Summer's end: autumn's return

This week marks the equinox when the days and nights are equally long. Hard to believe those excruciatingly hot days are finally behind us. And finally we are getting some rain. The mums are happy and the herbs, as well. We'll have the doors open and the AC off. Last week was a record week in several ways. We had three "highest evers" in one week. Tuesday and Thursday had highest ever lunches. Friday was a highest ever full day. I just love hearing the sound of happy chatter on those days.  The sound of the slapping wood screen door brings back memories of childhood—memories of running around barefoot all summer.

We took my Mom to see "The Help" on Sunday. What an exquisitely written story. Having grown up in the South, I was young enough to be at the tail end of the period of this kind of treatment. While I know there were those attitudes around me, I gratefully, never witnessed it myself. I am delighted to see the movie made and even more proud that West Plains' Glass Sword cinema has had it running for 3 weeks. Hopefully, it has been a financial success for them, but as a social-justice-type person, I am just thrilled to see a message, as such, getting out. Hats off!!!!!

The change in weather has ushered in a new season of soups. Bruce kicked things off twice last week with his famous French Onion Soup and followed it up with a three cheese Italian soup. The TINY bit I got to taste was terrific. It disappeared REAL fast.

I am looking forward to the first pomegranates of the season as well as the first winter squashes. We have had several requests for a winter squash soup so it will be in the line up as soon as I see them available. My white chicken chili will be making a comeback later this week. Today I have lentil soup made with farmer produced sausage that has no nitrates. Full of lentils, carrots, garlic and onion, it is one of the most flavorful soups and filling, too.

Monday I have a very tasty shrimp poblano quiche—Mexican, seafood, eggs and cheese all wrapped up in one dish. There are lots of shrimp in it. $6.50 with fruit or potato salad/$8.00 with a side salad.

Tuesday Bruce steps up with his hand-built tamales. This time he tackles gumbo. Phil Wages brought in some lovely okra and that will be the star in that dish. Chicken gumbo tamales with dirty rice. Should be an interesting flavor combination. So far his experiments in tamales have produced some fine results. Go Bruce! Go! $6.50

Wednesday Enchiladas Cremosas de Pollo—translates to creamy chicken enchiladas. Rick Bayless of Frontera fame in Chicago has shared this recipe and I love it. I'm pretty sure you will, too. I'll serve it with a fennel-apple slaw and Spanish rice. Reminder: If you see a special on the list you want, call in that morning and we'll save you a serving. I only make 8-10 servings of each special, so they go fast.
$6.50

Thursday Bruce will take over the pizza game with sweet Italian sausage pizzas topped with fresh tomatoes, onions and cheese. They'll be served with a side salad. $7

Friday lunch will be Curried turkey and couscous salad with dried cranberries. This will be a hearty salad that will fill you up quite well. Served with a cranberry nut muffin. $6.50

Friday night this week brings the return of the Renee Wood Trio. They play swinging jazz on saxophone, guitar and drums. We often fill the house when they join us, so reservations are strongly advised.
The seafood entree~Bruce will marinate tuna in red miso and then sear it. It'll be served with wakame salad and a sushi roll. $12
The meat entree~ Lemon Moroccan chicken with couscous. Served with a chunky cucumber/ feta  salad $12
The vegetarian entree~Roasted root veggies with grilled polenta. Served with a veggie-loaded salad. $10

It should be a good week for dining al fresco if the rain holds off during lunch-time. I look forward to hearing the door slap as you join us. Welcome in the fall with us. See ya~~

~~Susan

Satisfaction!

Last week ended on a very satisfying note. Despite a roller coaster that was nearly as crazy as last week's stock market, we ended the week in good shape. The response to the fresh Coho salmon we flew in was very exciting. I am pretty sure everyone enjoyed their dinners. This is very encouraging and we'll plan on getting in fresh seafood once a month, for now. As far as I know, we are the only place within 100 miles to serve FRESH seafood. Your support and expanded palates allow this option. We have access to docks on all the coasts. If I know you have a hankering for a particular variety of fish, I can know what to look for. A few people have let us know that they'd be happy to participate in a co-op buy. This would allow us to reach that 25 pound minimum more readily. If you are a fresh seafood fan and want to be able to participate either as a consumer of seafood or purchase it as it comes from the dock, let me know!!!

