3/7/07

Greetings all:  Entrées for the rest of the week are - today, Meatloaf with Chipotle/Parsley Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Squash  ($10.99), and Friday, inspired by  Plattsburgh High School's production of Grease this upcoming weekend , an American Classic:  Tuna Noodle Casserole, only, we are doing it with Grand Onion  style - Browned Ahi Tuna, Fresh Peas, Egg Noodles and a rich Cream Sauce ($12.99).   The quiche this week is Smoked Salmon, Scallions & Arina Gouda.  Trevor is making Cream of Stilton soup (chicken stock) today, Smokey Hungarian Goulash (beef stock) on Thursday, and Friday will be  Hearty Vegetable & Potato  (vegetarian stock).  As always, let us know if you want us to put bread aside for you - baguettes, whole wheat seeded ciabattas or a loaf of Kalamata Olive Bread.

To help you plan ahead - here is information on our special St. Patrick's Day Feast for next week (pick up either Friday or Saturday):   Roasted Corned Beef (corned here in the store) with a Mustard Glaze served with  Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Colcannon , with a Rhubarb Pudding for dessert ($24.99).   Colcannon is a very traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes, cabbage and greens.  As with our Valentine's meal, the St. Patrick's Day feast will be served on ceramic platters that you can put right in your oven or microwave to reheat.  Also, Trevor will make Irish Soda Bread to purchase by the loaf.  We look forward to receiving your St. Patrick's Day Meal reservations so that we can schedule our cooking and have plenty for all.

A big shipment of shelf stable items came in yesterday.  Starting off with items from the UK :  Baxters Lobster Bisque Soup, PG Tips Tea (bags and loose), Crosse & Blackwell Branston Pickle (the classic spiced vegetable mix of carrots, rutabaga, onions, dates, apples, zucchini, cucumbers, etc., etc., etc.), McVities Digestives, Heinz Spotted Dick Pudding, Sun Brand Major Grey Chutney, Patak's Tikka Masala Curry Sauce (with tangy lemon and cilantro - perfect to simmer  chicken and/or vegetables with prior to serving over rice), and their Brinjal Pickle (sweet, spicy eggplant relish - blend 2 Tbls with a 15-oz can of chick peas or garbanzo beans for a new twist on Hummus).

Asian arrivals include Anni Chun Soba Noodles (buckwheat noodles - great with our Chicken Sausages and any one of a number of Stonewall Sauces ) the incredibly hot Wasabi Green Peas (try sprinkling a few on your salads), Nakano Natural Rice Vinegar , and Coconut Milk.  Another Asian arrival is  Adzuki Beans, dried, russet-colored beans with a sweet flavor that are particularly popular in Japanese cooking where they are used in cakes and other sweets, or cooked with rice, tinting the rice a soft pink. In the condiment/general usage category: Consorzio Roasted Garlic Dipping Oil and two varieties of Ojai Cook Lemonaise - Original and Lemonaise with Garlic & Herbs (basil & tarragon).  These "spreads" are low fat, no carbs, low cholesterol, incredibly flavorful alternatives to mayonnaise. 

Moving on to snacking items: Santa Barbara Olives from California - Chipotle Stuffed and Double Stuffed (jalapeno and garlic); a number of the terrific  Salsas from the Desert Pepper Company in El Paso TX  - Salsa Del Rio (medium heat, featuring green chiles, "allowing even the mildest of heart to flirt with fire, without the threat of getting burned"),  Chile Con Queso (medium, "bask in the glow"),  Corn , Black Bean & Roasted Pepper (medium, "lush, fertile and infused with flavor ... enter the garden of earthly delights"), and XXX Fire Roasted Habanero (xxxtra hot - "feel the heat"); Plocky Three Grain Tortilla Chips (cracked wheat, rice & corn) as a vehicle for the salsas, and more of the Bella Famiglia Sparking Pomegranate Water from Italy, to let you go back for more.

We are wonderfully replenished on crackers with a wide selection of Allen & Cowley Starr Ridge crackers arriving from Phoenix - Olive Oil, Pistachio with Asiago Cheese & Red Onion, Black Pepper,  Rosemary Parmesan and Seed (crusted with sesame and flax seeds and quinoa) .  The Starr Ridge crackers have simple ingredients (with no words you'd have to look up) and clean tastes.  To save you from looking it up, quinoa (keen-wa) is a grain that is a staple in South American cuisine.  We also have Mary's Gone Crackers Originals (organic, wheat-free, gluten-free, made from whole grain brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds and sesame seeds) back in.

For those of you attracted to large bowls of steaming pasta, a shipment from the wonderful Rustichella d'Abruzzo company in  Italy came in.  We have their Linguine, Fregola Sarda (large couscous), Penne, Chitarra, and Casareccia (short, curving twisted pasta that catches lots of sauce in it's grooves). This artisan pasta is made from stone-ground durum wheat flour from hard winter wheat and pure well water. These two ingredients, when mixed together and extruded through handcarved bronze dyes, produce a textured pasta that holds the sauce beautifully.  Coincidently, our Villa Vespa Pasta Sauce shipment came in over the weekend.  Villa Vespa is the Lake Placid company, owned by Marlene and Kim Vespa, the wife and daughter of the man who had the restaurant of the same name, Villa Vespa, in Placid from 1974 though the mid-90's.  The women of the family carry on the wonderful tradition of great flavors in classic foods with their sauces, pastas, etc.  We are restocked on the Porcini Mushroom and Marinara Pasta Sauces , in both the 32oz and 16oz size.  I mention the sizes because the 16 oz size is perfect for two people  - and it's wonderful to not have 2/3's empty jars of pasta sauces lurking in the fridge.  We also restocked on the Villa Vespa Biscotti that I would put up against any biscotti - the taste and texture is perfect!

We will have tickets to this weekend's performances of Grease available here through 3pm on Friday afternoon.  After that, you will have to purchase them at the door.  The musical is being performed Friday (7pm), Sat (7pm) and Sunday (2pm), and "the doors open" 1 hour before performance time .  We are all going Saturday night.  Trevor hasn't been to a PHS Drama Club performance before so he's in for a real treat.  Seeing those young people put aside all the day to day distractions of modern life to sing, dance and act their hearts out gets me every year!

Stay warm and enjoy the sun, even if only from indoors.  Over and out - ZPL