Hi All You Luna/tics!!
September is here!!! I swear some of the hottest days of summer come this month....the heat and then our cool nights get me so confused (I'm the pretty one.......), but reminds me of BRAISING MEATS and stews, and polenta and Lamb shanks, the list gets longer and longer as I just sit here and think....
hmmmmm.....my favorite foods.........slow roasting, bringing out so much flavor and with so very little effort, just let it simmer for hours and hours and hours.....(and that my friends is why the Crock-Pot was invented - to make excellent cooks out of all of us....)
Okay, the tide, as slow as it is turning, is lightening up. Customers and friends coming in have let some of the weight off their shoulders and are breathing just a bit easier......
Now don't get me wrong: it is still pitiful, sad, and each day a big question-mark of "what tha?" is going on, but at least there seems to be an end to this very long road we are traveling. Maybe not this month, or even this year, but just to have something positive coming out of peoples mouths for a change: what a beginning sigh of relief.
Several of the vacant shops on Main Street here in Placerville are filled again. Nice to see this. But shops that are having to go out of business soon are not so nice to see. But it is inevitable during a semi-recession (not my words). My opposite "sides-of-the-tracks friends" keep telling me of the "whoa's" to come.....but hold on fellas::::the worst we have now experienced as a whole.....it is the future we HAVE GOT to look forward to as something better than what has been behind us.
And don't get me started on medical provisions!!!
Well, I did start, so here it is: I am a small business man who only employs 8 very wonderful employees (myself? I am a free agent who is only doing this for the love of wine and food....in that order.....). Of these eight employees, only four of them have medical insurance that they can afford, either through spouses or parents. My other four do not. And when they go to the doctor, they pay cash. And when they go to the emergency room, they pay cash. Allot of cash....
(Side note: my guy who takes care of Creekside Place gardens: woke up with a high fever and a stomach ache that would not go away. He called the doctor up who in turn told him to check into the emergency ward at Marshall Hospital. He did at 7 AM in the morning. He was diagnosed with kidney stones, was checked into the hospital, had a treatment to dissolve them, and was out at 11 AM the same morning. Ten days later, he and his family were presented with a hospital and emergency room bill of over $10,000.00. How can he pay that? He has no insurance, but pays with cash. He is beside himself as to what to do........pending results to come.........)
I can only hope that my contribution as an employer will be the amount that we can sustain as a small business. I can also only hope that the government realizes the burden that will be placed on the "little guy" and the mom-and-pop businesses around the nation. Too much will put so many owners out of business - that preverbal straw-that-breaks-the-camels-back so to speak. Any amount will ultimately require price hikes for all the services and items we provide, and the consumer will be the ones feeling that. BUT.....we as a nation have to do something. I am willing to do my part. My people deserve the treatment needed if medical attention is required, and they should not to sell the cow to get it.
Now that Gary is a Medicare Man, we will see what this has to bring us....and hey? Isn't that a government run agency? Hows that working?
I on the other hand, have promised myself never to require medical attention for the rest of my natural days......(and as my friend Jeffrina says: Honey, there ain't nothing natural about it! So there you are......)
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Sooooooo.......we had this great discussion about taste in food the other day. I have several friends who, when they talk: I listen. We were using salt as the ingredient that is so under or over used in dishes and how either way, can be the saving grace of a meal or its downfall. So how come, we here in California, are so in tune to flavorings of salt, sweet, hot, sour. It comprises basically all we look for in our foods and our desserts and snacks. And so we measure our foods and our likes and dislikes based on these things. I love the heat of chiles. I love the ying/yang of sour-sweet. But without the proper balance of the salt factor, they don't work as well. These are feelings in my mouth that become memorable to me while eating, and leave me wanting to taste more of that.
Gary and I have so many people in our lives that do not like "hot" dishes. It is so far away from our thoughts in taste, that we forget about people intolerant of hot foods, and if I were to go a step further, those unable to have salt. I have always feared being told I would not be able to eat items like onions, or garlic, or corn, or chiles. Or Salt. I know we can adapt to this restriction, but mentally, I am not that good of a soldier I am afraid. What if they told me I could not eat fruit? Or chocolate? Or (knock on wood and perish the thought:) YOU CANNOT DRINK WINE. (I am losing my breath just thinking about this now....holding it just in case holding my breath will ward off this ever happening to me.....I think I threw salt over my shoulder, crossed myself and spit on the ground.....JUST IN CASE.......)
(A funny story of a very good friend and my introduction to his eating habits: Gary and I have this wonderful friend named Jeff. Many, many many years ago, we invited him and a friend over for dinner. This was the first time we had him for dinner, and so I decided to try this incredible sounding beef brisket recipe from Paul Proudhome, the Cajun cook so famous in the late 70's and early 80's. His recipe was a dry rub with cayenne pepper, ancho chile powder, onion powder, black pepper, etc., that was self-marinating for about 6 hours, and then another 6 hours at a slow temp to cook this dish. Let me tell you it was fantastic......but......Jeff - the good mannered guest that he was, had a couple of bites of the dish and promptly excused himself from the table. I noticed he was blood red colored as he left, but I just assumed he has so so happy to be eating this fabulous food that he was over-whelmed with joy......
He was not.
It seems that poor Jeff is not able to even eat black pepper (WAY TO HOT!) and was dying from the heat of the chiles and the peppers. But , the good guest that he was, did not want to ruin my dinner with the steam coming out of his ears nor the blood-shot eyes covering his face.....Damn......I did not know....and to be honest, it was the first time I had ever experienced someone intolerant of hat or spicy flavors. Long story short: Jeff has been over many times since, but we limit it non-spicy dishes....)
