A week ago, after installing my new bees, I made dinner for my friend Whitney.  In the middle of dinner my pup went crazy with barking and running in and out of the dog door. 

 

This is what was causing the commotion!

 

Whitney grabbed his camera.  I grabbed Tye and started making plans for a bear guard for my bees. 

 

What a week!  My mentor, Nora Pouillon, owner of restaurant Nora's, in Washington, DC, came to visit this week, sharing herself here at a Dinner and Conversation on Thursday.   She also was the featured guest at The French Broad Garden Club on Friday.

 

Imagine opening your business and life and home to the person who models sustainability in such a complete way!  I and we do a lot but she sets a pretty high mark!  I think she had a good time, getting a glimpse of my life as she once gave me a glimpse of hers.

 

Here are our dinners for the week. Order by noon and we'll have your dinner ready to pick up by 3. We are open until 8 now which makes it easy for you to dawdle if you like. Feel free to stay right here with us if you like. We'll reheat your meal and stay out of your way.

 

Monday May 17

Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Lemon Fettuccine 11.25

 

Tuesday May 18

Spicy Shrimp w/ Corn Cakes + Horseradish Crème Fraiche 13.25

 

Wednesday May 19

* Pan-seared Wild Salmon with Artichoke “Barigoule”

 

Thursday May 20

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with NC Spoonbread

 

Friday May 21

* Grilled Flank Steak with Ramp Butter and Mashed Potatoes

 

* these are gluten free

 (though it is important to know that

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.

 

This week's casserole is:

 

Wednesday, May 19

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew with Fresh Spring Vegetables

Full: 55.00

Half: 27.50

We make Lasagna every Friday. Here's this Friday's offering:

 

Friday, May 21

Spinach and Artichoke

Full: 38.00

Half: 19.00

 

We are really moving out this Thursday.  A friend who lives in South Carolina is friends with these guys.  They're coming to visit her and, as a result, they are coming to visit us!

 

Got me some new bees last week.  Yee ha!  

 

This beekeeping endeavor is a tricky thing.  This year is looking to be a bang-up year.  Right now, before the 'honey flow" I'm trying to get my girls acclimated, content, happy. 

 

Tye and her friend Barnum are excellent beekeeping assistants.  Tye is not scared of the bees, happily running in and out as I do my work.  Her friend Barnum is a bit more reticent.

 

 

May 15, 2010

 

Oh MY what a week this has been!

 

Here it is, for example, 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and I am JUST getting time to sit and write this note to you. Gee whiz!

 

As you see, it started out with a bear visiting me. And then:

 

My mentor, Nora, came last week. She flew in on Thursday in time for a guest appearance at our Dinner and Conversation that night. I’d let a few details wait until the last minute (true to form) so that afternoon I was picking up the sound system, getting the final ingredients for that night’s dinner and also for the next day’s luncheon. The dinner was fine, fun, delicious and a good time.

 

Nora stayed with me and Tye, being a dog, does not do laundry or vacuuming so I had that to do, right at the last minute (all that dog hair collects so there is not much point in doing it too much in advance of a visitor…) I flipped back and forth, trying to decide if she should stay in my room or if my den would be okay. If I moved, I’d have to get clothes and pills and my toothbrush and Tye’s bed and all that. But if she stayed in the den, well, it’s not a fancy room – it’s just a den and what if it was not nice enough? (I went back and forth with this game for some time before deciding that my den was fine.)

 

Friday’s luncheon was preceded by her speech which was preceded by my introduction. And we were providing the meal and I was serving it – putting the food on the plates, which meant getting to work in time to pick everything up in time to get it there in time…and because I was speaking that TIME was earlier than anyone would have like it to be.

 

But all went well. We got the food. We got there right on time. I introduced. Nora spoke – eloquently and with conviction (she IS the person who had the very first 100% certified organic restaurant in the US, after all, and has a lot to say about that.) Jaime and I plated all the food and the garden club gals served it. Zoom zoom.

 

I could have stopped at that point, but Nora was only here for a short time, so she came with me to return the sound system and then we went to the Biltmore Estate, where my sister, a new guide, gave us a very personalized tour. Zoom.

 

Dinner followed. Indian food. And then a visit to the Orange Peel to hear The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Oh, and it was my birthday yesterday and so each event was punctuated by the Happy Birthday song or by a phone call from someone wishing me happy birthday (and siniging the happy birthday song.) We had cake for breakfast (at work) and I treated myself to ice cream at the Biltmore Estate.

 

Today: Nora to the airport. Laurey: delivery babe for a graduation party. Back to the shop. Try to write the newsletter. Zip to the store for a couple of things. Back to work.  Try to write the newsletter. Talk to a client. Write a menu. Visit a friend. Answer the phone.  Do a delivery. Sigh. Finally sit down to write you a note.  Now it's 5.  I gotta go home!

 

Ahhhh.

 

One thing about being a glassblower is that you end up with a lot of glass.  I saw a glass fixture that inspired me to get a friend to make this sphere for me recently.  I then loaded it up with all the ornaments I could find.  It felt like an Easter Egg hunt - roaming around digging in the garden, seeing where I'd tucked these outtakes.