|
The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for August 17 - 21, 2009
|
|
| Asheville's First Tomato Walk - this Thursday |
|
There are some SMART people here in Asheville. They came up with a very fun-sounding idea: A Tomato Walk. You've heard of a gallery crawl? A pub crawl? Well this is a way to stroll around, sample tomato bites at a number of local, independent restaurants.
This Thursday is the date. 5 - 7 are the hours.
We'll feature tomatoes from our favorite local growers. We'll have beer specials. Come visit.
(I guess I should add that we're full of tomatoes in general these days. Our deli case is loaded with fresh tomato offerings. But yes, Thursday will be especially special in that regard.)
|
|
Tomato Walk time |
|
|
|
Heirloom Salad at Penland |
We had the great pleasure of catering the Penland Auction again this year. It is one of my favorite events.
On Friday we make lots of delicious food here. We pack it up. We drive up to Penland. We unload and put together a buffet helped by a small army of volunteers. The guests arrive, make their way through the buffet, and dive into the auctioning of a mass of beautiful crafts.
And then we do it all over again on Saturday.
Here's a shot of our heirloom tomato salad, made with the tomatoes in the picture right above this story.
|
|
|
|
|
| Tomatoes for my lunch |
|
I spent all of last week in the kitchen, as you know. Well, to be truthful, I was in the kitchen from early in the morning until a bit before noon.
One thing about cooking again is that I get to make my favorite things. My friend Bob was happy to get his favorite pasta salad again (I called him Pasta Bob in the old days because he had my salad every day for a LONG time...)
Here's a picture of my cherry tomato and squash salad, my "Millah Special" (a deviled egg smashed onto a piece of baguette) and a bit of local potato salad.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Dinners to go (or to stay!) |
Dinners come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right here bread (or rice cakes) 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.
New pickup hours!!! Dinners are now ready to pick up at 3:00.
You can come as late as 8.
You might want to stay right here with us. (We'll be happy to heat your meal if you like.)
Monday August 17 *Lemon Basil Grilled Chicken and Vegetables 10.25
Tuesday August 18 Portabella Wellington 10.25
Wednesday August 19 *Spinach + Roasted Pepper-stuffed Pork Tenderloin 10.75
Thursday August 20 Old-Fashioned Chicken Croquettes 9.95
Friday August 21 *Golden Tilapia with Tarragon-Mustard Sauce 13.75
* Gluten Free!!
|
|
Our website |
|
|
| Special casserole of the week |
|
We make a special casserole each Wednesday.
Order by noon or so. Order a half if you have around 4 folks. If you have a bigger group, or you just like leftovers, order a full-sized one.
Then come pick up between 3:00 and 8:00. (Or bring a gang and enjoy your dinner right here.)
This week we are making:
Wednesday, August 19
Spinach and Local Shiitake
Mushroom Lasagna
Full 36
Half 18
|
|
Casseroles for the month |
|
|
|
Ready for the deli case |
We do cook things other than tomatoes. Stephanie laid out this picture the other day: Grilled Duck Breast; Honey-mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin; Molasses-marinated Grilled Flank Steak; Baked and Fried Chicken Breasts; Balsamic-glazed Grilled Chicken; Fried Trout and Baked Corvina.
You do know you can come in the late afternoon-early evening for dinner to stay, right? We have a new addition to our cooking team starting this week. He's a mild-mannered fellow with wonderful cooking credentials. Once he's catches on we'll be featuring his food in the evenings. I'll give him some time to get up and running and then - woo whee!!! Get ready.
|
|
|
|
|
| Cutie quiche |
|
We've started making these individual quiche in the mornings. We still have breakfast burritos and muffins and scones and coffee and such. But do give these little ones a go. The insides will vary according to what we get from the farmers.
Fresh.
Local.
Yum.
(And please keep us in mind for catered breakfast. We'd love to be a part of that part of your day. Got a big group? Give 'em great food!)
|
|
Breakfast thoughts from Laurey's |
|
|
|
Zounds!! |
These come from MY house!!!
(Go me!)
|
|
|
|
|
| A Note from Laurey |
|
August 15, 2009
This is the first day I’ve had to just be at my desk in a couple of weeks. I’ll be back in the kitchen next week off and on. It’s been fun, I must say. I thought I’d tell you a little story about how klutzy I can be. This makes me laugh. Maybe you too.
When I’m on the early shift I am the coffee gal. You’d be surprised at how many things can go wrong with this seemingly simple task. Here’s my report from last week.
Day 1
Start a pot of “Decaf.” Notice I have brewed it in the “Regular” pot.
Russell comes in and fixes my error before it is time to brew the “Regular.”
Day 2
Start a pot of “Regular.” Notice I have, yes, brewed it in the “Decaf” pot.
Anne fixes my mistake.
Day 3
Make the coffee correctly.
Day 4
Brew in the correct pot but the filter falls in and the coffee brews at half strength.
Sigh.
Day 5
Brew in the correct pots but neglect to open the little hole in the top of the pot. Coffee brews at full strength – all over the floor. I don’t notice because I’ve gone back to the stove. Connor comes in and smilingly reports my error.
(I do help mop up the table, the floor, the mess.)
Day 6
I am not the first one in and I do not brew the coffee. Thank heavens for small victories.
Ah me.
These things keep me laughing anyway.
I’ll be in touch next week with more tales.
Xxo,
Laurey
P.S. We had a FINE time with three farmers last week. These events are beginning to catch on. There are gong to be a couple of stories written about our dinners in the next little bit. I'm thrilled. My goal is a full house each time. We'll be doing a September and an October one. Then we might have to stop for the winter. (Or maybe we won't.)
The next one will be here on September 17th. Thursday. Please plan to join us. We'll be featuring Sunburst Trout, 10 Mile Farm's produce, and Lady Luck Farm's flowers. I'll be at the helm. Whee!
|
|
|
|
|
|
My bees are thriving |
I'm going to go have a look inside my hives a bit later on today and that will be interesting. I DO know that the girls have been enjoying this little drinking fountain that sits on my front step.
The best part is that they share this water with my cat and my dog. All happily drink. All, on special occasions, at the same time. No one stings. No one bites. No one pushes.
I love this. Deeply.
|
|
|
|
