W/E November 2nd Spooky things are happening! Cue the GARLIC!

By all accounts this is going to be another fast-paced week. Starting with the World Series, then add in Halloween shenanigans with candy being handed out on the Square and down Main St. Then we have an awesome new group playing Friday night, as well as the Stroll on the Square and Gail Rowley's nature photography exhibition and reception. So let's look at them all.

The World Series will happen with or without us. So I am not going to put much attention there—except to make sure I record any game while we aren't home to watch it.

Thursday is The Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival. It is all about handing out tons of candy to marauding hooligans in strange attire. Amber handed out over $50 in candy last year in under an hour. We'll be ready. The festival covers not only the Square and merchants but also goes along West Main Street to the Methodist Church where even more candy awaits.

Friday is the Stroll on the Square aka the Art Walk. This time we are featuring nature photographer, Gail Rowley. You may have seen some of her note cards in local shops. She and her husband, Tom, live near Willow Springs. As a long-time member of the Missouri Stream Team Project and current efforts in prairie restoration, Gail sees first-hand what our area needs to keep nature in its pristine condition.  Her nature photography has the ability to pull you in and focus your eyes on the beauty around us in this lovely unique habitat we call the Ozarks. We invite you to celebrate with us Friday night.

Also happening Friday night is a duo Jon heard 2 weeks ago at the Taste of Missouri. This exceptional duo is made up of Beci (pronounced like Becky) and Kent Coffey. They hail from Yellville, AR. Beci plays stand-up bass and does the vocals and Kent plays jazz guitar. Jon was highly impressed and persuaded them that we have a strong listening audience. We hope you'll make a point of stopping in to listen and hopefully, join us for dinner. The last two strolls were quite busy. We strongly encourage you to make reservations! We now have our full staff back in place, so service should go a bit more smoothly. Thank you for your patience previously. Oy!

Our Flavor Journey this week originates in Catalonia, Spain which has long been on the cutting edge of gastronomy. This would be the autonomous region of Spain of which Barcelona is the capital. The name of the dish is Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. You might think it would be overwhelming in the kick of garlic. But, since the garlic is left whole while cooking and is roasted quite thoroughly, the bright edge to the garlic flavor is thoroughly mellowed out and simply adds a nice warm essence of flavor. If you understand the difference in flavor between raw garlic and roasted garlic, you'll appreciate the gentle flavor of the roasted variety. I'll be cutting up whole chickens and leaving the skin on. You'll have your choice of white or dark meat. The pieces will be plated on a bed of noodles and topped with the luscious sauce. Fresh herbs as well as white wine and applejack brandy lend their richness to the flavor impact. We'll add our seasonal stir-fry to  complete the dish. $14.99 During the week of Halloween you can never have too much garlic!

Our seafood will follow along the garlic theme, as well. It is Shrimp in Garlic Sauce. The version we are doing is Greek-based, as we are serving it over orzo and adding lemon, feta, oregano and fresh tomatoes. Oh my taste buds will be happy THIS week! We'll pair it up with our seasonal stir-fry. $15.99

The lunch specials~~
Monday~Goat cheese and spinach ravioli with  mushroom and Parmesan sauce $7.99
Tuesday~Shrimp and grits. $8.25
Wednesday~SW BBQ chicken quesadillas  with black beans, tomatoes, onion, BBQ Chicken, and Monterey jack/pepper jack blend $7.79
Thursday~Smothered pork chops with green beans and smashed potatoes $7.79
Friday~Philly cheese-steak-stuffed bell pepper $7.59

I started a new dessert late last week. It is chocolate crepes with a pumpkin mousse, chocolate sauce and toasted pepitas. The soup is most likely going to be a spiced potato soup. Those tend to evolve.

I hope you have a chance to see the trees at their peak. They are running about a week late this year. Did you know that the trees decide when to let the leaves go? You probably thought it was just the wind and rain that determined it. I was surprised and delighted to learn this gem. 

