Weekending January 12,2013 Off and running!

Well the New Year started with a bang and we are back at it. No matter how much time we get "off" it never seems enough. Don't get me wrong—I love what we are doing. But the energy commitment is fierce.

I've been reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Each brings a  perspective that is both intriguing and spooky. Not personally having been professionally trained as a chef, I am sure I have missed out on many of the "tricks" in the industry both good and bad. It has opened my eyes to some of the decisions we face in making menu choices as well as the means of walking the fine line in serving food based on personal moral choices. There are now many genetically modified foods out there that have had little testing and virtually no labeling. The closer to home we source our foods, the better chance we have of asking the producer what they feed their stock, what environment the animals were raised in and how they were butchered. I'd like to continue focusing on providing food that can be tracked from the farm or boat to your plate because I know who produced it. I am especially pleased with the volume of  local produce and eggs we are able to acquire. I wish all of it was from local sourcing. This last year's drought took its toll on the farmers in the area and without exception I have heard stories of super high feed costs, drought-affected livestock, plants that stopped growing and weary workers. We are hopeful for the new year bringing more compassionate weather for all.

We'll keep searching for locally raised meats, eggs, poultry and produce. We'll also work to keep our prices within reason. Were we in the Northeast, the Northwest, or even in larger regional cities, we could charge and get much higher prices for what we are producing. We are fortunate in that some of our costs are not as high as those areas demand. But we pay the same amount for our food costs and utilities as any restaurant in a larger city. We save in areas of rent, insurance, and payroll.

I mentioned in my last blog about the Flavor Excursions. We are planning four seasonal events of this kind. The first will be based on Filipino cuisine. I thought tropical might inspire you. I have recently purchased 2 cookbooks whose focus is entirely on foods from the Philippines. Much of the flavors originate from 400 years of Spanish rule and therefore have some similar foundations we find in Latino foods, with additional influences from China, Japan and Malaysia. The foods from that region are very fragrant and flavorful, utilizing an abundance of fresh coconut, limes, tamarind, ginger, palm sugar, local seafood, poultry and pork. I am currently researching out several sources of ingredients for this multi-course feast. The plan is to start fairly small by limiting the number of reservations for this event to about 20. As each diner will use several dishes, more than that and we have to start buying a lot more plates, dishes, glassware, etc. My plan is to pair each course with an appropriate alcoholic beverage or local fresh drink. As I am still researching I won't figure the price yet. I should know within the next 2 weeks all the pertinent data. We are looking at doing this Saturday, February 23rd. I am expecting the cost to be in the range of $60/person, which includes the paired wines, etc. You'll be able to get that here without the cost of filling your gas tank and traveling 3-5 hours each way as you would have to do if indulging in such a feast in St. Louis or Kansas City—if you could find such a thing. We're planning on making it a full-immersion experience with appropriate tablescapes, native music and even encourage you to come wearing native costumes. Here's a link to what people wear in the Philippines. http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/culture6.htm. I hope you think this will be as much fun as I do—a chance to explore the world around us without even having to leave town or find a pet sitter. My intention is to use the foods to introduce an understanding of the people, the culture and the cuisine. If you know someone who has access to a digital projector, I'd like to use it to include some images as background information. We'll start taking reservations for this event this week.

While your personal home garden may be currently dormant, the greenhouse at Maranatha Farm is full of green stuff. This is the time of year to enjoy the oriental greens such a mizuna and tatsoi as well as other various sturdy greens like Swiss Chard and arugula. I love incorporating them into my nightly stir-fries.We're keeping alive our various fresh herbs like rosemary, parsley, chives, thyme and curry plant by over-wintering them inside. They look a bit scrappy right now, but still useful. We certainly look forward to spring when we'll have local access to fresh spinach, peas, dill, lettuces, etc.

If you are one of the lucky folks who occasionally take in a steer to be butchered, could you please have the processor hold back the leg bones and perhaps the tails? I prefer to make our own stock and demi-glace. Since most of the local processors sell off their bones to dog food processors, I am having a tough time getting any. Done right, the bones are roasted to develop flavor and color and are then cooked with various veggies and herbs; then allowed to develop flavor intensity by boiling down the broth into a true stock. Fortunately this doesn't need to be done weekly; just several times per year and then frozen in batches. As one who has a vested interest in the quality and flavors we produce, I hope you can help us out.

A note about our "specials"— in the restaurant industry specials are often used to offload less-than-fresh foods before they go to waste. In our case they are menu items created especially for that day, or in the case of the evening meals, dishes that are being prepared only during that week and will be gone.

This week~~

Soup~ Texas style red chili

Lunch specials~
Tuesday~ Winter solstice salad $6.99
Wednesday~ Chicken pad Thai $7.25
Thursday~ Pork tamales with salsa verde and Spanish rice $7.25
Friday~ Chicken pot pie and side salad $7.50

Dinner specials~
Flavor Journey~ Roasted lamb ribs with rosemary; fresh spinach and garlic with jasmine rice. Served with soup or side salad. Note! only about 4 servings total. $11.99 Come early in week.
Seafood~ Pecan-crusted tilapia, fresh spinach and garlic with jasmine rice. Served with soup or salad. $12.99

Thank you for being a part of our weekly business. We appreciate how much you support our efforts to bring you real, unadulterated food. We depend on your word-of-mouth sharing to help us grow. We also appreciate and expect your telling us how we are doing, both good and when not so. We know we have one shot to make a good first impression and hope we live up to your standards while expanding your palate.

~~Susan