We are going to have a special Dinner and Conversation on Wednesday, June 23 - right here.  The dinner will benefit The French Broad Tailgate market and will be a chance for you to enjoy a meal produced entirely from our local farmers.   I will also share with you the experience of this trip and the "Now what?" that is already happening her in our area.

 

The menu will feature our local farms:

Sunburst Trout pate from - Sunburst Trout!

Poussin (chicken) from Foothills Family Farms

Heritage Beets and Zephyr Squash from Ten Mile Farms

Zesty Cukes

Cheeses from Looking Glass Dairy

Danny McConnell's berries

and much more.

 

Come for a dinner of local bounty.

And hear about my visit and what's going to happen now.

 

We've got a busy day today.  Two big weddings to do.  Two big weddings to cook for. 

 

Here's what it looks like at 8 in the morning on a big wedding day.

 

And our Fried and Baked Chicken production looks like this.  The chicken was prepped yesterday and spent the night in our walk-in, brining in buttermilk. 

 

Now Rolando coats it with crunch, Lito sears it and then it will get baked.  Someone else will pack it up.  Someone else will load it into the van.  Someone else will drive it to the party, unload it, display it, present it on the buffet and clean up after the guests are on their way to the dance floor.

 

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 June 21

Maple and Thyme Roasted Chicken and Peach Chutney 11.25

 

Tuesday June 22

Thai-style Wild Salmon with Spicy Cucumber Salad 13.25

 

Wednesday June 23 *Chicken and Avocado Tostado 11.00

 

Thursday June 24

Laurey’s Crabcakes with Dill Remoulade 13.25

 

Friday June 25

Mu Shu Pork Crepes 12.25

 

* 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, June 23

Beef and Summer Vegetable Pot Pie

Full: 55 Half: 27.50

 

 

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

 

Friday, June 25

Greek-style Chicken with Olives and Peppers

Full: 35 Half:17.50

 

Why, you may ask, is she showing a picture of a corner of the shop? 

 

It's because, SOON, this space will be occupied by (drum roll, please) an AIR CONDITIONER!!!  It's time.  Okay, it's PAST time.  And we've ordered the booster and it is on its way and in a few weeks we'll have a much cooler shop and a much more comfortable kitchen. 

 

I LOVE having kids here! Most of the time they eat our regular, "grown up' food and then, often, they get a treat - a cookie or some fruit or, in this case, a cupcake.

 

Hey hey HEY!!!! This is a group you will not want to miss!

 

Amelia's Mechanics will be here this Thursday night.  Playing "Vintage Country with a Moonshine concerto", and produced by Jim Avett (of The Avett Brothers) they are coming here to share themselves before they travel on and before they open for Steep Canyon Rangers and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, among others.  WOW!

 

Trust me on this one, my friends. You can say you saw them when!

 

 

Hiya,

 

It is a busy, yet quiet morning here today. As you see from the snaps, the kitchen is in full swing, yet everyone is chatting and working and it all seems good. Marty, our baker, has a very nice voice and he usually plays his favorite music early, singing along. Once everyone else comes in Marty’s tunes give way to something that is more to the liking of the shopsters. The other day someone put on some Motown music and everyone in the kitchen danced and swayed and sang. On a pass through the shop I saw our customers bopping too. Music is a good thing.

 

For me the week has been deliciously slow. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve been plenty busy. But this week I have managed to go home almost every day in the middle of the afternoon and have taken a deep, much-needed nap. The travel of the past couple of weeks really caught up with me and so those naps have really helped.

 

One day this week I was home, napping before coming back to work for some evening event. I was completely asleep and Tye, my sweet pup, was napping with me – me on my side of the bed, she curled up on the corner of the end of the bed – her side. In my dreams a storm was coming and the rumblings came closer and closer. Suddenly a GIGANTIC explosion of sound happened – for REAL. The storm was real and there was simultaneous thunder and lightning directly over my house. Tye exploded in frantic barking, I jumped out of my nice nap. She transported herself from her corner of the bed to as close to me as she could manage. She’s not a cuddly dog so that was an indication of how scared she was.

 

She pressed against me, got up, turned one complete rotation, and lay down – closer to me. Then she got up, turned one complete rotation, and lay down again – even closer. Up. Rotate. Down. Closer. Up. Rotate. Down. After about five of these she was half on top of me and we stayed that way as the storm’s intensity bore down. Rain dumped out of the sky, filled my gutters, pounded the deck, the gutters, the roof. Tye and I tucked into each other and she, calmer now, began to breathe less frantically. Me too.

 

By the time I had to leave, the rain had slowed enough that I only got marginally soaked in my dash to the car.

 

Tye usually stays at home when I go to work in the evenings, but that night she ignored my “stay” and “I’ll be home soon” and “you’ll be fine.” Nope. When I opened the door to my house, out she went, no discussion. She leaped into the car, not paying any attention to me.

 

Oh well, I would not have wanted to stay home without her either.

 

Emily and Adam and Henry are indeed on their way home.  Gone since September, they and we are happy to almost start breathing deeply again.  The doctors say Henry is still holding his own, doing well after his second bone marrow transplant.

 

After they get settled in Emily will come back to work.