The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for July 9 - 13, 2007
The new puppy
Ah, nothing like a new puppy to celebrate the fourth, right?� This is Spike, the newest member of the Keff/Masterton household.� He's tiny at this point, and will ultimately tip the scales at around 14 pounds, the average size for a Jack Russell Terrier.

I've decided to devote the photographic portion of this newsletter to him.

With me
He's from Berea, Kentucky.� We drove over there last Sunday, picked him up (which involved choosing between him and his sister), and drove back to Asheville...

Sleeping
He slept the entire way and then was wide awake just in time to meet his siblings, Tye the dog and Skipper the cat.

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.

As a reminder, 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.

Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!! Here's this week's menu:


Monday July 9 Rosemary Chicken with Stuffed Squash Blossoms 9.95 Tuesday July 10 Salmon and Corn Cakes with a Cilantro Cream 12.25 Wednesday July 11 Grilled Chipotle and Balsamic Flank Steak 11.75 Thursday July 12 Gorgonzola Chicken with New Potatoes 9.95 Friday July 13 Sunburst Trout Filets with Braised Local Greens 12.75

Our website
Special casserole of the week
We make a special casserole each week. Order before noon on Wednesday and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. (Yes, you can order in advance too.) Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

This week's offering is:

Wednesday, July 11 Italian Casserole with Locally-made Italian Sausage, Tuscan Kale and Rotini Pasta Whole 37.25 Half 18.75 Say, we'll happily make a salad and provide bread for you if you like, just let us know when you call and we'll get you all set up.

Belly up
Okay - he did wake up every so often, but was quite content to loll in Chris's arms, putting up with my stares and coos.� (I'm a sucker for a puppy).

Meeting the baby
Tye came with us, actually.� Here she is meeting her baby brother.�

With Chris again
And then it was back to sleep.�

A Note From Laurey

Well, thanks for putting up with me gushing like a fool over the new puppy.� He is quite adorable, don't you think?� As I write this I am in Vermont and Spike - and Chris - are in Seattle.� He made his first plane flight without any trouble other than having to work his way through the adoring crowds of TSA workers who insisted on holding him and cuddling him and suggesting that he should stay with them instead of continuing on with Chris.�

She's figuring him out, teaching him about a crate and the Puget Sound and seagulls and salt air.� They'll spend the summer out there and then they'll come back.� By then Spike will be a big boy, but don't worry, I'll be going out there a couple of times and will be sure to keep you filled in with pictures.

I'm in Vermont to do some book readings and signings.� Last night I was in Brandon and tonight, a few hours from now, I'll be reading in Rochester.� It's a trip, a blast, a fun thing, to be here where so many of these stories take place, reading to people who, in some cases, are IN the stories.� I spend so much time there thinking about here that I keep forgetting I am actually HERE after all.

Tomorrow is a big parade in Brandon, one of the state's top ten entertainments, I'm told.� The town is spiffing up, getting ready.� Yesterday was Rochester's day and the local farm folks cleaned off their tractors and draped banners on their lawn mowers and had a fine time.� There was one band, a modified bluegrass band, and one "float" with music - five people singing and one person playing a saxophone, riding on a flatbed hay bale carrier.� Nice.� Everyone threw candy to the kids, except for one group who threw wrapped Colby Cheddar Cheese (they ARE dairy farmers whose milk goes to Colby...).� Very cute, it all was.

My sisters are both here with me, sharing this time.� Heather doesn't live here anymore, but moved away recently enough that everyone knows her still. On the Fourth she helped organize the parade and then helped with the chicken barbecue.� Before we knew it, my other sister and I had aprons on and were serving salads right along with all the other women.� The men were the cooks for the day, hauling grilled chicken in boxes across the street from the grills tucked under the overhang of a town building. The police ate right along with everyone else.� And then, three hours after it all began, it was all done.

I love Vermont and it is good to be here this time.� I'm just roaming around thinking and watching and thinking some more.� I'll be back there on Sunday.� North Carolina is a nice place too and I'm lucky to be able to come here, especially with my sisters, and especially at this time of year.�

See you soon.

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