w/e October 5~Cart-wheeling into fall

So far the harbingers of fall are the goldenrod, the dogwoods and the sumac. The goldenrod is in full bloom. The dogwoods are turning their berries red and the leaves are getting colorful and the sumac is glowing auburn. Surprisingly, our temps are actually running higher than normal. This coming weekend marks the usual earliest likeliness of freeze. I remember doing many art shows in St. Louis on this weekend and several times there was a light frost in the early mornings. Not so this year, it seems. I'm glad as I am not ready to bring in my assorted plants nor pull the annuals.

This weekend we are sticking our necks out and bringing in out of town talent on Friday night. In the past you have been very supportive of our doing this. We have never been embarrassed with no crowd when we have brought performers in from out of town. Bliss Hippy hails from the Rolla area and came highly recommended by Tom Rowley. They are waiving their usual fee in order to help build their audience size and we hope this is good move for them. As usual, there will be no cover charge. However, we hope that a) you will tip them well and b) you eat a meal with us. We strongly suggest reservations.  There music is a blast of fun—quite irreverent, often hilarious.

This week is also the First Friday Art Walk. We are planning ahead this time and will feature a limited menu of dishes that can be prepared by our staff without my on-hands assistance. That way I can actually be a part of the Art Walk and speak to those who venture in. I am very much looking forward to this part of the exhibition experience. It is something I have missed since starting the cafe. The exhibition featuring my quilts will remain up for another couple of weeks. The reduced pricing on my quilts will expire when the quilts come down. After that we'll hang the work of another fine artist. I look forward to introducing you to her. More on that later.

My seafood this week has an Asian slant~ Teri-yaki salmon steaks. I'll take those lovely Coho salmon that we flew in awhile back and  froze, cut them into steaks, grill them and season them with a teri-yaki glaze and fresh shiso leaves. Along with the fish will be served  a salad made with calamari and seaweed, sesame rice and our seasonal stir-fry. I think it'll be a lovely treat. $16.99 Yoshi! Ikuzo! (All right! Let's go!)

The Flavor Journey this week is middle eastern in its origin. It is Slow cooked leg of lamb with spiced yogurt and herbs. I'll take an entire leg of lamb, season it and cook it in a braise of stock, white wine and lemon juice to which many herbs are added. It'll cook in these juices very slowly to assure a very tender cut of meat. A bed of cous-cous will be the foundation, topped with the sliced lamb, then a spiced yogurt and finally a "salad" of chopped fresh herbs. It is a beautiful dish that is most flavorful. Perfect to welcome in a gentle fall.  $15.99

We are currently serving pumpkin crepes filled with sweetened cream cheese and topped with warm praline sauce and pecans. Served with vanilla ice cream for $6/ $5 without the ice cream. Later in the week I plan to make a chocolate walnut tart. Slurp! Also our carrot cake will be on hand.

Now here are the lunches~
Monday~spicy vegetarian chili
Tuesday~1905 salad-made famous by the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, FL~ Romaine, kalamata olives, swiss cheese, oven roasted turkey, tomatoes, Romano cheese, and an olive oil based dressing with lemon, oregano and worchestershire. $7.79~ crowd favorite
Wednesday~Braised Moroccan Chicken and olives over cous-cous $7.79
Thursday~Pork Bahn Mi Sandwich with side $7.79
Friday~Shrimp burgers with roasted garlic /orange aioli plus side $7.99 


I hope you have a joyous week. It'll be lovely for dining al fresco. We'll have the tables out for you.

~~Susan

Anticipation...

We are eagerly awaiting the receipt in the mail of our new permit to serve beer and wine. If you have been a customer of ours all along, you know what a long runway this has been. If you are new to us, welcome to the new era.  We are hoping to make readily available wines and beers from local wineries and breweries. We realize this may take awhile to educate our palates and discover how things are distributed. As with everthing we've done thus far, this is a new learning curve. Bear with us. If you have strong regional preferences NOW is the time to speak up. We may be a bit clumsy as we learn about each pour, but the chance to learn about such a new and vast arena is a very exciting, if daunting. Initially we will be working only with breweries that can provide beers in bottles or cans as the cost of taps is up there! With over 75 wineries in Missouiri we should be able to have quite the route to discovery. Our funds to stock up on the front end is, so far, limited. So, we will keep our selections narrow to begin with. Your input will dictate our direction of expansion. So get to in-putting!

This week's FRESH fish is salmon (available Wednesday - Friday at dinner). Between us, Bruce and I decided that a blackened version with a kicky salsa would be the best way to go. I'll do a stir-fry using primarily baby bok-choy, yellow onions, garlic and cabbage. The rice will have a sofrito (crucial to most Caribbean dishes, sofrito is made up of peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes) finish. The salmon will be offered with a choice of salad or soup. Market price will be determined later in the week when I learn my cost. The mahi-mahi last week was quite a bargain as I listed the price before I learned my cost. Ouch. Lesson learned.

