A little relief for all!

After a seemingly endless wait we finally got a good rain. The forecast for the week is lovely AND bearable. In fact, I expect to see quite a few folks enjoying lunch al fresco this week. It will be interesting to see how the local flora responds to the sudden influx of water in abundance. Will there be the flowers we missed due to dryness early on? Will we skip right to the late summer sunflowers and asters? Watch and see.

We have music this week. Look for details at the end of my blog.

We are celebrating all sorts of happy harvesting right now. The tomatoes have finally started coming in. We are getting fabulous ones from Maranatha Farm as well as some heirloom locals. There's a no more classic way to celebrate the fresh tomatoes than a panzanella salad. Lots of fresh chopped tomatoes, toasted homemade bread soaked in tomato juices, wine vinegar and garlic, lemon and capers. I'll grill some lovely squash and bell peppers to top it off. That will kick the lunch menu off on Tuesday. $6.99

Wednesday we celebrate the classic combination of fresh green beans, ham, black-eyed peas, bell pepper and rice in the form of Hoppin' John. The name is thought to come from a bastardization of the Haitian Creole term for black-eyed peas: pois pigeons (pronounced: [pwapiˈjawn]). I'll serve it with a side for $6.99

Thursday brings on a celebration of another sort—fresh mozzarella! We have begun to use fresh mozzarella on our pesto pizzas now. They will also have fresh Roma tomatoes, fresh in-house pesto, wood-fired chicken and sliced mushrooms and onions. $6.99 includes a side.

Friday brings back the 1905 Salad from the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa. To Romaine lettuce we add ham, turkey, swiss cheese, tomatoes, romano cheese, Kalamata Olives (the original had green olives) and a dressing featuring worchestershire and lemon juice and an oregano vinaigrette. This salad has developed a strong folowing with our customers. $6.99

Thank you to those who took the time to give me feedback on an upcoming Flavor Journey. Your feedback strongly directs our actions and we DO care about what you have to say. I'll try to schedule a special dinner in the next month or so.

In the meantime, due to one response, I have planned a Flavor Journey this week. The focus will be Cubano. I am still trying to locate one of the major ingredients and will add it if we can locate it—that ingredient is plantains. The influence of fresh ingredients is very key to Cuban cuisine. Pork, chicken and fish/ seafood are the primary meats. In this case we are going to use chicken breasts marinated in a mojo sauce. Mojo's major flavor influences are cumin seeds, fresh orange juice, fresh lime juice, garlic and chilis. We'll start the meal with a salad made of Chayote squash which has been peeled and boiled then tossed with a light oil and mustard sauce. The main course is Spicy Cuban mojo chicken with warm mango and avocado salsa. It will be sided with black beans and yellow rice. For dessert I'll make a traditional flan—a caramel-topped custard. IF I can locate any plantains I'll add in chichachirritos or fried plantains served with a mojo sauce. The dinner is $11.99 and the flan is $4.

My seafood this week is two-fold. The first starting Tuesday night is shrimp, scallop and grouper cheek kabobs. My kabobs will be assembled with onion, red peppers, squash, cherry tomatoes and marinated seafoods. We'll grill them and serve them atop rice with "sea sauce", fresh citrus slices and with a side salad. You'll get 2 kabobs for $14.99. Add a third for $4 more. The second is Mussels!!!!! We'll have fresh mussels straight from Prince Edward Island delivered Thursday afternoon. I'll make a curried shallot wine sauce to braise them in. They'll be served with a rice pilaf and stir-fried squash, onions and tomatoes and come with a side salad. $14.99.

The music this week comes from a new source for us. State fiddling champion Vinny Ray will be this Friday's musical entertainment. Vinny will be playing original jazz compositions with his trio. Several of our customers asked if we had heard Vinny play and suggested he would be a great fit for our Friday night music.  You may have heard him at the recent Old time music festival where he played on the OMC stage with 2 other band members. Don't miss out! Reservations strongly recommended. No cover charge but you are expected to tip the band and we prefer that you join us for dinner. As always—we never try to "turn the tables." You are welcome to stay through all the music.

