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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for August 25 - 29, 2008
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| That pesky RAIN barrel! |
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So THIS is the barrel that got crammed in our van last week, got carried to a mountain top party (we were doing the hostess a favor by delivering it) and inadvertently got brought back here by one of our not-clued-in servers.
The good news is that our rental folks read my newsletter and volunteered to take it back when they went to pick up the dishes. NICE!!!
Go Rent-all!
Go Mac!!!
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Grilling some treats |
I get to share bee stories and food with some lovely women beekeepers these days. The other night one of us (not me - I brought cut fruit and cookies) grilled fresh peaches which she drizzled with her bees' honey. I politely ate my first one from my plate, politely using my fork and politely wiping my chin with a napkin. But during the cleanup, all manners got tossed aside as I, and my beekeeper friends, devoured the leftovers right from the platter. No plates or forks or, for that matter, napkins.
This morning I came in to tell Richard about them and, before I had a chance to speak, I saw these beauties sizzling away on his grill.
They are my newest favorite thing. (And the squash are pretty good too.)
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| Fresh mushrooms! |
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We did a huge party a couple of weeks ago. This was one of the salads we sent for the guests' enjoyment. We don't make these ravioli from scratch but they are VERY good, and we do toss freshly sauteed shitake mushrooms on top.
YUM!
(This appears in today's deli case assortment.)
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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, starting this month, will be good for one of our new "Don't Postpone Joy" (tm) bags.
Maybe you'll win next month.
Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!
Here is this week's menu:
Monday August 25 Chicken au Poivre with Brandy Sauce 10.25
Tuesday August 26 Chickpea Cakes with Tabouli 10.25
Wednesday August 27 Roast Pork Calabrese with Linguini 13.15
Thursday August 28 Chicken Croquettes with Squash Casserole 10.75
Friday August 29 Cornmeal Crusted Catfish with Roasted Potatoes 13.25
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Our website |
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| Special casserole of the week |
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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, August 27
Beef Burgundy with Organic Vegetables
Full 49.75
Half: 25.00
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More local flavors |
Gosh I love this time of year. The shelves in our cafe that are normally filled with baskets and napkins are currently stuffed with heirloom tomatoes. Our walk-in is full of squash, melons, beans, all sorts of yums.
Here's another of today's offerings.
By the way, if you come at the end of the day you'll probably be able to get a deal on the remains of the day's salads. If, that is, there is anything left. My sister probably won't like for me to tell you this, but her favorite thing is to come at the end of the day and buy all the little single portions of things that remain (I offered to give them to her but she says she'd rather pay...) She gets a deal, of course, and she's very happy with her choices. But she doesn't come every single day so you still stand a chance of finding things too.
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| Red! |
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We sold out of our first shipment of these smart grocery bags. When I reordered I was delighted to find that the red ones, out of stock for my initial order, were back in. We've snapped up some.
This, by the way, is the prize for our monthly dinner to go drawing. Leave a card in our drawing jar and you might just be the lucky winner of a terrific bag. (Or, um, I guess you could buy one.)
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Jam Daze |
I did get out to the jam-making place a few weeks ago and made my annual round of Blackberry Jam. This is certified "Appalachian Grown" jam, thick and rich and not-too-sweet. The berries come from Hendersonville. Grown up stuff. Delicious.
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| A Note From Laurey |
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| August 23, 2008
Hiya.
Oh it’s a beautiful day here. We have all the windows open in the café. It’s just too beautiful to resist. It’d be great to get some rain, but there is no ignoring this picture-perfect day that we get to enjoy.
I can hardly believe it’s almost the end of the summer. School has started. Most people who take summer vacations have had them and are now back. For those who come to our mountains to escape the summer heat, it is almost time for them to go back to their winter places. Not quite, but almost. There is a hint of fall in the air.
I have not bought a new pencil box this year but I have been rearranging things at my house. It’s the beginning of nesting time for me. I have been spending a lot of time with my bees. I can’t really do that much for them. I mean, I am too big to fit into their bee hives, so I have to content myself with providing them with water and, hopefully, some yard herbs and flowers. I check them every week or so, wanting to make sure that they have enough room to store the winter’s honey supply. I HOPE they are able to make some honey. It’s been so dry. But this is their first year with me so they are spending most of their energy filling out the honeycomb on the foundation I’ve provided. I can only hope they are doing their work as they should. So hope I do.
The other night I rearranged all my bee hive parts in my bee work room. I got new shelves, put them together, moved things around, and lined everything up, tidy and satisfyingly perfect. Almost like putting my grade school desk together – pencils on the left, notebooks on the right, erasers in the front, rulers in the back. I played music and danced around, watched by Tye, the pup and Skipper, the cat – who was not so keen on the whole operation, to be truthful.
I’m the chef on a party tomorrow but on Monday I’ll re-fill my wood box, prune the apple trees, weed the front garden. I might clean the gutters and trim the ivy. Or maybe I’ll just sit on the front steps and watch things in the yard. Hummingbirds have been coming, sharing their feeder with my bees.
I’m giving myself a bit of a lull. In a short time I’ll start training in earnest for my cross country bike ride. It starts in a bit more than 6 months and there is a lot to do before then. Fundraising letters need to be written and sent. I need to make arrangements for my house, for my pets, for my bills, for this place. I’ve started a blog but I need to figure out how to keep it going while I’m riding. Oh, and then there is the serious ramping up to actually get in the kind of shape I want to be in for a 58 day, 3100 mile journey.
Next week is Labor Day weekend. Maybe I’ll take it easy until then. And for now, I think I’ll go take in some the air. Why don’t you do that too?
I’ll be in touch next week. |
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Laurey bikes (the "blog") |
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Yikes! |
Would YOU want to work with these clowns?
Believe it or not, these are the folks who cook all our food. Well, Martha is off today so she is not pictured. But this crew, these talented cooks, are the ones who manage all the food for our cafe, our deliveries, and all of our served parties.
What a crew.
(Lucky me.)
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