W/E September 29 Equinox Changes

This past Sunday marked the first day of autumn—the Equinox—the day where the sun is visible and invisible for equal amounts of time. While the true colors of autumn are yet a month away, the harvests are winding down, and we adapt to shorter periods of  visible light or around here known as "can't see to can't see". I can feel the inner stirrings I get this time of year. This has always been my prime time of year for doing art shows and being on the road. It is like an itch I don't get to scratch.

Instead I'll channel my wandering energies toward a new piece of art and creative ideas in the food line-up. I was delightfully surprised by how well the tilapia salad with curry vinaigrette went last week. Last Friday night we sold out of both the trout with dijon sauce and the Greek moussaka. Fortunately, as the fall progresses our number of diners is picking back up and hopefully this will be a weekly occurrence.

We've got some wonderful music lined up this week with a Linda Stoffel and Dennis Crider—both from Blackberry Winter Band. Any members of that band have consistently packed the house and we expect that to happen again this week. Other members of the band may join them, but so far, these are promised. Dennis' awesome guitar picking and Linda's Songbird voice are well loved in these parts. Reservations are pretty well the only guarantee you'll get in. So don't mess around—get your reservation in early. While you are doing so, did you know you can call in and reserve your dinner entree? This is especially important on the seafood entrée as we have only 16 servings for the week. Entrée information is listed a few paragraphs down

If you are a fan of Renée Wood's After Hours Big Band, come listen Thursday evening this week. They will play in the Annex. If you want the full dose of big band, you can sit close by. If you wish the sound to be more background, we'll seat you in the main dining room. We close the doors between the rooms as the intensity of the big band can carry you away...in a good way.

The seafood entrée this week is crab-stuffed sole paupiettes with our fall potatoes (mashed with gouda and peppadew peppers), eggplant parmesan with fresh mozzarella, and a salad of microgreens, radishes, pears, walnuts and blue cheese with a mustard vinaigrette. Paupiettes are made by stuffing lengths of sole fillet with the crabmeat, then rolling them up and cooking in a stock. The result is a tender, flavorful roulade (rolled meat). The sole will be topped with a white wine sauce (Sauce Vin Blanc). It is a very elegant dish from Normandy France. On the plate, I am stuffing some of Mary's lovely small eggplants, adding in those seasonal potatoes (which are getting rave reviews) and a pear and blue cheese salad. Perfect for fall. $16.99

The Flavor journey is apple and bacon stuffed pork chops. I'll be using some fresh local sage to season the stuffing as well as local apples plus apple-smoked bacon. As there is no bread in the stuffing, it is lighter than many stuffed pork chops. There will be a pan sauce using the stuffing that doesn't fit in the chops to which I'll add a bit of white wine. This will be drizzled over the top. We'll plate it with our seasonal potatoes and seasonal stir-fry. $14.99 I'll have about 12 servings for the week. Another perfectly timed fall dish.

The Autumnal Equinox Salad returns this week. It starts with a base of romaine, then topped with a combination of arugula and spinach, feta, chopped fresh pear and apple, red onion, wood-fired chicken, pomegranate, walnuts and served with a hot bacon dressing. For many, this is a declared favorite on the menu. We'll have it until late December when things change with the Solstice.

Also returning this week are soups. This first week I have Roasted Poblano-Cheddar Soup made with fresh local poblano chilies, sharp cheddar cheese, chicken broth, cream, tomatoes and onions.  We usually take turns from week to week with our choices. As always variety, rather than predictability combined with local availability dictate the whim of our choosing.

You may already know this, but occasionally there is some confusion regarding Monday's lunch. First of all, we serve our entire lunch menu each day. We feature a meatless special on Monday that has a strong vegetarian following. Since I am often still working on the rest of the week's menu and blog, I can seldom post it beyond the Facebook listing for the day. You are encouraged to come in on Mondays whether you are vegetarian or not. We are lucky to have such talented vegetarians on our staff who can present a wide variety of dishes. I have gotten to taste more vegetarian dishes in the last three months than I have eaten in my entire life. Good for us all.

Come Wednesday I'll have some pumpkin crepes for dessert. The crepes themselves have the pumpkin. They are filled with a sweetened cream cheese and topped with a warm praline sauce and chopped pecans. $6. Holy moly.

