Thank GOODNESS Mercury decided to go out of retrograde.  In case you don't know about this, Mercury appears to go backwards a few times a year.  And, being a trickster, it messes everything up.  The latest reversal came just in time - this past Wednesday.  We'd all been cranky and fussy and things just did not seem right.  Until Wednesday.

 

This past weekend was the annual auction at the Penland School.  It gets bigger and bigger each year and that makes it that much more fun.  Here's a snap of Jaime creating one of four buffets.  We serve a LOT of people in a short amount of time.  The main event is the auction, after all, so we need to get the eating done so the bidding can begin.

 

 

Monday, August 13

Chicken Pistou (French Pesto)with Mushroom Risotto 8.25

 

Tuesday, August 14

Stuffed Portobella Mushroom with Fried Green Tomatoes 7.95

 

Wednesday, August 15

BBQ Spareribs with Braised Kale and Squash 8.50 (GF)

 

Thursday, August 16

Chicken Gumbo Ya-Ya 8.25

 

Friday, August 17

Shrimp Creole with Zucchini Fritters 9.50

 

Casserole to go:

 

Wednesday, August 15

Low Country Shrimp and Grits

Whole: 58 Half: 29

 

Lasagna to go:

 

Friday, August 17

Italian-style Pesto Lasagnas with Portobello

Whole: 38 Half: 19

 

Our kitchen staff made dinner for 400+ on Friday and 500+ on Saturday.  Remarkably, it all fit into our van (and my vehicle).  A guest at "Laurey's" watched us gather and load everything.  He chortled that it was like a finely tuned machine.  Well - that was nice of him to say.  There is no margin for error, since we have a small kitchen, an hour drive, and about 2 hours to get everything set and ready to serve. 

 

Here's a look at one of the salads we served on Friday - our version of "Chicken Country Captain," a southern dish that features curry and lots of freshly roasted vegetables.  We tweaked it here and there, making it with shrimp and Tilapia, and turning the curry into a sweet curry vinaigrette. 

 

 

August 12, 2012

 

Wow – what a great week I have had! Next week is another “magic (treatment) week,” where I will go back into actively receiving chemotherapy and actively concentrating on it, doing my best to trust that these treatments are cleansing my body of the rogue cells that I do not want.

 

But enough of that. This past week was really, really great. Starting with this morning, Tye and I got up, went for a walk, chased some ducks (she did) and went to Jubilee, our spiritual home, where she got lots of pats from lots of people including one very small girl who pointed her feet right into Tye’s mouth and announced, “Toes!” Tye obliged by licking the toes, and on we went.

 

After Jubilee we came home and I changed into my new Mellow Johnny’s jersey for a bike ride. Today is a gorgeous day here, with little humidity, clean air, bright skies, and a friend to ride with. We did the short river ride, which is about my speed these days, but he is a gracious bike buddy and no mention was made of my pokey speed. We rode and talked and had a fine time.

 

The weekend, as you can see from the pictures, was a fun time too. I love the Penland school, even more now that I have had the experience of taking a class there. I love doing big parties. And I love working with my friends from my shop and also getting to meet new folks who are volunteer servers. Jaime and Kate and Adam and Leslie did a great job, organizing everything and getting it nicely set up in perfect order. And my favorite friend Michael was there to help calm me down and keep me from doing too much.

 

“See that chair?” he gestured, “that’s for you.” (He knew I am operating at 75% or less…)

 

Well, that sort of worked, but every time he looked, I was up and bouncing around again. It was fun to be there, fun to feel energetic, fun to feel proud of the food and my business and all of that. It was just fun.

 

And before that I got a note from my book editor sending me the first edited copy of my book. I now have two weeks to make her changes. And then, right when those edits are due, a group of folks from the publishing company is coming to Asheville to take the first round of photographs of my food, my shop and my house.

 

YIKES!!!

 

I have to vacuum! And dust! And weed the garden! And paint things! And – oh my – so many things!!!! The subtitle IS, after all, “84 recipes from a beekeeper’s kitchen,” so I’m now looking at my kitchen(s) with newly critical eyes. Do you suppose they’ll notice the gigantic weeds in my woods? How about the untended garden bed near my driveway? Does it matter that the butterfly bush is dipping into the fountain?

 

YIKES!!!

 

Oh well, I’m sure they won’t notice. They don’t know what is supposed to be dusty, right? And they don’t really need to know that my refrigerator has a whole shelf of pickles and a large collection of mustards but nothing that really constitutes dinner, right? Will they even look in my refrigerator? Oh my.

 

And, in the meantime, I DO hope you can come to the Farmer’s Dinner on the 22nd. Between me being out of sorts and Anne and Aaron farming and taking care of their baby and getting ready to have another one we’re late in confirming this dinner. But trust me, these are very fun nights, with wonderful food that has been nurtured by the folks who you will get to know throughout the evening. It’s a unique evening and I hope you can come. Wednesday, August 22. 6:30 pm. 252-1500 will connect you with someone who will take your name and hold your spots for the dinner.

 

And now, late on Sunday, I am ready to send this out. Thanks for your patience. It just has been such a fun weekend, it took until now to plunk my butt in this chair for long enough to tell you about it.

 

I’ll be in touch next week.

Ciao,

Here's another gift from my fundraising for the Iowa bike ride.  Mellow Johnny's is Lance Armstrong's bike shop in Austin, a play on the French name for the Yellow Jersey, "le maillot jaune."