mostly, to see if I could find the queens.  My mentor Lyne was with me which gave me extra courage.  It was HOT that day and drops of sweat were falling off me and so, following her example, I took off my gloves.  I kept my bee jacket on, but I picked up the bee-filled frames without gloves and without too much nervousness. 

The bees were very busy, doing their work and ignoring me for the most part.  And, comforted by Lyne's presence, I was able to hold the frames up long enough that I actually found both of my queens.  I'd seen evidence of the work they had been doing, but I still wanted to make sure they were in residence, and this time I did! 

I also got my first sting.  I told you about my sensitivity to yellow jackets and I told you that I'd been tested and that the tests revealed no allergy to honeybees which is why I allowed myself to finally succumb to the passion I feel about this project.  But, having not been stung, I was not sure what was going to happen.  Would I swell up?  Would I go into anaphylactic shock?  Would I have to give my bees away?

Well, nothing happened except for a sore thumb.  I'm good to go.  As are the bees.

A sunny foursome
It's a busy day here today.  These four came in early to load up and head out to serve a morning wedding.  The kitchen gang was here even earlier, baking, roasting, preparing, chopping, presenting.  Our air conditioner, which has been malfunctioning and was, as it turns out, flat-out broken, got fixed last week and the kitchen folks were all chirpy and happy when I got here.  (It's amazing what a difference cool air can make!)

Later on today we have another wedding.  And then this evening we're making all sorts of fabulous food for another one.  In a little while I am talking to a bride about her wedding this October.  On my desk I have paperwork for two more weddings, one in a couple of weeks, one in a year.  That one, the one in a year, is going to feature breakfast foods, even though it will be a formal, night time affair.  The bride and groom just like breakfast so dinner guests will have pancakes and bacon and omelets.  Sounds fun to me.

It is wedding season, that's for sure.

And sunny muffins
Have you tried Marty's scones and muffins?  They're really great.  He is a meticulous baker, carefully and consistently producing perfect cookies, cakes, muffins, scones, and desserts of all kinds.  Essie fills in on Tuesdays, and that's a fine thing too.

Some people take pictures of their children.  I, muffins. 

Dinners to go for this week
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           June 16            Chicken with Pine Nuts, Chevre, and Basil 10.25

Tuesday           June 17            Stuffed Portobella with Israeli Couscous 9.95

Wednesday      June 18            Grilled Lamb Skewers with Cucumber Sauce 12.25

Thursday          June 19            Roast Duck with Grilled Plums and Wild Rice 13.25

Friday              June 20            Crab Cakes with Vermont Summer Slaw 11.50

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.

Wednesday,  June 18

Three Cheese Macaroni with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers

Full: 29.50

Half: 14.75


 

New coffee from Counter Culture
You've really seemed to enjoy the Nicaraguan coffee we've been carrying, the kind from the collective that Adam visited in January.  And you may have been hearing about "direct trade." 

We're proud supporters of Counter Culture coffee, and have always been impressed that they do what they say, which is, roasting and selling coffee that has been picked from the people who grow it, people who Counter Culture know.  They also make sure that those growers do their jobs well, not using nasty pesticides which would compromise the environment and would kill the habitats for migratory birds. And yes, they make sure the coffee growers are paid well for the coffee, which is harder and more expensive to grow than the "cut down all the tress and spray all the bugs" style is. When you see "direct trade" you know that the folks who roast and pack this coffee actually know the people who grew it.  And when you see Counter Culture, you know they are paying close attention to the important things.

To me this is what matters.  It is all about trust in this world, really.  We here search for, and attempt to workwith, sources we can trust.  And then we try to bring those finds to you.  You can buy their coffee here, both by the cup (our own blend) or by the pound.  And we now have even more kinds for you to try. Nice.

