My day last Saturday was certainly FUN!  I was a "celebrity" judge for the 2nd Annual Cupcakes for Cures contest at the Grove Park Inn.  Last year we tasted ALL the cupcakes - around 55! - but this year they had judges for all the individual categories so we only had to taste 18.

 

My friends, 18 is STILL a lot of cupcakes.

 

Last year I had to go home and have a nap as soon as the contest was done.  This year was better.  Still very fun.  Not so much sugar overload. 

 

Do you know the tv show?  It's a fun, elimination cooking contest in three rounds: appetizer, main course, and dessert.  In each round, contestants get a basket of secret ingredients and then get a very short amount of time to make their entry.

 

This was a surprise birthday party and the birthday girl did NOT know what was going to happen when her husband got her into the car for her 'date.'

 

What fun this was!  I got to get the secret ingredients (fruit loops, garbanzo beans, canned salmon, ramen noodles, mangos, and more.)  the birthday guests teamed up and had a blast.  A BLAST!

 

Things were busy this week.  Here's a look at the lunch boxes, all lined up and ready to get filled with our wraps and sandwiches and such.  Whee!

 

Here are our dinners for this coming week.

 

Monday, April 4

Sage and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken 7.25 (GF)

 

Tuesday, April 5

Black Bean Empanadas with Cumin Slaw 6.95

 

Wednesday, April 6

Roast Rosemary Pork with Twice-baked Potatoes 8.95

 

Thursday, April 7

Glazed Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes 7.25

 

Friday, April 8

Laurey’s Crabcakes with Lemon Dill Sauce and Cole Slaw 9.50

 

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 can be added if you wish. Salad is 3.25 and bread is 1.25 per person.

 

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 for Wednesday, April 6:

Jambalaya with Chicken and Shrimp

Full: 65 Half: 32.50

 

The lasagna is for Friday, April 8:

Spinach Lover’s lasagna

Full: 38 Half: 19

 

Thursday the 28th is a day to mark in your calendars.  It's the day when restaurants all over Asheville agree to donate 20% of their day's sales to WNC Aids Project.  (Yes, people here still need this kind of help.)

 

It's going to be a busy day here, because we have 100 school children coming for an early lunch - a time for them to eat really good, local food in a real, not fast-food, restaurant.  But they'll be gone by noon so come for lunch.  Bring friends and enjoy locally made, locally sourced foods.

 

LOOK!

 

I stuck some dried up old peas in my new raised beds and look what's happening!!!!  I'm getting peas!

 

Okay, these are my first peas in my first raised beds at my house.  I bought some more lumber the other day and am going to make even more beds this weekend so you'll get to see the progress of that as I go. 

 

I am chief site-visit babe.  One terrific benefit to this part of my job is getting to see beautiful places all over the area - and then getting to put parties together in these beautiful places.

 

 

April 2, 2011

 

Hi to you on this lovely warming spring morning here in Asheville. I drove to Winston-Salem yesterday to give a talk about working in the schools. Leaving Asheville by car means heading up over the mountains and then down onto the flatter lands to the east. They are a bit ahead of us over there, with trees now beyond their prime blooming. As I always am, I was happy to climb back up the mountain at the end of the day, happy to return to Asheville, happy to get my pup, and happy to take her for a walk in the woods.

 

I am loving being at home this year. There have been many years when I traveled in the spring. I’ve gone to Tuscany a few times and, while that is always fun and beautiful, I have always felt a sadness at missing the developing colors in my own yard. A couple of years ago I was on my bike, riding across the United States. That was a remarkable trip, a life changer. But when I left to go to San Diego in last February, things were still wintry here. By the time I came home, at the end of April, my garden’s early spring blooming was done. And though the ride was remarkable, I was sad to have missed so much at home.

 

I’m quite the homebody, I guess. At the moment, there is not much that makes me happier than simply going to my home at the end of a day. My favorite spot is the little cement steps outside my kitchen door. I like to sit there, with my pup, watching the yard’s life. My bees are there so that’s good. And my weeping cherry tree gets more and more spectacular with each day’s increased light and warmth. I fully expect it to explode into bloom either today or tomorrow. Hurray!

 

Tomorrow is the day I get my beehives ready for their new bees, which should arrive in a few weeks. I’m going to go look inside hive # 1 again to see if I can find the Queen. If she’s there, or if signs of her are, I’ll be able to breathe a deep sigh of relief. Is she’s still AWOL I’ll need to shift into plan B, relying on my mentor to help me figure out how to get a new one. A beehive is no good without a functioning Queen and now, with everything bursting into bloom, there is no time to lose wondering and hoping.

 

Tye, my pup, is energized by the spring air too. When I open the door she stands, head outside, body still in, sniffs, looks, and then, once she is sure, hurls herself into the yard to make her rounds. She’s spending more and more time outside, as am I. When I sit, she sits, when I rake, she helps, and when I wander, she comes along, observing and commenting with knowing yips and hops.

 

I'm working on my bee book.  I'm not sure if I will be the illustrator but here's a sample drawing I'll be submitting with my proposal - which might get sent out as early as next week.

 

And in the middle of the week I head to Washington to do some cooking videos using honey.  Fu- UHN!