Our President came to town this week, the morning after his State of the Union Address.  (I thought about how I dozed off during his speech and slept in a bit the next morning.  He, on the other hand, gave his speech, stayed up to greet folks, got up early, flew to Asheville, and was a perky fellow all the while.  Amazing.)

 

I was invited by a friend and had a thrilling morning waiting for him to arrive.  The small audience, mostly factory workers, visited and had a good amount of time to settle in.  Folks from the factory gave the introduction and sang our National Anthem and it was all very lovely and exciting and homey.

 

And, after his speech, he made is way through the group, greeting and shaking hands.  Mine was one of them.  If it hadn't been for the cooking class I taught that night, my hand would have remained unwashed. 

 

The cooking classes are very fun for me.  And they seem to be fun for you too, so I am going to keep it going.

 

The next class will be on Wednesday, March 20 starting at 6:30.  The class is the next month's version of Cooking Local and will feature March foods from the market.  I am also going to present some things from my new book, Spring things with Spring honey and such.

 

Monday, February 18

Chicken Marbella 8.95

 

Tuesday, February 19

Portabella Wellington with Sesame Kale 8.25

 

Wednesday, February 20

Local Beef-stuffed Poblanos with Mole Sauce 8.95 (GF)

 

Thursday, February 21

Chicken Croquettes with Applesauce 8.95

 

Friday, February 22

Lemon and Ginger Salmon with Risotto 10.95

 

Casserole to go:

 

Wednesday, February 20

Whole: 32 Half: 16

 

Lasagna to go:

 

Friday, February 22

Whole: 48 Half: 24

 

Golly these classes are fun!  I mean, how many times do we have a whole day to play these days?  Go ahead, give yourself the gift of this day to sink into your creative self!

 

Alicia is a wonderful teacher and has boxes and boxes of playthings: sequins and fun hole punches and ribbons and papers AND examples of specialty folds and "engineered" cards (with things that pop out) and, well, all SORTS of things.

 

The next class is going to be on Sunday, March 24th.  We start at 10 and play until 4.  I provide lunch.  And it is REALLY fun! The class costs a mere $135.00, an incredibly reasonable amount given what you will learn.

 

To save your spot, e-mail me at laurey@charter.net

 

A tiny bit at a time, my hair is returning.  I've started venturing out of my office and out of my house without headwear.  It is still too cold to go hatless all the time, and I am still self-conscious about it, but I now almost look like I PLANNED to have short (REALLY short) hair.

 

My hair has all sorts of crazy cowlicks (that's a funny image, now isn't it?  A cow licking a head...) which are making things stick up or whirl around like a piece of modern art. 

 

You might be seeing this image around and about the cafe and shop.  It is a new version of our Vision, or North Star, the direction we try to keep in mind as we do our work here. 

 

It is our intent to:

run a profitable business where we

have really great food and service

take care of each other

take care of YOU

and take care of the Earth.

 

Our front deli case is getting a lot of visits these days.  You know we make special dinners-to-go every night and, twice a week we make a casserole or a special lasagna.  Well, we also make these things just because we feel like it at random times, cooking up things that inspire us.

 

If you are not an advance planner (I know I am not), do browse this case and see what we have to offer.  Almost all of our casseroles freeze well so if you have a small appetite, have half tonight and stick the rest away for dinner in  a couple of weeks.

 

Okay?

February 15, 2013

 

Hi.

 

As you can see, I have had quite a week! Meeting our President topped the list but the other events spun me around too. Sometimes I’m not sure I can handle much more thrill, but then something else comes in and there I go.

 

This week I got a package containing honey from the sister of a client. This honey is from Wisconsin. And I also have a jar of honey from Massachusetts on my desk. I love these gifts, these blessings from bees here and there. As I edit my book again I feel graced by the presents and presence of these distant bees who, it seems, are sending their best wishes for my book (about them) and, why not, for me too.

 

Did I tell you my oven broke? Well it did. I thought I was not doing much cooking at home so it seemed like it didn’t matter. BUT, that turned out not to be true and I actually have found myself missing cooking and missing my own food. Cereal is not such a good thing on a regular basis and it really loses its cachet when it is the only option. I’d been trying to reframe the whole thing, trying to tell myself this was a fine opportunity to replace the very basic electric oven that has been in my cabin since I bought it, 15 years ago. I found the snazziest red thing earlier this week, which is when my desire to cook kicked in in such a big way. The snazzy thing, however, was quite expensive, and involved waiting 6 weeks at least and figuring out how to get it from Canada to my house and off the truck and into my kitchen. In the meantime I’d been scouting the local stores in search of something. Well yesterday I retraced my steps in these local spots and, knowing that I did NOT want to wait 6 more weeks, I signed on the dotted line and will have a nice new cooking instrument soon.

 

Whew!

 

I’m almost finished editing my cookbook for the final time. The next time I see it, it will actually look like a real book. Holy moly! This week I sent out notes to some colleagues and friends, asking for their blessings for the book. The publicist (!!!) is now sending out advance copies of the book to these folks who will send back their comments which will grace the cover of the final book or will appear in publicity. I’m beginning to dream about how to spread the word about this book when it comes out in the early fall. I’m setting up dinners around the country, dinners featuring honey and recipes from the book. FUN! And, amazingly enough, I’ve been asked to start thinking about the NEXT book! Spin, spin, spin!!!

 

The JOYride planning is in high gear. We have many plans – a special dinner with special guests (stay tuned on that one), a big group of “Honorary Co-Chairs” who are putting all sorts of details in action. At each meeting someone shows up with some new, extraordinary piece of publicity or sponsorship information or something that is so amazing to me. It is really happening and I am really hopeful that we will make a big difference in helping more people participate in the LIVEstrong at the YMCA of Asheville, a terrific program for cancer survivors.

 

Fortunately through this all, my pup has a very modest view of me, which keeps the spinning in control instead of OUT of control. She is thrilled to see me every day, but her thrill involves a demand for petting or insistence that I toss the remnants of the latest ripped up toy for her. She is also endlessly patient with me, accepting with no protest MY insistence on a nap or my reneging on my promise to take her for a walk. As long as we are together, she is okay. And as long as she is with me, I am okay too. No spinning. Just quiet, calm ease.

 

And this week I start the next to the last of my treatments. Fingers crossed.

 

I got this picture from my LIVEstrong mentor this morning.  Looks like LIVEstrong has picked up this image and is using it around and about, on the web page, on their Facebook page, and this time at a "Marathon Expo." 

 

I get to go to Chicago soon to learn more about being a LIVEstrong Leader, as you know.  And our JOYride for LIVEstrong at the YMCA of Asheville is coming along too. Sunday, May 19th.