Thank you for your enduring support and encouragement for our little cafe. We love that we can call most of you by name and you know our strengths and weaknesses. It means so much to be a part of this lovely community and we feel we are a vital part of what keeps things interesting around here.  That is YOU I am speaking about—the interesting part.

~~~Susan et al

We survived! Celebrating Normalcy

I have a new appreciation for my last major piece of art. It is entitled "Celebrating Normalcy." It addresses the return to a normal life after a crisis. We didn't have a crisis, but we did have a week of crazy schedules, new challenges and several accomplishments. Whew! Glad that is behind us. The group we were providing meals to was the National Audio Theater Festivals. We served dinner Sunday night and breakfasts Monday through Friday. They were absolutely delightful to work with and seemed to appreciate what we offered.
But now we can once again focus on providing good food to you—our main customer base. Thank you for your patience while we lept tall buildings.

I am so excited. The garlic is in and it is time to celebrate! If you have only had the garlic made available from the grocery stores, you have missed one of the all-time greatest flavor journeys. Really fresh garlic has an impact that can only be described as luscious—at least to me. I'll be using lots in the coming couple of weeks plus I'll be making and have available for purchase fresh garlic jelly. As a finish for meats, it is one of my favorites. I am particularily fond of mixing sweet and savory with meats—applesauce with pork, cranberry with turkey or ham, strawberry chipotle jam with pork chops, etc. You should see some dishes featuring the garlic in the next couple of weeks.

Also, Mary and Skip Badiny are supplying bountious amounts of fresh basil. You may already know that we make our own pesto for the Chicken Pesto Sandwich. Well, I'll also be making extra amounts and packaging them for sale. They will be available as long as we have a ready weekly supply. If you enjoy pasta with fresh pesto or using pesto as a sandwich spread, I invite you to stock up. It freezes well and can be used a tablespoon at a time.

The line-up for the next few weeks for Friday night entertainment should be fabulous! This week we have open mic and already have Mark Johnson, CD Scott, Eli Johnson and Gordon Johnston playing a set plus Matt Meacham will play a set of traditional old-time music plus a few tunes of his own creation. He let us listen to his CD and it was really good. We may also have a few surprise players. The following week (the  8th) will feature Sean McCormick. You heard him play guitar and mandolin with Swiftkick a few weeks ago. This time he'll be playing solo. The 15th, Jon returns playing the fabulous tunes of the Great American Songbook. Laid-back and easy, he's a soft finish to a long week. The 22nd brings Tom and Renee back with their jazz duo of saxophone and guitar. They already have a nice following and we always look forward to their return. Back in West Plains for the first time in several years, Singer/songwriter Emily Higgins takes the stage on the 29th. She had garnered a strong following when she played the Yellow House Community Arts Center. From Springfield, Emily hosts a Sunday night show on the NPR affiliate in Springfield KSMU. Do not miss this performance! You will kick yourself if you do! We need to show a strong support for out-of-town talent if we want to attract more. Hear her sound at www.emilyhiggins.com. Then call for reservations! 505-0302

Who else would you like to hear? Let us know!

This week's food celebrates the current harvest of garlic, basil, tomatoes, snow peas, cabbage, eggplant, zucchini and peppers.
Monday~Summer Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce plus an Asian slaw. Very light, very summery. these are the Thai/Vietnamese rolls wrapped in rice paper. $6.25
Tuesday~ Chicken Cordon Bleu Tamales~ Bruce has done it again, stuffing the tamales with chicken and ham and covering them with a swiss cheese sauce. Zowie! $6.25
Wednesday~ Celebrating the tomatoes and fresh basil, Bruce is doing a Panzanella Salad. this traditional Italian salad uses our bread to soak up the juices from the tomatoes and  dressing. Major flavor in a dinner-sized salad. $6.25
Thursday~ Pesto Pizza with smoked portabellas, fresh onions, basil and tomatoes plus mozzarella. Comes with a Caprese salad—the tradtional Italian salad that celebrates fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. $6.75
Friday~Elk Burgers! They are back. We woodfire them for a smokey flavor and serve on our Roman bun with a carmelized onion/chipotle cream sauce, lettuce and tomato. Served with chips. $7.50

Friday night~ A) Chicken Kiev-chicken breast stuffed with an herbed butter sauce, garlic/parsley potatoes, Caprese Salad $12 B) Asian Shrimp Pasta with Summer rolls and fire cracker bean curd $12
C) Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagna with Caprese Salad $10

Thanks for being the inspiration that got us through a happy but grueling week. We are so grateful for your patronage and look forward to exploring new flavors with you.

Today's stir fry

Here's the inspriation for today's stir-fry:

Pork tenderloin

Portabella mushrooms

Ginger

Mary Badiny's garlic

yellow onion

Ichiban eggplant

Patty pan squash

Banana Pepper

Here the pork has been sliced and sauteed with garlic and ginger. Meanwhile all the other fresh ingredients stand-by for inclusion.
I also cooked up some whole wheat angel hair pasta.

Then it all gets tossed together and sauteed quickly over high heat. I used sweet soy sauce and hoisin sauce plus some water to make my sauce. Then added just a tinch of color with black sesame seeds.

Poor Jon-- he has to stand aside and salivate while I take photos. Don't fret--it was still hot when he got his. This made enough for about 6-- so we had leftovers.

What are your favorite stir fry ingredients?

Brushetta--more with peppers and tomatoes

I love the embarrassment of riches from our gardens this time of year. Tomatoes have reached a peak and peppers have finally been getting the heat they need to produce in abundance. Neighbors might wake up to find the tomato fairy has gifted them overnight.

I had several small bolletas( itty bitty loaves of bread) I had bought in St. Louis and frozen. We sliced them 1/2" thick and dry toasted them for about 15 minutes in a 275F oven. This crisped them up without completley drying them to toast. I personlly like there to still be a bit of chew and not all crunch when I bite into them.

Then I mixed up peeled chopped fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil, salt and pepper. These are spread onto the crostini (the toasted bread). Then I grated some mozzarella and spread it over the top. A quick trip to the broiler and viola'-- brushetta.

This is the accompaniment to the Silken Corn Soup I mentioned in my last article.

Tomorrow-- I made a great Summer Vegetable and Shrimp Soup with Lemon.