We survived! Celebrating Normalcy

I have a new appreciation for my last major piece of art. It is entitled "Celebrating Normalcy." It addresses the return to a normal life after a crisis. We didn't have a crisis, but we did have a week of crazy schedules, new challenges and several accomplishments. Whew! Glad that is behind us. The group we were providing meals to was the National Audio Theater Festivals. We served dinner Sunday night and breakfasts Monday through Friday. They were absolutely delightful to work with and seemed to appreciate what we offered.
But now we can once again focus on providing good food to you—our main customer base. Thank you for your patience while we lept tall buildings.

I am so excited. The garlic is in and it is time to celebrate! If you have only had the garlic made available from the grocery stores, you have missed one of the all-time greatest flavor journeys. Really fresh garlic has an impact that can only be described as luscious—at least to me. I'll be using lots in the coming couple of weeks plus I'll be making and have available for purchase fresh garlic jelly. As a finish for meats, it is one of my favorites. I am particularily fond of mixing sweet and savory with meats—applesauce with pork, cranberry with turkey or ham, strawberry chipotle jam with pork chops, etc. You should see some dishes featuring the garlic in the next couple of weeks.

Also, Mary and Skip Badiny are supplying bountious amounts of fresh basil. You may already know that we make our own pesto for the Chicken Pesto Sandwich. Well, I'll also be making extra amounts and packaging them for sale. They will be available as long as we have a ready weekly supply. If you enjoy pasta with fresh pesto or using pesto as a sandwich spread, I invite you to stock up. It freezes well and can be used a tablespoon at a time.

The line-up for the next few weeks for Friday night entertainment should be fabulous! This week we have open mic and already have Mark Johnson, CD Scott, Eli Johnson and Gordon Johnston playing a set plus Matt Meacham will play a set of traditional old-time music plus a few tunes of his own creation. He let us listen to his CD and it was really good. We may also have a few surprise players. The following week (the  8th) will feature Sean McCormick. You heard him play guitar and mandolin with Swiftkick a few weeks ago. This time he'll be playing solo. The 15th, Jon returns playing the fabulous tunes of the Great American Songbook. Laid-back and easy, he's a soft finish to a long week. The 22nd brings Tom and Renee back with their jazz duo of saxophone and guitar. They already have a nice following and we always look forward to their return. Back in West Plains for the first time in several years, Singer/songwriter Emily Higgins takes the stage on the 29th. She had garnered a strong following when she played the Yellow House Community Arts Center. From Springfield, Emily hosts a Sunday night show on the NPR affiliate in Springfield KSMU. Do not miss this performance! You will kick yourself if you do! We need to show a strong support for out-of-town talent if we want to attract more. Hear her sound at www.emilyhiggins.com. Then call for reservations! 505-0302

Who else would you like to hear? Let us know!

This week's food celebrates the current harvest of garlic, basil, tomatoes, snow peas, cabbage, eggplant, zucchini and peppers.
Monday~Summer Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce plus an Asian slaw. Very light, very summery. these are the Thai/Vietnamese rolls wrapped in rice paper. $6.25
Tuesday~ Chicken Cordon Bleu Tamales~ Bruce has done it again, stuffing the tamales with chicken and ham and covering them with a swiss cheese sauce. Zowie! $6.25
Wednesday~ Celebrating the tomatoes and fresh basil, Bruce is doing a Panzanella Salad. this traditional Italian salad uses our bread to soak up the juices from the tomatoes and  dressing. Major flavor in a dinner-sized salad. $6.25
Thursday~ Pesto Pizza with smoked portabellas, fresh onions, basil and tomatoes plus mozzarella. Comes with a Caprese salad—the tradtional Italian salad that celebrates fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. $6.75
Friday~Elk Burgers! They are back. We woodfire them for a smokey flavor and serve on our Roman bun with a carmelized onion/chipotle cream sauce, lettuce and tomato. Served with chips. $7.50

Friday night~ A) Chicken Kiev-chicken breast stuffed with an herbed butter sauce, garlic/parsley potatoes, Caprese Salad $12 B) Asian Shrimp Pasta with Summer rolls and fire cracker bean curd $12
C) Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagna with Caprese Salad $10

Thanks for being the inspiration that got us through a happy but grueling week. We are so grateful for your patronage and look forward to exploring new flavors with you.