Turns out the girls of East Fork Farm will be at camp so we've invited two new farmers to be featured at our Dinner and Conversations this month.

 

Please do plan to come.  Joe is an amazing vegetable grower, coaxing beauty of all sorts from his land.  And Tara, who used to bake here, is an amazing bread baker. 

 

Simply put: this will be a fine, fun, delicious evening.

 

Tara and Joe will be here to share their tales of how and why they do what they do.  They are modest but I can tell you they both have incredible pedigrees - especially for two who are so young.

 

I filled my camera with snaps of their bounty this morning.  Nothing pleases me more than piles of beautiful produce.  Really.  I can skip museums (well, unless there is an exhibit I want to see...)  I travel for markets.  I take people to other countries to visit markets.  I dream of markets.  And look, right here, we have such richness.

 

Please do come to the Dinner and Conversation with Joe and Tara on the 28th. I'll be there too.  Brendan will be in charge of the kitchen. 

 

We make dinners to go Monday through Friday.

 

Call 252-1500 by noon or so and then come pick up your dinners between 3 and 7, when we close. Add a salad for 3.25 or bread for 1.25.

 

Monday, June 11

 

Tuesday, June 12

 

Wednesday, June 13

 

Thursday, June 14

 

Friday, June 15

Casserole of the week:

 

Wednesday, June 13

Whole: 55 Half: 27.50

 

Lasagna of the week:

 

Friday, June 15

Whole: 38 Half: 19

 

No doubt you have noticed our rearranging up in the front of the cafe.  It was feeling crowded and we decided to get rid of the big, clunky shelves and make room more more seats (have you seen our new, cute, yellow picnic table?)

 

And we're in the process of installing a big new wall graphic.  This is a close facsimile of what we're planning.  There will be some additional touches - I'll keep you in suspense on them.  The whole thing is now in the final design stage.  The installation will happen sometime when you (and we, no doubt) least expect it. 

 

We proudly display some of our own groceries that get turned into your breakfast or lunch or dinner or wedding celebrations.  Here's a glimpse at some of the ingredients.

 

Turns out that we're having a pretty good season.  This rain, gentle and regular, is keeping things beautifully green.  Days of sun help too.  My own garden has rarely looked better, even though I am a lazy pruner and trimmer.  My laissez-faire approach suits me and this year the results are rather, um, gorgeous.

 

Good morning to you.

 

I woke up with the sun this morning. Well, actually I was up before the sun but stayed in bed waiting for the Earth to rotate enough so that the light came into my bedroom. Our tilting and spinning means that the sun is rising to the edge of its northern migration across my windows. Remember when I was writing about it reaching its southernmost, all the way behind the edge of my house. My, my – time, change, flow.

 

This past week was a full Moon and also the transit of Venus across the Sun. I felt completely wiggy earlier in the week but once I realized these two events were happening I took a deep breath and tried to carry on. I find I am very affected by the Moon. Most of the time I feel kind of like a regular girl but then a full Moon comes and things go crazy inside me. Everything feels rich and full and I’m not quite sure what it all means but there you have it.

 

I made my plane reservations for my Iowa bike ride this week. Non-refundable tickets. A commitment. Yippee! All that remains is figuring out my bike shipping and a hotel reservation or two and, oh yes, riding more than 40 miles. The days’ mileages range from 50-80. We’ll ride 471 miles in 8 days. Completely doable. Completely. It has been awhile since I’ve ridden with a gigantic number of other riders. There is a certain pleasure in being in a big pack. There are 10,00 riders all told, though the Livestrong team is around 200. We’ll be swept into the pack and it will be big fun. I’m excited.

 

Let’s see.

 

I got a note from Noel, here in the office, complaining that my desk was too clean. When I was actively writing Every Third Bite my desk was always covered with piles of books and papers and honey and other bee and honey ephemera. Now, having completed the manuscript, all is cleared away, stowed until I need it. But at the moment my desk is once again covered. Noel would be happy. I have a pile of flower seeds, a half-eaten banana muffin, a peach “hand-pie” (which was going to be breakfast until Marty gave me the muffin), a collection of colored pencils (I’m drawing a picture for our next t-shirt), and a haphazard jumble of post-it notes with reminders about the bike ride, some possible outlets for my book, some information about some farmers, a few reminders to call a few people, and my usual collection of colorful trinkets that make me smile. Of course honey is never out of reach, nor are my cookbooks and journals and magazines and articles.

 

My mother wrote in and worked from a tiny office. No more than eight feet square, there was room for a filing cabinet; a narrow shelf around the perimeter of the room which was piled with papers and treasures; a typewriter table; and her typing chair. The walls were covered, completely covered, with reminders, cards, photographs, and little mementos. I have some of the trinkets, some of the photographs. But more importantly, I have my own office and my own corner and my own treasures, reminders, cards, photographs, and mementos. These things remind me of events and experiences of mine, yes. But more, they remind me of my mother. I like that.

 

Okey doke. I am being called to the kitchen to decorate some cupcakes. The mother of the birthday girl told me we catered her daughter’s wedding 10 years ago. I don’t quite remember, but I’m glad we’re a part of another family event. We catered the wedding of my bookseller 22 (I think) years ago. She tells me they still talk about the food. I like that too.

 

Okay – Masterton OUT! Time to go be cupcake babe.

 

I rode 40 miles last week, which felt pretty darn good.  I have a ride planned for today, another for tomorrow and as many more as I can manage.  Fundraising continues and all is good on that front.

 

On Tuesday of this week there will be a story in the paper about Livestong at the YMCA (of Asheville) which will also talk about my bike ride.  And on Wednesday the 27th I'll be at the French Broad Wednesday market, along with some Livestrong at the YMCA of Asheville folks, to talk about that program and my ride.  The market itself is contributing to the ride (!) so do plan to shop heartily on that day, as you will be helping to expand the local Livestrong program to include more participants.