Drum roll, please!

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Our offering for tonight’s potluck was a timballo (the italian word for drum), inspired by Mike Patrick’s Storico Fresco version. Ours was made with layers of fennel and peppers, chanterelle and shiitake mushrooms, red lentil pasta with homemade tomato sauce, homemade thai basil/fennel pesto, cashew cheese, daiya mozzarella, all wrapped in zucchini and eggplant slices. Thus, this dish was effortlessly vegan, and gluten-free to boot!

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We were also treated to buckwheat pancakes with freshly-foraged sautéed chanterelles and a delicious red peppery mushroom, along with a panoply of other summer’s bounty made into delectable dishes, which I didn’t get photos of yet!

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In Memoriam: Stevia Oregano (aka Gilbert)

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Stevia OreganoOur dear friend Gilbert, better known to us at Monday night potlucks as Stevia Oregano for the abundance of fresh offerings from his garden, left us today, most unexpectedly.

His sudden departure is a sobering reminder to be sure we treat the ones we love with tenderness, and not to take a moment for granted.

Thanks, Gilbert, for the bounty of your garden, for your generosity and compassion, and for your good humor. You are already very much missed.

Our Monday night potlucks simply will not be the same without you.

Memorial Day Potluck is ON for tonight!

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A little hint at what we’re making tonight!

We’re on for potluck this evening. We love ending the holiday weekends with you all and look forward to seeing you soon!

Here’s a hint of what we’ve prepared for tonight. Along with a salad of cabbage, kohlrabi, grapes, and a lime-ginger dressing. There may also be a risotto, still deciding on that, and possibly a dessert.

In other words, there’s plenty of food. If you want to come and don’t have time or feel like cooking, please feel free to come anyway and just bring some extra wine!

A presto!

And here’s what you missed on last week’s episode…

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We had only 10 people here… all the more morels for lucky us! Cornelia & Sam went foraging Monday morning up north of town, and came back with a haul of beauties. Then they found more down the street from us. So we got to try them all separately and compare. They were all delicious, but there’s something really fun about having the ones that were only about an hour from harvesting to eating!

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The entire line-up, in no particular order:

  • Morels
  • Thai green curry soup
  • Cheese plate
  • Guacamole with blue corn chips
  • Tomatoes broiled with cheese
  • Polenta with cashew cheese and thyme
    • topped with lemony-garlicky kale & collard florets
  • Special Swiss torte (plum I think?) with freshly whipped cream!

Playing for their supper!

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IMG_0298Our friend Bob Tobin was passing through town and brought our new friend Tim Styles along. They came over for our potluck and treated the lucky attendees to a lovely impromptu concert. And of course, the food was amazing, along with the company, as always!!!

I think it was a great deal all around!

Video coming soon…

Bob Tobin Music

Tim’s ReverbNation Page

Pizza! The Trial Run…

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I learned something new tonight. Did you know a pizza can catch fire? 😮

The curing process for the new wood-fired oven was pretty tedious. Especially for someone like Victor who’s ready to jump in and play with his new toy. Keeping the temperature low is no fun. Lots of monitoring the temp, adjusting to make sure it doesn’t get too hot too fast. Luckily, he had company with the pups. And several neighbors stopped by to check on the progress and keep him company as well.

FINALLY! Tonight he got to take it for a test spin, cranking it up to 900 or so degrees.

Tomorrow night, to celebrate our upcoming trip to Italy and break in the wood-fired oven, we’re planning to fire it up for our weekly potluck. With tonight’s test run, we learned a few things we’ll do differently next time around. But we suspect that it will take a few attempts to get it right. The pizza was half and half: pesto and a homemade red sauce, with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and mozzarella on all. It got a little toasty and even caught fire for a second! Exciting! But was pretty tasty nonetheless.

However, the pizza dough from Toscano & Sons was fabulous! Puffed up and was tender, crunchy and chewy as it should be. Let’s see if we can improve upon it for tomorrow night!

A Corny but Peachy Night in Georgia!

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Corn and peaches were the seasonal ingredients of the night! Corn chowder and corn pudding, and peach cobbler and peach tart with chestnut flour crust.

Global Growers’ Dinner

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Out in the Decatur Cemetery. Really.  Amazingly beautiful and lively! Fun for a good cause, with Peter & Colleen Morich and Dayle Hosack! Victor was of course at the Alliance for the preview of Bull Durham: the Musical.

In the auction, Dayle and I tried to buy the Hog Heaven item with the stipulation that we’d be able to spare the pig’s life. Got outbid, but at least they had to pay more, and it helped the cause – theirs and ours!

As you can see from the photos, there was great food (and wine!), in addition to the great company. The outstanding menu providers, from a vegetarian perspective, were:

  • Course 1 – No. 246: Summer melon salad with house curd ricotta salata, local herbs – fresh, light!
    (Twain‘s pickled okra gets an honorable mention, even though it was on the plate with chicken…)
  • Course 2 – Chai Pani: Sookhi bhindi (okra) masala with green tomato chutney, holy basil and coconut – sublime!
    (Coconut – that love it or hate it ingredient – in this dish made me love fresh, raw coconut)
  • Course 4 – Steinbeck’s: Miso smoked eggplant, poached bantam eggs, herb salad – delish!
    And Brick Store Pub: Warm sweet potato greens salad, roasted butternut squash, muscadine vinaigrette – yum!
    (Props to the chefs of both for providing our veg versions senza pork so we didn’t have to pick around it)
  • Course 5: Leon’s Full Service: Mushroom spaetzle, fortsonia cheese, onions and herbs – OMG!!!!!
  • Dessert – Cakes & Ale: Profiteroles filled with muscadine jelly, cashew cream and toasted sesame – elegant finish!

Thanks to the organizers: Robin Chanin, Judy Turner, and former mayor Bill Floyd. A great evening!