Have you tried our new key-lime bar with coconut ice cream? Here's a photo of it. It is rich and cool and refreshing—all in one piece. We make the coconut ice cream in house as well as the key-lime bar. It is one of our new line of "grown-up" desserts. Another is the grilled pound cake with grilled fresh peaches, whipped cream and caramel. $5.

Have a lovely week!~~

Susan

Now THIS is more like it!!!!



April flowers in my garden


Spring Anticipation Week Begins NOW!

All RIGHT! Now it feels like we are in the home stretch on winter. I have no doubt that Mother Nature has a few more tricks up her sleeve but at least we can now feel hopeful that the worst is over. The forecast this week doesn't even have a low below freezing. I'm dancing!!!!

As one who has lived in the Ozarks for only 11 years, I still get a thrill out of watching the long anticipatory build-up toward spring. For me, the first real signal that winter is languishing and spring is next is the smell of skunks—usually dead ones in the middle of the road. I got my first whiff today. Come on, spring!!!!!

Watch the front window for Forsythia blooms as I am doing cuttings for forcing. Which day will have the first blooms? Come see.

From the very beginning I have always envisioned our place as a sidewalk cafe. While we were in the trailer it was easier to get the idea across—even if we were next to a used car lot. Over the cold months my vision was primarily a personal one. Now that the weather is abating, we can put a few tables outside. We know how much you enjoyed being able to dine al fresco and we want to keep that ambiance. That was one of the major decision points when we chose to be on the Square—having space for outdoor tables. You will still place your orders at the register, but we should be able to bring your food out to you. It'll give you time to soak up some Vitamin D while ingesting good nutrition and yummy flavors. Kind of a mini-vacation during your workweek.

So—to the islands we go. One of my favorite warm weather lunches is ceviche (pronounced say-vee'-chay.) This week's version features jumbo shrimp, bay scallops and wild-caught Alaskan halibut. The citrus juices "cook" the seafood, transforming its translucent nature to opaque and creating the molecular changes that technically make it a cooked food. It'll be accented with fresh red, green and jalapeno peppers, cilantro and red onion. We'll serve it in a martini glass with tortilla chips and a side of fresh fruit. This will be available on Monday and Tuesday.


Did you notice the switch in our fresh fruit? As the season moves along we change with the seasonal availablility of various fruits. Currently apples, mangoes, and blood oranges make up the fruit cups. We'll move along to the Florida strawberries as they come into season.

Vegetarians— heads up!!! We've been making our own hummus for a while and have usually only offered it at night on Friday. We now will have it available periodically during the week. We serve it with a variety of crisp vegetables and pita points.

Bruce made an awesome soup on Friday called Kapusta. It is a Ukrainian dish that uses pork country-style ribs that are braised until "melt-in-your-mouth" softness along with fresh cabbage and broth. We'll serve it on Monday, in case you missed it...or want another dose.

Another special item for Monday will be some turkey and spinach crepes. I love crepes and I never see them made around here. I make them from scratch (most food places buy them ready-made) and get to use those gorgeous farm-fresh eggs. We'll serve them up with a side of fresh fruit.

Tuesday brings Tamale Tuesday! This week we are going with a warm weather theme and doing a shrimp and tilapia tamale served over a pineapple mango puree and topped with a mango salsa. It'll have you dreaming of the islands in no time!!! Cue the Ska music!!!

Even though the weather will be warmer it is time to bring along the white chicken chili again so you can get your fix. I get many requests for this each week. I am listening!! If you have missed it thus far, you may not know it starts with Jon's wood-fired chicken, has white navy beans, Hatch chilis and lots of fresh onions and garlic. It has a warmth that doesn't burn.

Another option for you veggie-oriented people, we have marinated mozzarella. We pair those itty bitty mozzarella balls with roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives and serve it with some slices of bread.