We seldom give up our days off as they are so vital to our re-juvenation. But we made an exception for Blackberry Winter's CD release party on Sunday. What a lovely affair. It was wonderful to hear them in person. Boy! Are they polished! Great support by the community, too. I think there were in excess of 50 folks out to hear them and purchase their new CD. We are so proud of them and delighted they chose our venue for their party. We are trying to see if we can book them for a Friday night. Would you like that?

The menu this week will be fairly simple. On Monday I have Peri-peri. That is a South African dish. It begins with oven roasted chicken breasts. I chopped and sauteed them with onions and peppers and eggplant. This is mixed with a sauce that begins with apricot jam. So it has a bit of a sweet side. But the Peri-peri is actually a small bird chili that can be extremely hot. Fortunately it is used in a very small dose. The flavor is somewhat sweet and spicy leaning toward hot without the burn. This is served over egg noodles. It is probably not traditional with the noodles but was the direction I took it. I'll serve it with a side salad.

Tuesday Bruce will be building his tamales using the wood-fired chicken that Jon does so well. He'll top them with salsa verde and an avocado puree. One of our customers brought us tomatillas—to our delight! You gotta have tomatillas for authentic salsa verde. Those are the things that look kinda like green tomatoes with little paper bags on the outside. They also look a bit like a Chinese lantern. Mexican wouldn't be Mexican without this vital fruit. They will be served with a side of black bean frijoles.

Wednesday I'll make another lettuce wrap. This time the dish is "Singapore noodles in lettuce wrap." The rice noodles carry the flavors of the Orient along with strings of carrots. This should be a tasty as well as fun dish to eat. Lots of fresh while getting the fill of the noodles and the spice of Asia.

Thursdays, the pizzas have gone quite well. I have a fresh batch of both portabellas we will smoke and shitakes we can serve fresh. We get those locally from Willow Mountain Mushrooms in Tecumseh. I'll top the pesto base with fresh onion, smoked sausage and lots of mushrooms and mozzarella. This is my personal favorite combination.

Friday lunch will feature pork chops topped with garlic jelly. I did a similar dish in June using the strawberry/chipotle jelly. This time I'll use my garlic jelly to season it. This jelly is made with Maranatha Farm's organic garlic. I'll pair the pork chop with garlic/ parsley potatoes and a side salad. Just the right size for lunch. The jelly is also available for purchase so you can use it at home or as gifts. $4/ 4oz or $7/ 8oz.

Friday night—
First of all, Renee Wood and Tom Rowley will be playing their sweet jazz numbers on saxophone and guitar. They always pack the house—so get your reservation in early.

The seafood entrée will be roasted red pepper pasta topped with fresh tomatoes and salmon. The salmon (frozen but from the batch we flew in) will be wood-fired and chopped. The red pepper sauce begins with fresh red peppers that are fire-roasted and peeled, then chopped and sauteed with garlic and onion. Then the mixture is blended with cream cheese and parmesan for a rich sauce. The fresh tomatoes will give it the signature finish for the season.  All will be served over a penne pasta that hugs the sauce. A side salad will accompany the dish. $12

The meat entrée will be chicken with mango and coconut. It has lots of coconut milk, lemon grass, ginger, shredded coconut and dried mango. Served over jasmine rice this Thai dish will feature less heat and lots of tropical flavor. You can kick up the heat with some Sarachi or habanero sauce. A side salad will start and fresh pineapple will accompany. $12

The vegetarian entrée will feature the Hatch chilis now in season. I'll be doing a Raja relleno dish that uses fire-roasted Hatch chiles combined with cheddar and cotija cheeses to make a thick casserole. This will be served with slices of fresh tomatoes (they are at their best right now), black bean frijoles and a side salad. $10

Bruce will be diving in with his luscious desserts and I'll plan to make the decadent white chocolate cheesecake by mid-week.

We hope your summer is going well. We know this is a busy time of year for many with school starting back up and many extra activities. Please remember we are here cooking up our best. Perhaps you could schedule a planning session around a leisurely lunch. If you are in a hurry, remember you can call in your order and we'll have it ready—for eat-in or take-out.

Have a glorious week—
Susan