The Flavor Journey (available Tuesday - Friday at dinner)will be a traditional Malaysian dish in which beef is simmered in a fragrant combination of coconut milk, chiles, and spices. The recipe came right out of my recent issue of Fine Cooking. This issue has so many interesting recipes that I am chomping at the bit to try them all out. One aspect of the the Beef Rendang (pronouced rehn-dong') that especially appealed to me was the layering of flavors—six layers! The dish begins by roasting whole spices of cloves, cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks and star anise in oil. To that is added even more spices in the form of ground coriander, cumin, fennel seed, tumeric and black pepper. Another layer with shallots, dried chiles, ginger. Then comes coconut milk, lemongrass and tamarind and fresh cilantro. If we had access to them, I would have added galangal, keffir lime leaves and unsweetened coconut. Sadly, without ordering those ingredients via the internet or making a trek to St. Louis, I'll have to pass. We'll serve this dish with a choice of soup or salad and a side of coconut rice.  I think you'll enjoy the complexity of the flavors as much as I do. The cost will be $11.99

Soups this week will begin with French Onion Soup and Miso Soup. I make the miso with white miso and hon dashi plus strips of seaweed, tofu, green onion and thin sliced mushrooms. Later in the week I'll also do a Greek Lemon chicken and rice soup.

The desserts should be fun. I have a crepe cake that is layered with a pastry cream and chocolate and hazelnut between chocolate crepes. Only 10 servings of that puppy. Maybe I should make it twice....
Bruce has another mocha ice cream pie ready to go.

Now here is this week's lunch menu~~

Tuesday~ Introducing the new Spring Salad 50 cents off~Spinach or arugula, snowpeas, alfalfa sprouts, feta, strawberries, red onion, walnuts and wood-fired chicken. Recommended dressing is our spinach dressing which has a pronounced toasted sesame flavor. $5.99
Wednesday~Greek Excursion~Spanakopita (spinach/ feta turnover), small Greek salad, lemon chicken kabobs over white rice. $7.99
Thursday~Vietnamese pork tamales, red curry sauce and pineapple salsa with Vietnamese fried rice. $6.75
Friday~Chicken Cacciatore Crepes with parmesan cream sauce. Crepes are filled with fragrant chicken, tomato and mushrooms and topped with a parmesan cheese sauce. Served with a side salad and buttered noodles $6.99

Remember~ until the permit to serve beer and wine is in our hands, we'll be serving only the usual beverages of iced green tea with jasmine, lemonade, pomegranate blueberry lemonade, soft drinks, coffee and hot teas. It'll happen soon enough.

We have no music booked this week. However, a rollicking good time should be had by all next Friday when Rick Mize and Dustin Collins join us again as Chief Wahoo and the Electric Tonic. I have no idea what that name means but the sound is decidedly Irish Folk. We SHOULD be able to serve beer and wine that night. Yee-haw! Okay. My Texas roots are showing.

As you may already know, my vision of this place has always been as a sidewalk cafe. Sadly, we seem to have a wind tunnel in just the place where tables would most likely go. That has put more than a few people off. I am actively seeking a wind abatement solution. So far, I have comeup with the idea of a stack of straw bales to block the wind up to a height level with the top of a sitting person. Do you have any bright ideas? I'd love to hear them. We can't do anything permanent and I don't want to haggle with permits and zoning.

Thank you, as always for traveling this journey with us. I, personally, think we are all benefitting. Have a joyous week. Don't forget to take a moment to notice spring is bursting out all over. I know that Mom will be thrilled when I take her for a drive later this week.

~~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

Importance of local sourcing



morels as they are found

Do you sometimes feel that your choices in food options are controlled by large food congolomerates? Unless you are sourcing your food locally, you are! Wish there were fresher ingredients? Shop locally! As the gardening season shapes up, you can make those choices now for what you want to see in your garden and on your table. If you grow your own plants from seed you can go so far as to enjoy heirloom varieties. Ever wonder why you don't see some of the more exotic varieties on the grocery shelves? It is primarily because those varieties are more tender. That translates to shorter shelf life and more loss due to shipping long distances. Therefore, you will most likely see the tender varieties in your own garden or the farmers' market. One of my first experiences with that was while living in Florida. While south Florida can grow cantaloupes year around, the variety "ambrosia" is not shipped. It has very deep ribs and a tender skin and bruises easily. But the flavor!!!! Wow! The flavor was significantly sweeter and MUCH juicier. The same thing happens here with tomatoes, peppers, peaches, melons, etc. 
By sourcing locally FIRST, you are investing in the local economy and keeping the money in the region. We are slowly building our local sources and hope to have a dedicated group of local suppliers who can, together, keep us in a fresh supply. Do you know any local chemical free growers? Will you be participating in the community garden? If so, please let me know when you have a bumper crop!  I'll be looking for fresh peas, spring onions, carrots, lettuces, spinach, herbs, peppers, squashes, melons, corn, etc. Many of those come later in the year and from many sources simultaneously. I am first supporting Maranatha Farm's organic produce. Mary and Skip have done much to help promote our business and I am delighted to use their produce as much as we can. They have many long-time customers who get their orders as a first priority. I totally understand that and realize we'll have to look beyond them as a supplier, at times. That's where you might help. Please keep your eyes open for such.

