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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for May 25 - 29, 2009
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| Sunday's special |
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Here's a preview of this week's special Sunday breakfast:
An asparagus and prosciutto omelet. Yes, melted mozzarella. Yes, a side that you choose (bacon or fruit or potatoes, you know.) Toast with my very own jam.
Bring your friends.
Yum.
Oh, we do serve breakfast all the other days too, but we know that Sundays tend to be when you have more time to sit and schmooze. But if you're hungry on any morning and want something to eat that is made carefully with a whole lot of local parts, come see us.
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Spring light |
My new sweet friend Annie was here this week to see Asheville and to browse around here. One day we went to the nursery and filled up my car with all sorts of spring things. Many of them went to my house where the pots on the deck and porch live. They're now all filled with color and promise.
The extras are here, tucked into my favorite big blue pot in front of the shop. Some of these things will grow UP, some will cascade down. Some, fragrant herbs, will grace the air. Some, variegated colors, will fill our eyes.
Nice that one pot can be filled with so much, yes?
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| Oh loveliness |
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And this was the week when Susan Shillcock's class came for a visit. They've visited before and we're all old friends by now. They walk here from their classroom. I sit out on the sidewalk waiting for them
This year, for the first time, they brought their own ingredients: spinach and collards, both picked from their own garden.
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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 to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00
Monday May 25 We'll be closed for Memorial Day
Tuesday May 26 Chickpea Cakes with Sesame Tabouli 9.95
Wednesday May 27 Grilled Local Hamburger with All The Fixins 10.50
Thursday May 28 Chinese BBQ Ribs with Sesame Chard 12.75
Friday May 29 Crabcakes with Remoulade Sauce 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 Wednesday.
Give us a call on Tuesday before we close and we'll fix you up.
Order a half if you have around 4 folks, or, if you have a bigger group,
Or just like leftovers, order a full sized one.
Then come pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 on Wednesday.
May 27 Spicy Beef Enchilada Casserole Full 38.00/Half 19.00
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Step One |
We set them up to make spinach tarts.
First, wash the greens. Rinse. Saute (our chef did that for them).
Speaking of all this, please put June 11th on your calendar. I'm inviting a few of our local farmers to come here for dinner and conversation. I'm thinking it will be fun if I demonstrate a couple of things for you. You'll get a chance to taste some made-right-in-front-of-you things and then you'll get a chance to meet the folks who grew the ingredients.
This will be a full-fledged dinner. A party. (In a casual sense.)
I won't know exactly what the menu is for a little while because in three weeks many new things could grow. But know that it will be local, seasonal, personal. And you'll have an entire evening with me and with some farmers. Details will follow.
The price for the dinner is $37.00 per person (+ tax). If you'd like wine, there will be an additional $10.00 charge. Please call soon to save space for you and your friends. 828-252-1500.
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| And then |
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Cut out puffed pastry became the foundation for the tarts.
An egg wash, spinach, and Parmesan followed.
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Finally |
All laid out.
Each tart was labeled.
Each person had made one.
Seed to harvest.
Harvest to kitchen.
Kitchen to table.
The circle is complete.
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| A Note from Laurey |
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May 23, 2009
Hiya,
A quiet morning here in Asheville. Well, sort of. We had a big night last night with parties. Today we’re preparing some picnics and some lunches and some more parties, not to mention filling our deli case with local deliciousness. Some early risers are here having breakfast. Some lunch wanderers are beginning to find their way in. It looks like it might rain a bit later which will be fine. The gardens at home are filled with new seeds, new plants, new promise. Rain is a good thing.
I realized today that I have now been done with the bike ride for one whole month. Amazing. When I was on it, it felt like it would never end. In a good way. I loved the long days of nothing but riding. Now, home, I am putting my life back together, remembering things that are good here, imagining how to put that experience into this one. It’s a tricky thing, going away and doing something big and then coming home and trying to get re-centered.
One fun thing is to get up early and go to the markets. Ours are loaded with promise. Loaded with parts. Loaded with things made with love, grown with love. I’ve been wandering around talking to my friends who farm, inviting them to come here to share their thoughts on why they do what they do. I mean, farming is not the very most lucrative way to have a life. So what keeps them going? What fills them? I find this the most interesting thing – learning a bit more about these folks. We’ll have someone who is a biodynamic farmer. Someone who is a part-time farmer and part-time carpenter. Others will come too. I’m excited. June 11th. Come join us, won’t you?
I like having things to look forward to. I think this was a big mistake I made with this ride. I forgot that it would end and that I would have to find new things to do, new projects, new inspirations. Imagine forgetting that? Ah well. So now, filled with the promise in my garden beds and the bustling markets and even in my bee hives, I am letting it soak in and am rediscovering the inspiration. Our dinner is all about that.
I guess it has been okay to have been fairly open about all of this. A part of me scolds myself and says, “Oh get OVER it. You did a bike ride. Big deal. It’s done. You’re home. Enough already.” But I’ve also heard from enough people to know that this roughness is something that happens to others too and so perhaps by being open to this time I will learn more AND you might too. Or maybe it is just a good thing to know that you are not the only one experiencing a hard time. When I was recovering from my second round of cancer, twenty-one years ago next week, it was enormously helpful to me and to others to talk about what I was going through. Emotionally going through.
So there you have it. If you want to read more you can always visit the ride blog. I’m writing a bit more there. And as I move along through this time, I’m trying to be pretty open about it all. I do know it is nice to see a big blue pot filled with flowers. That I really know for sure.
I’ll be in touch next week.
Until then, come see me for some food made with love. Some “joy on a plate.”
Laurey
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Laurey bikes (the "blog") |
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Fascination goes both ways |
And then I told stories of my bike ride. They had followed the blog a little bit. They knew all about the project. They knew that I was raising money for ovarian cancer awareness. They knew I had ridden across the United States. And they had collected money from a puppet show which they gave me yesterday. Thirty-nine dollars and seventy-three cents. A jar full for me. I'll bring it to Jubilee tomorrow and they'll add it to the other money. Pretty soon Jubilee will write the donation checks for me. And that part of the ride will be done.
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