The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for May 8 - 13, 2006

The farmers are back!!!

Ah the drought is over. Last week the tailgate market across the street started back up. At the moment there are plenty of plants, flower starts, baby tomatoes, promises. Soon, soon we'll have the real thing: fresh, local, perfection from the earth. Oh yes.



In the meantime...

Our stoves are cranked, pots clang, knives click and mixers whir. This is a wonderful place for lunch, you know. We have more tables than ever, more light, more variety. And, at the same time, there is less hassle. You come in, pick your lunch (we'll help you) find a table, sit, and eat. We'd like it if you'd clear your own table, though we follow behind and wipe up the crumbs.

The best thing is, of course, the food. As we roll into spring and the markets fill with choices, our deli case's offerings will showcase these delicacies. Ask for LOCAL when you order your office's lunch or your wedding. We love the farmers and they love you. All very tidy, don't you think?


Baby lettuce

This is the "before." You'll have to wait just a bit for the "after" though it won't be long now.


Dinners to go


Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.


Here is the menu for this week:
Monday May 8 Spinach and Ricotta-stuffed Chicken Breast 9.75
Tuesday May 9 Stir- Fried Spring Vegetables and Tofu w/ Brown Rice 9.75
Wednesday May 10 Pork Tenderloin with Marsala, Plums, and Apricots 10.25
Thursday May 11 Shrimp Curry with Basmati Rice 11.75
Friday May 12 Marinated Salmon with Orange Fennel Salad 12.75








By the way, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go. Inaugurated a few months ago, our first winner was delighted! Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!



(Our friend from across the street, Roz, just won for April's drawing. Way to go Roz!)

Our website


Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week on Wednesday. Please give us a call by the end of the day on Tuesday and we�ll fix yours for you. Come by between 4:30 and 6:00. Get a half (for 4 appetites) or a full sized pan (for 9 or so.)





We'll tuck in a bit of Spring - just for you.

Wednesday, May 10
Beef Tips and Mushrooms
with Wild and Brown Rice
Full: 37.50
Half: 18.75


Spring Cheese from the Kids in Marshall

Oh Spring. Fresh Chevre - just in this morning (we get deliveries on market day.)

Tomorrow is Spinning Spider's Open House. I'll be going to meet the new babies, and to congratulate the mother's on doing such a good job. The Owen family tends the goats, makes the milk, brings it to town. What a grand life (though Chris Owen was looking pretty bedraggled a month ago during baby season.)

I'll show you some of those pictures next week.


Another new salad

See what I mean? The options continue. We generally have about 15 or 20 different things to sample in our deli case. I'd suggest the "Chicken of the Day with a side" if you are not sure what to get, though my very favorite continues to be "a Little of Each." These days, a little of each won't possibly fit on one plate so you'll have to be somewhat selective, but I trust you can do it.


A shot of home

I accidentally left my camera at home this morning and had to run back to get it. I could not resist snapping a couple of pictures of the garden there. This is by far my very favorite time of year. Right now our garden is in the beginning stages but it is filling out with lavenders and purples and a bit of pink here and there. Columbine. Iris. Rhododendron. More and more each day. Waking up and looking outside is so rich right now.







A Note From Laurey

�What a fabulous day it is here today.

It is really a perfect Spring day. Clear, blue sky. Cool air. A bazillion birds. An emerging abundance of color in the garden. Hopeful signs, all. Makes me happy to be awake. (Okay, I might rather be outside than sitting at my desk with a pile of menus and bills, but, well, I�ll get out later.)

It�s a funny time at home for me. Chris and I are expanding the house a bit. Starting with the need for a bigger closet we now are building, well, you can imagine. It�s not huge, but it is more than just a closet, to be sure.

The tricky thing for me about all of this is that I really am not great with disruption and change and, well, construction detritus strewn all over the yard. Right now there is a big dumpster where I usually park my car (it�s right in front of Chris�s studio window � what a view!) There is an extension cord draped in and out of the Rosemary on the front path. Many days there is a front end loader in the yard. There�s a port-o-john discreetly tucked into the woods and piles of lumber scattered about. The woods got ripped up to put in some new necessary equipment and are now a big mess. Dirt piles scream to me to rake, but I resist, knowing its not over until the fat digger (the machine) finishes singing.

Last week I couldn�t stand looking at the tire gouges in one of the smaller gardens and, against my better judgment, I got out rake and hoe and spade and shovel and fixed it all up, replanting Hostas, Peonies, Lariope. Big mistake. A few days later I came home and found a nice, smooth new area of spilled cement � right there. See what I mean? I had to shrug and say that I�d get to it later. I will. I really will.

Each day I come home and see what is new. It�s pretty exciting, this whole thing. I watch the sun and see where the light will hit in the new rooms. There will be one area just for my glass. I�m getting better and hope, at some point, to have some nice pieces to put there. I made my first platter the other day, stunning myself! Whee! Here we go.

I�m really glad it is nice today. I love the green, the flowers, spring food, spring air and light and smells. Everyone seems happy about it. At the market this morning we all were wandering around greeting each other. One farmer has a new baby. One has a new puppy. One old one is not there anymore. One new one is there instead. So it goes. Thanks for being a part of it all � right along with me and my little deli case.


My, um, topiary

Okay. So I had a dead old tree. My sisters came to help prune. I couldn't bear cutting this one to the ground, so we left a tall stump. I couldn't bear to rip out all the Ivy surrounding it and, sure enough, the stuff climbed up and filled in and, though I had visions of a Giraffe or a Duck or something, my creation has turned into a weird umbrella-liek creature. It still makes me happy, though I might be the only one at home who thinks its cool. Ah well.


Contact Info:

Laurey's "Gourmet Comfort Food"
Eat In - Take Out - Catering
67 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, NC 28801
828-252-1500

Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 - 4:00 pm

"Don't Postpone Joy!"(tm)

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