Mountaineer cheese from Virginia
MeadowCreek Dairy in southern Virginia is another farmstead cheesemaker.  All the milk comes from their herd of Jersey cows.  The cows rotate from pasture to pasture, eating fresh grass in a new place every day.  The Feete family milks the cows, creates the cheeses, and then stores and turns and ages them until the perfect time.  When you see a wheel of their cheese in our "help yourself" case, you can be sure that this handmade product is the real deal.  And, as I've told you, when you get a cheese assortment on one of our parties, these are the kinds of cheeses you'll be getting.

Small.  Real.  Pure.

Jaime prepares
There are a LOT of details that go into a big catering.  The wedding tonight has five passed hors d'oeuvres, each of which get put on specific platters with specific garnishes.  The dinner is a "seated buffet," fancy family-style, and each table needs a platter of each item and a serving utensil and garnish AND food.  The food needs a specific cooking utensil and a specific kitchen serving utensil.  Once the eating is done the clean up begins and then you need specific cleaning utensils and vessels and sometimes even water and water heating mechanisms.  There are a lot of things to remember. 

When it is utensil planning time Jaime steps away from her desk, away from the phones, away from her computer.  The corner table in the cafe becomes her field work station and off she goes. 

I turn into shopping babe once she finishes figuring out what special things she might need.  It all works nicely.  We're all part of an interesting system.  I like it, especially when it is not TOO "interesting," know what I mean?
 

A Note From Laurey
June 14, 2008

Hi there,

Hope all is well with you today.  Things here are pretty fine.  I woke up early, as I always do, but the hum of cicadas was blissfully gone.  Is it true?  Are we done with them?  I had felt like I was going mad sometimes, with their piercing shriek overtaking everything for the past month.  Thank goodness they stopped when darkness fell and didn’t start up until the sun rose.  If they are not completely gone, they are certainly on their way out.  Whewf!!!

A lot of you have asked me about my bees.  I’m happy to be one of the people involved in this very interesting venture.  My bees, I’m happy to say, are fine.  I’ve had two visits in the past week or so, two mentors, two advisors, two people who know a whole lot more than I do about them.  They have different opinions and different approaches, but I guess that’s the way of many things in life.  I try to listen and try to figure out which way I want to go.  I’m figuring things out, slowly, but surely.

Dave, one of the folks who has been offering advice, came to see how I was doing.  He watched as I opened my hive, stood back as I pulled out one frame at a time, oohed and aahed for me as I showed him the bees.  He explained some of what I was seeing and made me feel that things were good.  But, as I said, we did not see the queen.

Lyne came over a few days later.  She is the one who won the Blue Ribbon at the fair last year with here “Sue Bee’s Honey” and she is one of the main reasons I started doing this beekeeping thing.  She has a calm presence and has a reassuring way of talking and demonstrating and explaining things too.  And it was she who went into even more detail about what was what inside my hives: which honeycomb contained honey for the brood, which cells contained eggs, what those puffy cells meant (they are for drones) and other things.  As she talked I held up the frames – without gloves!! – and it was with her that I noticed the slightly larger queen.  The beekeeper who sold me these bees painted a little red dot on the queens so it’d be easier for me to find and it was, though only marginally.  Bees, after all, are small and they move around and the queen, especially, can’t be still for very long.  She has a big job to do and time standing is time wasted.

Anyway I was thrilled to have found that first queen.  And then I found the one in the second hive too.  What a banner day!  As soon as Lyne left I went inside and called some friends to crow.  No one was home, sad to say, and I wonder what they thought when they finally listened to their phone message.  “I found my queens!!!  And I got stung!!!!!”

Ah well.

So they’re doing what they need to do.  As they get to the next level I’ll tell you.  And when they’ve progressed enough to make extra honey, I’ll bring it in for all of us.  For now, I’m delighted to report that all is good with these Stoney Knob bees.  Whee!

Know a bride?
It's good to keep things in perspective, don't you think?  We have these fun magnet sets available for you.  Don't you think they'd be a fine gift?  Got to put a little levity into what can become a pile of parties and a flurry of events and a whoosh of planning.  Give these and you'll probably bring a smile to her face (or his).

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