Did you know that I first came to this area to be an Outward Bound student? It changed my life and here I am, living and working and loving being here.  I'm now a member of the North Carolina Outward Bound School Board and get to bring news of the school to you!

 

The first fun thing is coming up this Thursday. Come, meet instructors, hear about what it's like to take a course, and hang around with some fun people.  We'll all be here from 6-8.

 

PLUS!!! listen to this!

 

NCOBS is going to GIVE AWAY a course for a 14-18 year old, a $2500.00 value. (You have to be present to win.)

 

If you'd like to come, RSVP to Eve Mills emills@ncobs.org

 

A Safari Dinner – Wednesday, February 24

 

Come join us as we journey through South and East Africa and savor the cuisine of the African Continent.

 

Join me and my new friend John Moody as we serve a typical South African Safari dinner, complete with South African Wines. Following dinner, John will share tales and photos of his travels in his native lands. Cost of the dinner is 45.00 (+ tax).

 

Please add $10 if you’d like to have wine.

 

From Africa to Asheville, John’s life passion is Africa. A native to this beautiful and stunning land, John has ventured through Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Born in Zimbabwe John now resides in Asheville and welcomes the opportunity to share some of his Safari sojourn through this captivating land.

 

Here’s what we’ll be serving:

 

At the start:

 

Samoosas with Chutney

Chicken Sate Piri Piri (an African Chile Sauce)

 

The Safari Buffet:

African Chicken Stew

 

Yellow rice Pilaf

 

Kenyan-style Curried Cabbage

 

Grilled pineapple on a Stick

 

Pumpkin Fritters

 

The Dessert:

 

Baked Bananas with Crème Fraiche, Toasted Walnuts, and Amarula

 

Time for cooking classes again:

 

On Wednesday, February 17, we’re repeating a class we did in January: all about Using kitchen tools: mandolins, knives, Japanese shredders, Vitamix blenders, and food processors. The cost for this class is $35 and will include recipes and tastes of everything we make, plus a glass of wine. Come watch, learn, taste, enjoy. Call us at 252-1500 to sign up (or come to the office and talk to one of us.)

 

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 February 15

Greek Chicken with Shrimp and Orzo 11.25

 

Tuesday February 16

Andouille Creole Gumbo with Tasso and Dirty Rice 12.25

 

(Tuesday is Mardi Gras!!!! we'll have Gumbo and yums of all kinds!!!

 

Wednesday February 17 *Local Lamb Burgers with Thyme-roasted Vegetables 11

 

Thursday February 18

Spanakopita with Chickpea and Pita Salad 10.25

 

Friday February 19

Penne with Fennel, Mushrooms and Peas 10

 

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.)

 

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

 

 

Wednesday, February 17

Hearty Beef and Parsnip Pot Pie

 

Full: 55

Half: 27.50

 

ALSO - we're now making lasagna every Friday.

 

This Friday's Lasagnas are:

 

Savory Seafood Lasagna

Full: 80

Half: 40

 

Or

 

Zucchini, Roasted Garlic and Feta Lasagna

Full: 38

Ami Worthen (from The Mad Tea party) and Caroline Pond (from Snake Oil Medicine Show) take charge in our cafe this coming Thursday from 6-8.  Jason Krekel will be here too. 

 

Ukes.

Wild tunes.

Silliness.

 

If you've been in Asheville for some time you'll certainly remember The Stone Soup.  What you might not know is that Deb and Marty, who both were part of that team, now work here.

 

The other day, in a moment of snow-bound reverie, I remembered those sticky buns and cinnamon rolls. 

 

"Hey Marty!" I asked, "do you still have that recipe?"

He nodded that he did.

 

"Can you make 'em for us?"

He nodded that he could.

 

And, sure enough he did.

 

I've asked him to make them as part of his regular rotation. 

Andrew, shopster supreme, has some of the BEST ideas!  (He's the one who suggested I make a card to put on each table with a listing of the week's dinner to go.  He also keeps up with the beverages and the potato chips and keeps his eye out for fun things for us.)

 

 

February 12, 2010

 

G’morning! It’s a snowy, sunny day here in Asheville today. Cold but nice. We had a snowy night last night. It actually took me an hour to get home, a drive that is usually a ten minute breeze. But drivers, excessively cautious, crept along and slowed down at the slightest grade which resulted in them spinning and not moving and then creating small and then huge jams. It was a big mess. I was happy to get home and happy to stay there too. I built a big fire, cooked (!) and watched the Olympics. Funny, they have no snow. We have lots. Curious, that.

 

We’re setting up for a Christening today. This party was originally supposed to happen in December but we had a big snowstorm. Today’s the rescheduled event. The Garden Room looks so pretty. White tablecloths, pink roses, a festive buffet. Should be nice.

 

Later on we’re having a birthday party for someone who is turning 70 (or maybe 75, I’m not sure.) I like that. Both ends of the spectrum. Right here. This sort of thing makes me happy.

 

And we have a big week lined up. Old-time jam is the Tuesday night event. On Wednesday we’ve got the Outward Bounders coming. Next week is a Uke jam, a Safari Dinner, and some uke and fiddle music. We’re talking about doing a Truffle Dinner. Many things are in the works. It’s coming right along.

 

I’ve been studying to be a certified beekeeper. The test is next Friday and is, for me, a big deal. I’ve been trying to keep bees now for two years. I picked two very hard years to start. The first year we had a severe drought. The next year, excessive rain. The first years are critical for bee-keeping and mine have had a hard time. I attended Intermediate Bee School recently and am now nose-first into my books. MY there is a lot to know. But I am determined to be a good keeper of these magnificent creatures. They matter so much. So much. And the more I know, the better I’ll be (I hope.)

 

I’m also starting to work with an old-time fiddle teacher. There is a subtlety to this music. It seems very simple. The tune repeats, repeats again. It is mesmerizing. A friend of mine calls it Mountain mantra music. But for the fiddle the signature comes from the bowing. If you get it, you can play these tunes. If you don’t, it just doesn’t ever get the groove that a dancer moves to. I’m trying to get it. Winter seems a good time. I’m home. It’s dark. The music fills me, creeps into my bow, and gradually, gradually starts to be a part of me. It’s good.

 

The other big thing right now is glass. I’m playing with it, working on making things symmetrical, thinner, even-walled. This, too, is a mesmerizing thing to do. Any lapse of focus ends up turning the glass into a useless mess. I love the focus of this art. The drawing in, the shaping, the making the piece match the image in my mind. I am moving in the direction of actually being able to make the thing I imagine. I have my first big commission and that is a charge. Ten or fifteen pieces. Somehow matching, yet all different. I’ll start on them very soon.

 

 

 

This morning, right in the middle of setting up, Kathleen was serenaded by a Barbershop Quartet.  Isn't that the sweetest thing?  She blushed and stammered, gripping the rose the sparkly, tie-clad gents handed her.