Wednesday brings the white chicken chili along for a second day. Plus we'll add an Asian sirloin salad. This salad starts with bitter greens like arugula and spinach plus romaine. We top it with red onion, Roma tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, roasted  peppers, and slices of grilled sirloin steak. The dressing is an Oriental sesame.  I'm planning on making a carrot cake for dessert.

Thursday we'll have turkey, onion and spinach quiche plus side salad. I make it all from scratch and use lots of ingredients. There is nothing wimpy about this quiche—sliced turkey, onion, spinach, red pepper, Swiss cheese, 4 eggs and cream. You get one sixth of the pie.

We'll also have stuffed bell peppers with a side of orzo salad. It is beef-based and one of Bruce's contributions. I am also making a soup called meatball, pecorino and greens soup. It uses veal to make the meatballs and the greens are Maranatha Farm organic kale.

The week continues to warm up and on Friday for lunch we'll have the meatball soup again. I'll add a shrimp and avocado quesadilla to continue the tropical flavors.

Friday night I am planning a lemon mustard pork chop with squash and veggie couscous. The second entree will be Italian Shrimp Salad. Many of you enjoyed it last summer. It is a lemony rice-based salad with lots of chopped shrimp, parsley and a bit of mustard. It is a pretty filling salad, yet, oh so light.

For desserts we'll have Blueberry Bread Pudding, Carrot Cake and Mayan Chocolate Pecan Pie.

I think I have covered every possible scenario. No excuses for not making it in this week—something fabulous every day. Plus you'll be wanting to check out those Forsythia blooms.

9 Days & Counting! Italian Shrimp Salad

I grew up eating this salad. Now that I think about it, I think it was nearly the ONLY salad my mother ever served. Maybe it was the era. I'm not sure WHERE my mother got the recipe, maybe a magazine, but we all loved it. Every single family member.

Having grown up in Texas I was exposed to the cuisine of many cultures- but it came mostly later. Strangely, my first awareness of my mother ever trying to cook Mexican was using a powdered mix to make chile con queso. Being an ex-pat Canadian, she promptly served it over toast like a rare bit. My palette at that point had never had hot. I was probably about 10 years old. It was a dismal failure with the family, never to be repeated.

Not so, the Italian Shrimp Salad. Shrimp in our house was a real treat and having a dish where everyone felt like they got a really good dose of shrimp flavor while having a recipe that stretched was pure joy. It was saved for special occasions and celebrations. The photo above is a 16 oz portion and will be served with garlic toast.

Here are all the ingredients laid out-- my mise en place. I started with sushi rice which is a medium grain. I personally like its texture better than long grain white rice. It absorbs the dressing better. There is fresh gulf shrimp, fresh from my garden Italian parsley, Romaine lettuce, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, mustard and a pinch of smoked paprika. We used to make it with cayenne and that is good, too. But I like the touch of the smokey paprika.

All the ingredients are fresh except the mustard. No preservatives, no unknown stabilizers-- just good wholesome, oh so good ingredients.

This will be one of our rotating specialty salads. Enjoy!

Summer Vegetable Soup with shrimp and Lemon

I wish I could have shown you the 10 cups of veggies that went into 4 cups of homemade chicken broth to make this luscious soup. But, alas, my hands got ahead of my brain and I erased them off my card reader before I got them downloaded. Suffice it to say, this is a VERY veggie laden soup.

It has fresh tomatoes, red pepper, onion, garlic, corn, zucchini, red skinned potato, parsley, basil and cilantro as well as shrimp and lemon juice.

This recipe is from Fine Cooking's Fresh- 350 recipes that celebrate the seasons. I was astounded by the ratio of veggies to broth. I mean there was a mountain of them.

As usual, I made my own chicken broth, so it is msg free and quite simple. However, the first night I thought the soup lacked punch. The flavors were too separated and nothing had a strong influence. Day 2, though, wow! The flavors had married and the herbs were more prominent, too. I don't think the shrimp(and I love shrimp) added much and next time would probably use wood-fire grilled chicken in its place.

I expect this will be a regular on the summer soup rotation with a veggie only version, as well. I'll serve it with my whole wheat cornbread. Get ready!!!!