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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for October 20 - 24, 2008
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| All set for listening |
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Andrew set up The Garden Room this past Thursday night for an early Friday morning breakfast session. A group of folks from Chapel Hill were here to learn about Asheville and downtown and its renaissance and all sorts of things. I got to be the guest speaker and it was certainly lovely to stand in this beautiful space, surrounded by our made-right-here foods and mull, for a moment, how much has happened in the past five years. My talk was about visioning and teamwork and babies and food and such.
This is my 21st year of business in Asheville but it is just about time to celebrate our 5th anniversary here in this lovely space. Zounds!!!
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During breakfast |
The students came and ate, filling the cafe tables nicely. Then they all moved to the chairs Andrew had set. I talked for a while, answered questions for awhile and then they all left - on to their next session.
We put all the chairs and tables back in place and then, by 9, got on with our day.
It was dizzy-making.
(And fun.)
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| Andrew and 40 lbs. of slaw |
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Someone went to some sort of pot luck last week and didn't feel like making coleslaw. We were happy to oblige. Stephanie, the co-slaw babe (with Andrew), came into the office, borrowed the camera, snapped a couple of shots, and then went back and packed it all up.
Hah! I LIKE "co-slaw babe."
Good one.
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Dinners to go for this week |
| Dinners 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 (252-0200)or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Dinners are ready at 4:30 and can be picked up until we close at 6:00 pm.
Monday October 20 Cider Chicken and Cheddar Potatoes 9.95
Tuesday October 21 Apple and Bacon stuffed Pork Roast 11.75
Wednesday October 22 Guinness Beef Tips and Rosemary Potatoes 11.25
Thursday October 23 Cornmeal Chicken with Marinara, Lemon and Olives 10.25
Friday October 24 Shrimp Linguine with Pecan and Peppercorn 12.75
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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, October 22
Shrimp and Scallop Paella
Full: 45
Half:: 22.50
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Icing babe |
Life is not dull.
This morning I got to be cake babe. Marty baked, of course, and did a brilliant job. But he had too much else to do, and I like getting my hands in the sugar every so often. Lauren, our resident photographer, snapped a couple of shots. The bride and groom are UT fans so this will get a little orange-clad cake topper couple when we set it up in a few hours.
Orange? You heard me.
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| Oven-roasted Tomatoes |
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Here is one of last night's passed hors d'oeuvres. Richard's delicious oven-roasted balsamic tomatoes fit perfectly on top of a slice of sourdough bread. And a dot of chevre makes it complete.
This was, I'm told, the most popular item of the bunch, though I was fond of the artichoke cakes and the trout pate was pretty fine too.
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Polenta! |
Last night's rehearsal dinner was a "seated buffet," nice family-style service. We put plenty of each item on each platter and the guests helped themselves. It takes the edge off what can be a stodgy occasion. Guests hold the platters for each other, take exactly what they want and it all works out very nicely.
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| A Note from Laurey |
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| October 18, 2008
Hiya,
Oh it's chilly today. I had thought it was going to warm up but that doesn't seem to be happening. My down jacket, which I thought would be tossed aside as the day went by, sits waiting for me to leave. I'll be wearing it when the time comes, and I'll be happy about it!
The week was good. I had enough time to do many things and enough time to do those things with deliberation and intention and thought. I finally went into my bee hives to see what was going on. I tricked myself into it. See, it is still a bit intimidating to me, this whole bee thing. But I had invited the local exchange group from my chef's group to come see, which meant that I needed to be a step or two ahead of them first. And when I finally had time and courage to go look at them, I was alone which might not have been my preference, but that was how it worked out. And I found myself feeling very calm and happy and I opened up the hives and looked around and saw what was going on (one hive is doing very well and one hive is not doing very well.) So when the others came, I was able to open up the hives again and felt completely at ease and we watched them work for a long time, maybe fifteen minutes.
I've begun inviting people to come meet the bees, come for dinner, look around, learn about these wonderful creatures. The more that happens, the more comfortable I get. And, while I am not sure why that one colony didn't do well, and while I'm not absolutely sure about what I should do now (though I'm headed in the direction of knowing) I'm less and less scared. And that feels pretty good.
I got my first responses from the first round of fund-raising letters I sent out for my bike ride. (In case you don't know, I'm going to ride my bicycle across the United States next spring. It is a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer awareness.) So I'm really not sure what is going to happen with my fundraising efforts with this shaky economic time, but I am heartened to see that there are people who DO believe that this is a good thing and who are able to support this adventure in this way. It's a big deal for me to be this public about this very personal project, but word is out and it is feeling pretty good.
And one of the best parts of any of my days is the time when I come home at the end of whatever has happened. The pup sits on the porch, nose poking out between the log rails. The cat waits, either curled up in the flower bed or sitting on the top step of the outside stairs. We all jump around a little bit, lick and pet and greet and maybe we touch noses. And then, sometimes we go for a walk, or sometimes we go get a snack or sometimes we just sit still. The cat purrs and the dog goes to sleep and all, just like that, is well. The rest fades away, right along with the day's light. We're home and it is good.
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Laurey Bikes |
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My new mascot |
My sister showed up with this little sweetie pie the other day. She knows I love bees and she knows I'm riding across country and she figured I needed a talisman and lo and behold, here she is.
I've decided to call her Bee. (I can get very inventive!)
She'll be with me for my entire ride. She might perch on my bike's handlebars. She might get tucked into a pocket. She'll certainly be in her share of pictures as we ride along.
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LaureyBikes |
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