It gets hard, when things are grey and cold, to remember that we know and work with so many local food producers.  We're still getting regular fresh egg deliveries (all our quiches and breakfast egg items use local eggs), but when the fields are fallow, we have less local food.

 

BUT, it is important to remember (I know I forget) that spring will come again and there will be a time, soon, when our storage areas will be filled to overflowing with local produce.

 

We're now using Annie's breads!  We have new varieties for you: whole wheat, multi-grain, NY Rye, Country White, and Sourdough from them.  Our dinner to go rolls come from them now too.  And our French Toast is made with their bread as well.

 

Here are our dinners for this coming week.

 

Monday, January 23

Chicken with Herbed Dumplings 6.95

 

Tuesday, January 24 Portabella Mushroom “Steaks” with Roasted Potatoes and Veg. Gravy 7.75

 

Wednesday, January 25

Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots 8.50

 

Thursday, January 26

Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions on Rice 8.50

 

Friday, January 27

Pan-seared Trout with Polenta 9.95

 

Order by noon and we'll have your dinner ready to pick up by 3. Our new winter hours are in effect so we're now closing at 7.

 

Salad and bread are now a la carte (not included.) Let us know if you'd like to add them.

 

We make a special casserole and a special lasagna 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 7:00.

 

The casserole this week is:

Wednesday, January 26

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

 

Full: 44 Half: 22

 

 

The lasagna is:

Friday, January 28

 

Spinach, Roasted Pepper

and Artichoke Lasagna

Half: 19 Full: 38

 

 

Marty is still at home, working on bending his new knee, healing and getting strong.  He'll be out for a while longer, but in his place, Tara the magnificent is our daily baker.

 

Here's Irvegg wrapping up today's cookies and bars.  We do go through them!  As I snapped this picture I could hear him humming to the cafe music.  He is, as I mentioned, quite a dancer and a percussionist, not to mention being a dad and a jeweler.

 

This area is the center of a tremendous amount of honeybee activity.  Now is the time to be planning your garden and, if you're at all like me, you're intending to fill it with things that are pleasing to honeybees.  This calendar is one way for you to know what they like. (Plus the illustrations are very lovely!)

 

 

January 20, 2011

 

I’m writing on Thursday this week, since I will be at a meeting on Saturday, flying tomorrow, and returning on Sunday too late to effectively send this note out this week. They’re calling for snow again this evening, but I’m hopeful that it will be insignificant and will not affect travel. Frankly, I would much rather be staying home, planning a honeybee garden but that will have to wait.

 

I had a fun beginning to this week, talking about bees and honey with Mario Bosquez on The Martha Stewart Living Sirius radio broadcast. It was live! (I wonder how many people listen to that show…?) I had had a very brief pre-interview the previous week and, once I said a few things, the pre-interview guy said, “Fine, you’ll be great,” and that was that.

 

I recently disconnected my home “land line” so I had to come in to work to make the call. No cell phones allowed, understandably. I was supposed to be available at 2 pm. Fearing too much extraneous noise, and hyped up about the whole thing, I got everyone here scurrying around closing doors and turning ringers off all such silliness.

 

At 1 minute before two the phone rang.

 

“Lauramarthastewart,” the caller said.

 

What?

 

“Hold on. You’ll be live in about 2 minutes,” she said.

 

Oh! Yikes!

 

I was mostly afraid that I would have a coughing fit during the interview. I’d been under the weather for almost a week with a cold and frankly I was worried.

 

“HI!” Mario said, when my waiting time elapsed. “We’re gonna talk about HONEY and

FOOD and BEES!” And we were off.

 

The time whizzed by. I had actually sent in a few questions, at their request, and Mario went through them, making them seem genuinely his. He was charming, friendly, and FAST!

There was only one time when I felt overcome by a throat tickle but Mario caught on and filled in for me as I downed a slug of honey and a sip of hot lemon water.

 

Mario thanked me, gave another promo word to me and the shop and Asheville and bees and then that was it.

 

“You were good,” the pre-interview caller came on for one more moment, delivered her cursory message and hung up. And then I had a gigantic coughing fit and went home for a nap, my 20 minute star turn complete.

 

Adam brought Monsieur Henri in for lunch today.  When they come into the shop, Henry runs, full blast, to the office where Emily swoops him up for big hugs.  He still is, to me, a miracle boy and I love his visits.

 

By the way, we're going to do a big Bone Marrow Registration drive here on Valentine's Saturday (that's February 12th).  We'll have cupcake bites for you, live quiet-type music and then, at the end of the day a real live Rock Band (with a passel of 11 and 12 year old musicians.!)