Right now I would love to get my hands on local fiddleheads (fern fronds just as they come out of the ground), local morels and other edible mushrooms (must be clearly edible varieties), pea shoots (the new plants' fresh sprouts) and other wild local foods and herbs. Foragers? START!!!!

As we move into the salad seasons and away from the soup seasons, we'll be expanding your salad options and phasing out the hot soups. Last week we served real Caesar salads. If you think Caesar dressing is creamy and comes from a bottle, you haven't experienced the real deal. In actual fact, the real Caesar dressing contains fresh egg, worchestershire, mustard, wine vinegar and lemon juice and very little else. The croutons are made fresh from the oil the garlic is toasted in. To that are added anchovies and capers. Shaved parmesan  and garlic chips top it all. We are adding it to our everyday menu. It will be available alone, or with wood-fired chicken, wood-fired wild caught Alaskan salmon, wood-fired gulf shrimp or even wood-fired fresh Rockbridge trout.

We are also putting the spinach salad back on the menu. Maranatha Farm's organic spinach is the best place to start. To that we are adding hard-boiled local free-range eggs, red onion, roasted red peppers (we do our own), cajun seasoned pecans and feta. The dressing is a sesame vinaigrette or choose another favorite from our in-house made dressings. Like on the Caesar salad, you can add wood-fired chicken, wood-fired salmon, wood-fired trout or wood-fired shrimp. Holy Moly! We are having fun now!

The Roman Sandwich I added a couple of weeks ago has been well received. We have increased the volume of meat and added a larger size. The larger one gets 1.5 times the meat of the smaller one. In case you missed it, we are making a Roman bun that has chopped onion baked into it. We toast it, add coarse mustard, cheddar, Monterray jack, ham, hard salami and genoa salami. That goes into the toaster oven. When it comes out we add chopped black olives, tomato and spicy sprouts. They are served with a bag of potato chips. I think you will like it. Several people have told me it is their new favorite.

I am truly excited to add Rockbridge Trout Ranch to our list of local suppliers. Often, farm-raised means serious compromises are made in the rearing of the fish. Not so at Rockbridge. Each egg is hand fertilized and the fish are hand fed with high quality feed. The trout ranchers really brag about the quality of the feed they provide. As the fry grow, their home then becomes Spring Creek where they are getting fresh water constantly. We got our first order in time to serve it Friday night. Eight orders sold out by 6:15. I missed out getting to eat some of  the first batch. We cooked more at home. The trout was the most tender I have ever had. We took the rest of our order of 20 fillets and wood-fired them with the salmon, chicken, tilapia and shrimp. I think you will be over-joyed to add this taste sensation to your palate.

Okay—now we are OVER THE TOP!!! How about that wood-fired trout on the Roman bun with wasabi mayonnaise, tomato and spicy sprouts. Yeowza!  $7.50 with choice of chips or fruit.

Vegetarians take note!! We are going to add a dish of brown rice and wood-fired portabellas with stir fried fresh veggies to the menu. The only salt will be that in the rice. We'll provide raw soy sauce, too. You can add tofu for a bit more protein. Meat-eaters may wish to add the wood-fired options—chicken, salmon, trout or shrimp. $5.99/ tofu add .75/chicken add 2.50/shrimp or salmon add 3.50/trout add 4.00

This week's flavor journeys—
Monday~ stir-fried chicken with pineapple, pine nuts and mung sprouts over brown rice.$6.25 Soup: chicken noodle 3.49/4.99/5.59 Salad: Spinach and Caesar (see above)

Tuesday~ It's Mardi Gras!!!!! Shrimp and grits plus side of fruit $6.25   Also Caribbean tamales $6.25 Soup~Red Beans and rice with boudin sausage(of course) 3.49/4.99/5.59  Salad: Spinach and Caesar (see above)

Wednesday~Egg Salad Sandwich—local free-range eggs star in this mixture. We add tomato and sprouts and a side of fresh fruit. $6.25 Soup~Red beans and rice.Salad: Spinach and Caesar (see above)

Thursday~Vegetable quiche—onion, zucchini, tomato, red pepper w/side of fruit 6.25 Soup~Portabella/Brie 3.49/4.99/5.59 Salad: Spinach and Caesar (see above)

Friday~Lunch—Wood-fired trout & marscapone omelet with side of fruit $6.75 Salad: Spinach and Caesar (see above) Dinner—Entree#1 Pan-fried trout and oven-roasted potatoes with side salad $12.00; Entree # 2 Chicken Pasta Alfredo with side salad and bread  $10.00

Desserts this week—
            Angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream   $4
            Key Lime Pie $4
            Pavlova with fresh fruit and whipped cream $4
Have a lovely week. We look forward to seeing you in our space.