A Taste of Honey is happening here at 6pm on Thursday, January 26th.  A fundraiser for ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Projects), who do so much for local produce in our area, it is a chance to do the following:

 

1) Help ASAP

 

2) meet some local beekeepers

 

3) Help me (by tasting the honeys that I will feature in my book and helping describe them)

 

4) enjoy some honey-inspired hors d'oeuvres using foods that need honeybees for pollination

 

5) be part of the kickoff to a whole year of ASAP events

 

6) have fun!

 

The event is just $35.00 which gives you all of the above.  We'll have honey-lemonade for you.  If you'd like wine or beer, we'll have that for sale.

 

The food in our deli case is SO good!  I spend most of my working time here in my office writing forgetting, sometimes, that this is a FOOD establishment.  The other day I wandered up to the front of the shop to browse and visit and take a break and saw so much wonderful food that I had to go get my camera to snap away.

 

Some people photograph their children.  I, food.

Monday, January 16

Chicken Marsala with Noodles 7.95

 

Tuesday, January 17

Blackened Catfish and Fried Okra 9.25

 

Wednesday, January 18

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes (YUM!) 7.25

 

Thursday, January 19

Chicken Cacciatore with Spinach Sauté (GF) 7.95

 

Friday, January 20

Fried Calamari w/Herbed Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower 8.25

 

Call by noon and then come pick up between 4 and 7 that day!

 

Local Beef and Barley Stew with Roasted Carrots

Full: 59 Half: 29

 

Spicy Chicken and Vegetable Lasagna

Brendan tosses the turnips in some magic potion and turns out these irresistible bites.  Ever since being served smelly turnip glop in boarding school I have hated turnips but these are a whole different thing. 

 

Not only are there printed special dinners every night as you know, but the cook team comes up with daily offerings to entice you.  With two soups each day, a special sandwich, twenty or thirty salads, it can be very hard to choose what to have.  Just to remind you - we make a hot lunch every day too. 

 

And then there are these salads that we make each day.  We have three or four that are repeats (we hear it if certain salads are not here every day) but there is a lot of room for our cooks to be inventive, responsive to the weather, the ingredients, and their mood.

 

It is the 14th today. Magic day. My birthday, a few months from now, is on the 14th. Many of my best friends’ birthdays are too. 14 is my favorite number. Always has been. So I have declared (to myself) that every 14th is Magic Day. There! Now you know too.

 

It is finally chilly here. We’re not used to it, or at least I am not. Last night I went home and built a big, hot fire in my woodstove. I snuggled up to the stove’s doors, poking the fire and soaking up its warmth. The dogs tucked in next to me and we all stopped shivering and relaxed. After a good long nap (2 ½ hours is my current daily norm) I ventured out to hear some music. The Steep Canyon Rangers were in town and were the perfect solution to a dark, cold night.

 

Lewis is the next most perfect solution to a cold night. He is an under-the-covers Jack Russell Terrier and there is no stopping him once he decides to dig under the comforter to get his little body tucked in. It’s fine with me. I have Tye on top and Lewis underneath and they, combined, beat an electric blanket any day. Some people might sniff at sleeping with dogs, but these two are so snuggly and sweet that it just seems wrong to make them get into their own beds.

 

My bees are hunkered down now too. I’ve been working on my book steadily these days and I am spending a lot of time thinking about and watching my hives. On the warmer days they might go out for a bit of a stroll, but for the most part they are now clustered up, working to keep the queen warm – she likes 95˚ if you please – and doing what they can to get through the next couple of months of chill temperatures. Last year at this time they were covered with snow, which is not such a bad thing, as it acts as insulation.

 

This is the time of year when beekeepers plan for the coming warm season, deciding if they need more equipment, ordering it and putting it together. My “bee world” in the downstairs of my house gets filled with new frames, new hive boxes, ship shape equipment. It is time to browse, make lists, and get ready for the spring, even though it is just barely winter. I am considering putting a couple of hives in other peoples’ yards this year. If I go forward with this idea I’ll need to stock up with more equipment. Yay!!!!

 

I have noticed that the sun is starting to move back to the north. Of course it is we who are moving, but, well, you know what I mean. From being at its southernmost rising point, the light is beginning to travel back. This morning I noticed that the sun is getting close to coming back into my bedroom window. Today it is still behind the corner of the house, but it is on its way. Another reason to celebrate the magic.