That has been our starting place since the very beginning and that will continue to be the case.  These new signs arrived after the main growing season, alas, but they ARE here now and are the newest addition in our deli case.

 

And of course where would we be with shelves full of good ingredients if we didn't have anyone to make things with them?

 

We have a team of talented and interesting individuals here.  That, too, has been my wish from the very beginning.  Martha has been here for quite some time now and is the one who is in charge of the Dinner to Go menu, the "Easy Rider" Deviled Eggs, the burritos, and a heap of other things.

 

Brendan, our chef, is new to us, but is taking the lead on slow-cooked comfort foods, our supper offerings, the hearty soups, and most anything that takes a long time (like cured-right-here bacon and made-right-here sauerkraut.)

 

These two spend all day across from each other and then go home to share their life too.  They've worked together before here too, most notably at the Stone Soup (remember the Stone Soup?)

 

Marty is our baker and Deb is crab cake babe, morning burrito queen, tuna maker, wrap specialist and many many other things too.

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. Orders are ready by 3. Feel free to stay here with us, listening to music and visiting with your friends. I can't think of a nicer place to linger and we're now open until 8, you know.

 

Please order by phone (252-1500) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

 

Dinners for this week are:

 

Monday, January 4 *Brie and Cranberry Chutney-stuffed Chicken 11.25

 

Tuesday, January 5 Cornmeal Crepe with Shrimp, Dill, and Chevre 12.50

 

Wednesday, January 6 *Braised Local Lamb with Creamy Polenta 13.50

 

Thursday, January 7 Roasted Poblano and Chicken Enchiladas 11.00

 

We make a special casserole each week.

 

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. We do have beer and wine by the glass, you know.)

 

This week's casserole is for January 6

Italian Sausage, Sage, and Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

 

Full 55

I'm very pleased that our offerings are now expanded and are available later in the day.  Many of you were not able to get here by 6 so we decided to stay open until 8. 

 

And then, since we had started to be open later, we decided to expand what we make.  We have a Hot Dish of the Day at lunch and now we have Hot Plate of the Night.  We're adding a Small Plate menu too (Artisanal Cheeses with Crackers; Fresh and Roasted Seasonal Vegetables with Made-right-here Dipping Sauces; and lots of other things of course.)

 

And THEN, once we decided to stay open late and to add to our food offerings, we decided to start having events here.  (See how this goes?)

 

At this point we have Music Jams on Tuesdays (the 5th is an Old Time jam) and we also have musicians coming to perform on Thursdays (the 7th will feature Honey, a jazzy trio).  Oh - we have nice wine and local beer for your delectation.  And there is a special Dinner and Conversation once a month, cooking classes....

 

We're doing three classes this month. Read and dream.  And then call us to sign up.  The offerings are a bit different this month. Hope you think these'll be fun. (I do!)

 

Here are the details:

We’re starting a Big Kid/Little Kid Cooking Class and we’ll do two of them this month: On Saturday, January 23 and Saturday January 30 we will have a Big Kid/Little Kid class. If you are the big kid and know a little kid who might like to mess around in some flour and sugar and dough and savory stuff, sign up.

 

The first week we'll make onion dip with fresh and roasted vegetables, mini pizzas, apple tarts with honey, and spiced cider. The menu for the second week will be Savory Cheese Pastries, Banana Boats, decorated Cookies and Sparkling Fruit Punch. The classes will start at 10 and will take about 2 hours. Space is limited so please do call to reserve your spots. The cost is 35.00 for one big and one little kid. Plus tax.

 

We're doing the next few Dinner and Conversations a little differently since the farmers are in hibernation for the next few months.  So we thought you might like to have dinner with your friends AND learn a little too.

 

SO!  The January one will be a Visit to Tuscany.  (In February we will visit South Africa!  In March, well, stay tuned for that one.)

 

Here are the details:

 

Join me (Laurey) and your friends for a casual, fun evening.  I’ll be making and serving some favorites from Tuscany.  With each course I’ll demonstrate and show you what I’m doing (the way they taught me in Italy) and I’ll also tell some stories, show some pictures, and tell you about travels in that fair country.  If you have ever been, or would like to go, this dinner will be great fun for you!

 

We’ll have hors d’oeuvres (“Antipasti”), a Pasta Course (“Primi”), A Main Course (“Secondi”), and a traditional Tuscan finish too (“Dolce”).  The cost will be $55.00 (+ tax) per person which will include recipes, the demonstration, all the food (of course!) Tuscan wines too. 

 

As they say, “Buon divertimento” (“have fun!”)

 

It's 3pm on New Year's Eve.  The entire office gang has gone home.  The kitchen is clean.  Empty.  There are a few of the shopsters still here, waiting for the last of the New Year's Eve Dinner to Go customers to pick up their hoppin john and collards.

 

It's quiet!

 

Tomorrow I drive to Charlotte so that I can catch an early plane to Mexico the next day.  Whee!  I'm going to go to a little surfing village and I hope to give that a whirl.  Never did it but how different can it be from skiing?  (Probably pretty different!) 

 

It has been quite a year.

 

I rode across the country on my bicycle.

We learned of a medical problem of the son of two of my key managers.

We had a hugely successful benefit for baby Henry!

We dealt with a huge economic challenge.

We made a bunch of great meals.

We extended our hours.

We started to have our own events here (music, music, classes, more music!)

We painted the shop.

We prayed for Henry.

We kept going.

We kept going.

We kept going.

 

Henry is still not better but no one is giving up. 

 

We're filled with all sorts of ideas.

We're delighted with our potential.

We're seeing a better picture for this year.  More weddings.  More regular visitors. 

We're working with more local farmers.

We know more and more of the people who supply us with our ingredients.

 

I still believe in what we are doing.  And that's a fine, fine thing.

 

I'll be happy to be in some warm air, sun, and water.  And I'll be happy to come home to this place, to my friends, and, most of all, to you.  To all of you.

 

Thanks so much for being part of this place.  Thanks so very much.

My sisters both have been here for a week learning how to Lindy Hop.  Lucinda has been staying with me.  Heather lives here so she goes home every night.  Both of them have come here for breakfast every day which has become a nice morning ritual.  They've also had dinner with me at my house a couple of times and that has been very nice too.