Now here are this week's lunches~~

Monday~ Portabella pizzas with feta, spinach ,garlic and tomato plus side salad $7.59
Tuesday~ Equinox Salad~ romaine, spinach, arugula, chopped pear and apple, feta, red onion, wood-fired chicken, pomegranate and walnuts with hot bacon dressing. Normally $7.59; today $7.39
Wednesday~Chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice $7.79
Thursday~Lasagna Bolognese  with side salad. Traditional lasagna. $7.79
Friday~ Pork Estofado with side salad. A traditional Filipino pork stew (estofado means stew) that includes tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. $7.79

I hope you are able to take a few moments to slow down and notice the very beginnings of the change of seasons. The colors are not here yet, but the delicate air, light as a feather, foretells the advent of autumn. Now if we can just have a bit fewer allergies to go with it. So far, so good.

~~Susan

Taking time to enjoy the change of seasons

Well, it is official. Spring has definitely begun in the Ozarks.The fruit trees have arrived in the Wal-Mart and feed store parking lots. Soon to follow will be the big bales of peat moss and then the flats of early veggies like cabbage, onions, spinach and kale. Can you feel the energy building? Just like the trees and flowers, it seems we allow the excitement to build to that crescendo that marks the first truly warm weekend. We are still a few weeks away from that explosion but the path has been laid out and the kernel of excitement planted.

Last weekend we had the Filipino Flavor Excursion. Twenty lucky folks were taken for a dining adventure that included 10 courses, 5 wines and lots of new flavor combinations. I have written a full report that you can read separately, if you wish. I haven't uploaded it to the website yet, but I will. The next Flavor Excursion is planned for a weekend in June and will feature the foods of Morocco. I have already begun preserving the lemons and searching for an appropriate tent-like solution.

Starting NEXT week we will be open for lunch on Mondays. Amy and Drew will be manning the cafe along with Vincent. Amy, who has a strong background in vegetarian fare, will begin introducing Meatless Monday specials. If you know a few vegetarians, this might be a good time to invite them to join you for lunch. The full regular lunch menu will be available as usual, it is just that the special will be vegetarian and often even vegan. I am excited about this expansion as it will broaden our exposure to an new audience plus it doesn't involve more work on my part. Yippee!!!!

I am excited that we suddenly have access to a wider seafood selection. Though frozen, these fish options are much more readily available and don't require a 25-30 pound minimum purchase in order to access. I'll still be keeping my eye on the sourcing, quality, additives and sustainability. We'll still bring in fresh seafood on a fairly regular basis but we can keep other fish more available for weekly consumption. I'll always designate the fresh as being fresh from the boats. This week for dinner, we will have 8 oz cod baked in packets with wild mushroom sauce and bok-choy with snow peas and garlic. $13.99. Available Wed- Fri.

Lamb, anyone? While exploring dishes for the Filipino dinner I found a recipe for a Malaysian lamb dish~~ Vindaloo Lamb. It combines flavors of Portugal, China and the Islands- such is the melange of Malaysia. It has chilis, ginger, shallots, garlic, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds plus vinegar in the braise. {My reference is a book entitled A Spoonful of Ginger, and it credits cumin seed with removing impurities from the blood and increasing milk production while nursing. It goes on to say that if you have a skin rash you can boil 3 tablespoons of cumin seeds with 1 cup of water and add it to bath water for relief. You can get bulk cumin seeds at Meadowbrook Health Foods and likely at JB's Healthmart, as well.} Back to dinner...we'll have the lamb and serve it with rice and bok-choy stir-fried with snow peas and garlic. Available From Tues.- Fri $14.99.

Here's this week's lunch specials~~

All week~ Winter Solstice Salad ~ Spinach, arugula, red onion, feta, red grapefruit sections, orange sections, pomegranate, almonds, avocado, and chicken with an orange vinaigrette. Usually $7.59- this week $7.25

Tuesday~ Teri-yaki chicken with jasmine rice, stir-fried bok-choy, snow peas, swiss chard and garlic plus cup of miso soup $7.99
Wednesday~ Sirloin steak salad ~~ Romaine, arugula, feta, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber topped with slices of medium rare sirloin steak and our oriental sesame dressing $7.99
Thursday~ Chicken mole tacos on corn tortillas with guac, salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips $7.99
Friday~ Crab and Avocado Salad with Japanese Dressing $7.99

All right, Kids! I am ready to dive into the week. Let's make it a happy one! Thanks for being along for the ride.

~~Susan