Things are heating up! But cooler inside....

If this photo looks familiar, then you have been one of our customers for a year now. August 3rd we celebrate being open, working from the food trailer, for a year. During that time we have come a long way. What hasn't changed is our committment to using local fresh produce whenever we can. Although we are now doing enough business to benefit from ordering from food purveyors, they can seldom provide local fresh produce. When they finally can, so can our local suppliers. Guess which one we lean toward.

Some of the lessons learned have been hard for one who had very little access to training of any kind. In the trailer Jon and I were able to handle most things fairly easily. We went home tired but satisfied. A week after opening in our current location, I realized I could not add in daily specials if we limited the workload to the two of us. Enter Bruce Carr. He brings many, many years of experience in the industry and really knows his stuff. Through him I have been able to expand my understanding of menu planning and standard restaurant techniques. Of course, I have to do things my way, so sometimes I am sure he just shakes his head. We value his input and consider him a strong part of what we've become. Thank you, Bruce!

This is my second time to write this post as my computer didn't save it the first time. So I'm shortening things a bit. I'll jump right into entertainment this Friday. We have Emily Higgins joining us. She is a very talented singer/songwriter from Springfield. You may have heard her radio show on NPR Sunday nights—Under the Mulberry Tree. Her lilting voice is perfect for her tunes which range from folk to country to bluegrass. She plays both guitar and mandolin. We are VERY excited to have her perform for us. Hopefully, we'll have a good-sized audience come out to hear her. If we want to be able to bring in talent from out of town we need to make it worthwhile for all. There is no cover, but we hope you'll join us for dinner. See menu choices at end of this post. Reservations ARE filling up so please let us know as soon as possible. If the demand is there early enough to respond, we might be able to use the space next door as well. Emily will be selling her CDs and have a tip jar so you can show her your appreciation.

We know it can get rather warm when the room is filled. We've added 3 fans to keep the air moving and hope that will help keep it cool. We want you comfortable. But feel free to dress casually.

Let's talk about the menu this week—
All week I am serving the Spinach Salad with wood-fired chicken at $1 off. We have great spinach, great red peppers and lots of lovely feta. $4.99 + $1.49
Tamale Tuesday just got more interesting. Bruce is making elk tamales with a pureed pumpkin sauce and wild rice with mixed berries. Yum! $6.25
Wednesday we'll have the Thai chicken pasta salad served over a spinach base. I have served this several times and it always gets pretty rave reviews. It is light but filling. $6.25
Thursday another favorite, Thai chicken lettuce wraps with a ginger sauce and rice. You get two. $6.25
Friday we are doing a rustic chicken taco made with the wood-fired chicken. You get two. $6.25

Right now we have access to terrific fresh produce. Customers are bringing me interesting cucumbers, herbs, squashes and have teased me with beets. I am thrilled to have access to it all.  Soon we'll have berries and peaches and I am really looking forward to that. Last week I finally bought an ice cream maker and have been combining fresh desserts with in-house made ice cream. Last week I did a praline almond ice cream served over an apple pie and topped with my almond praline. In the freezer I have a toasted pinon ice cream I'll serve with a special cookie that is the state cookie for New Mexico. I am planning on also experimenting with freshly made soda drinks. I have a soda siphon and I plan to learn how to use it. At some point I am hoping to make our own ginger ale. Oh— speaking of ginger, my favorite ice cream is ginger. I'll make that to accompany the Thai dishes.

Friday dinners—All are served with a fresh salad that includes heirloom cucumbers
a) Pan-seared rainbow trout with cous-cous and fresh corn fritters $12
b) Herb crusted Cornish hen, corn fritters and fresh local green beans $12
c) Cous-cous stuffed red peppers, zucchini fritters and green beans $10

Plan now to join us—the cafe phone number is 417-505-0302
Next week we'll figure out how we'll celebrate being open for a year. Woohoo!!!!You make us what we are. Thank you.