w/e May 11 Staying Alive!

As each day passes we often wonder what the future holds for us. We've seen the years pass by so quickly. We were astonished to realize that our two grandsons are now 14 and 10 respectively. The elder even has a girlfriend. As they live in Florida we have missed whopping chapters in their lives over the last 13 years we have lived here. Decisions were made to be near my parents as they aged and though I don't regret that decision, it has left us missing out on some great kids. We have missed as much from our granddaughters' lives, as well. I hope over the next few years we are able to spend more time with our own kids as well as theirs. In the meantime, we live vicarious lives enjoying the positive efforts of those physically closest to us. Ashley Romans has been our primary waitperson on Friday nights for over a year. She is astounding in her ability to conquer new tasks and always have a terrific attitude. Somehow, while juggling being the mother of 4 kids under 10 she has managed to go back to school and is getting her RN next week. We are so proud of her and hope these new skills find her doing something that satisfies her and feeds her soul. The medical field is going to be a lucky one. Ashley will be with us off and on over the summer but by fall she'll be working full-time in her new career. We hope you have a chance to give her your warmest wishes for a bright future. Ashley, you will be very missed.

I am thinking this may be the week we have all been waiting for. The weather forecast looks promising for a more moderate range of temperatures and it may finally be safe to risk putting out those warm weather plants. With the soil barely warm, it may be awhile until we see those seeds sprouting and plants in the ground thriving. It would be nice if this meant we'd have a cooler than normal summer. But we know better than to expect that. No doubt in the next  two weeks we'll be experiencing warmer than normal temps to bookend the cooler than normal temps. Aaah. The Ozarks.

We have music twice this week. Thursday night the After Hours Big Band will play in our Annex. The band loves to play in that room because the acoustics are really good for their sound. If you love big band you'll enjoy the full immersion experience. If that is a bit much for you, you may still enjoy the sound from the next room in our main dining room. Friday night brings The Renée Woods Trio with jazz guitar, saxophone and drums. It is helpful to us if you call in a reservation.

Garden update: We finally have a few tires set up in back and this week I'll get some dirt in them. I had hoped to get a rain barrel set up to help us water out back...but it hasn't happened yet. I am grateful that I wasn't terribly ready to plant things as the weather has proven less than cooperative. Finally, procrastination pays.  The first things to go in will be the fast growers—lettuces, if not too late, radishes and peas. I am harvesting some spring onions from my home garden—or what is left of it. Mary has begun bringing in the new late spring crops of arugula, pak soy, and some other greens I am quickly becoming familiar with. I love being able to change up the stir-fry as the seasons move along. We'll be adding in some sugar snap peas over the next few weeks along with fresh local garlic and garlic scapes. Scapes are those long skinny things sticking out of the tops of soft garlic. They are somewhere between a flower, a stem and a seed pod.  We got in some ginormous carrots that we are slicing micro-thin and adding to the stir-fry and the sweet red peppers have been outstanding lately.

This week's special sandwich has been a while in arriving. I finally found some decent quality tuna steaks that we are wood-firing and then making into a tuna salad. I'll chop the meat up, add a bit of wasabi oil, mayonnaise, pickled relish, spicy mustard, sriracha and serve it  with sprouts, slivered cabbage, and tomato slices on ciabatta rolls.  $7.79 with side.

I am bringing back the beef rendang this week as the Flavor journey. When I made it the other two times customers were quite vocal in how much they enjoyed it. It is Malaysian dish that is pretty darn kicky in its spiciness. Just as chicken mole takes lots of steps and uses lots of fresh and dried spices and herbs, this dish is quite involved. It begins with a flavor base of dried chiles, fresh shallots, garlic and ginger and even some  galangal which is a root, like ginger, but spicier. Then it gets a whole spice blend of cloves, cardamom, anise and cinnamon. THEN it gets a ground spice blend of coriander, cumin, fennel and turmeric. The beef I am using for the rendang is flank steak. The rendang itself is cooked in coconut milk, a tamarind concentrate, limes, lemongrass, brown sugar, cilantro and even fresh coconut. The outcome is a stew-like, very flavorful but tender beef dish that will transport you to another world. It is served over jasmine rice and paired with our seasonal stir-fry. $15.99 includes a side salad

The seafood is a lovely mixture of shrimp, scallops, sugar snap peas, shitake mushrooms, and shallots and sherry. Six S's. I'll serve it over a bed of lemony pasta made with lemon zest and lemon juice. It should be a really nice celebration of spring. $14.99.

Now for the lunches~
Monday~grilled portabella panini with artichoke tapenade $6.99
Tuesday~ all week actually~ wood-fired tuna sandwich on ciabatta $7.79 with side
Wednesday~Ceviche~Rockfish, shrimp and scallops marinated with lemon and lime, cilantro, fresh peppers, cucumber, garlic and scallions. Served on a bed of chopped romaine and sprouts with tortilla chips. $7.99
Thursday~Smoked sausage with garlic potatoes and steamed cabbage $7.59
Friday~ Pasta with fresh asparagus, ham, mushrooms, kalamata olives and parmesan with side salad $7.99

I hope this week finds you with a moment of time on your hands to get out and enjoy the weather we have been hoping for. Extroverting with a walk around the block can do more for your frame of mind than most anything else. Get out of your head and into the environment. Most of all—enjoy just being alive.

~~Susan