(Poor man - used to be six foot tall, but I am sure we shrunk him down to 5'5" ....beware the power of chiles!!!)
Right now, I have a good world of food.....I can only hope that if you are restricted in your diets, that we can, here at Cafe Luna, adapt our menus to accommodate you correctly, giving you joy after joy in your mouth.......
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Have been enjoying the last week in our yard at home. Lost 14 weeks due to construction on the outside of our home because they had to remove all the paint and plaster and then re-plaster and re-paint.
We were outside in the backyard yesterday. I was helping Gary by supervising his tile work project while I was sitting in a lounge-chair, and we opened a bottle of white wine, because, you know, during summer months, a bottle of crisp white is what we drink. So all of a sudden, the two of us had consumed the entire bottle. So what to do? Of course, trying to maintain the spirit of the event of my supervising Gary's tile project, we opened another bottle of crisp white wine, something we drink during the summer months because it would be gauche otherwise. Well, all of a sudden, we realized that the second bottle of wine was gone.
As Gary was steadfastly working on his tile project (and I am sure, thanking me silently for my valuable input) I was talking a mile a minute about how Grace Slick from the Jefferson Airplane had just turned 70 years old, and that I was sure that cowboys in America were all hiding out in Arizona waiting for John Travolta to make a new movie about ranch-riders, and about the constants we all have in life regarding reading a book and the values of passing that book on to the homeless people in the country, and had he noticed that when people and their pets hung out together, they really did start to look like each other, and what did he think about Chinese art as opposed to Keith Harring's artistic endeavors on the subways of New York, and why did it cost so much to make a long distance phone call on our land-line and yet it was included in our cell phone line, and how come women seemed to be getting more and more tattoo's with so much color, especially on the small of their backs, , and how the men kept getting tattoos of landscapes and moonscapes and how if he were to cut that one tile a bit more on the diagonal, his project would just turn out perfect.....
He on the other-hand....wished for the kind of guy who fell asleep in his chair after drinking a bottle of wine.....
And see? Now you know what a bonding experience wine can be.....to all of us....
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UPDATE: Tomato plants at house: Zero (0).
We cut them down in defiance.......damn worms.......
Hey!!!! I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to write me about the methods of removing those disgusting tomato worms....some of the methods were truly full of merit, and some of them.....well, I did not realize that voodoo was so prevalent in our little community......but, if it works.....it works......
The more I try to grow tomatoes, the more love the Farmers Market.....
We hope to see you soon, and hope you might drop a line of your tomato plant experiences.....and your favorite recipes and things to eat in the summertime....love hearing from you.
Take care.
David at Cafe Luna
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September Wine Notes
THE WINE MENU:
Gary, myself and some hard-core friends went wine tasting over the week end....We were invited over to Amador County to taste some of the new vintages, and also help with some wine pairings for a couple of coming events....what a hoot!!
Went to Jeff Runquist Winery and tasted all he had to offer.....funny thing, his list of tasting is about half from a couple of months ago, becasue they sold out of everything due to his winning of so many awards at the California State Fair. But.......his Amador Barbera is incredible!....and what a great dog they have there, Pearl, who greets each of us at the door (don't feed the dog!!!). Very deserving of the awards recieved....
Next we went to Dillian Winery, and met Tom the owner/wine-maker.
You know when you talk to someone on the phone, you have this mental picture of that person? Well with Tom, I had this picture of a guy about my age or so (55+), who was grey haired and looks like a pipe-smoker........well, he is probably 30 years old (or maybe younger....I can't tell peoples ages or their weights.....I am loved by many for this.....), and as exurburent as a guy can be. The fun and the information we found out about his winery, his family heritage (5th generation on that piece of land in Amador County), and his work plans were so great we all wanted to go out and just drink wine the rest of the day in celebration of him!!! (well, okay, we maybe were planning on drinking wine for the day anyway, but heck: life is a celebration and so we were celebrating TOM AT DILLION WINERY!!!) Now let me also tell you something else: this winery hit a 100% with all five of us for varietal tastings, pricing, and absolute lush flavors......we were so excited when we left his place that a little winery could be so great. And we mean that. GO HERE and relish in his incredible wines. Tell him you are a Luna/tic......he will either greet you warmly or throw you out....
Went to a new winery named Driven, sharing the same drive-way as Dobra Zemlja on Steiner Road. We met "Rudy", the dad of the clan. Thank gawd we get to meet other like minded wine people everywhere we go. This winery has only been opened up for about 3 months with one of the most spectacular views in Amador county...on top of the hill overlooking the entire valley....Beee-uuuu-teee-fulll! They have a great collection of old vinatage cars and tractors and farm equiptment on site and we enjoyed their new offerings of wine. Good luck and check them out.
Got to go to Wilderotter Vineyards and checked out their new vintages. This is a really nice wine tasting room, and the staff are fun and full of vinegar. We had fun with them and got to meet the owner/winemaker. I love how a wine maker has so much information about wine making, his philosophy of taste, and also his dreams....their wines, most notably the Sauvignon Blanc, are sensational.
And finally, C.G. DiArie. We went to the wine tasting room and met all the "girls" behind the bar. Friends of friends, we talked for at least an hour about some of th crazies we all knew collectively, and how much fun we were having. Gary and I have a special place in our hearts for this winery. The owners are good friends and we respect the heck out of them for the consistant prooduct that is just overwhelming. Love the fact that he is making wines out of the ordinary, introducing new varietals from Spain and Portugal that are so condusive to this area. Love his deep developed flavors and the fact that we are so lucky to have these people in our lives. Yahoo!!!
So, as usual: go visit the wineries. Go enjoy what our counties have to offer. Enjoy the best laid STAY-CATIONS you can imagine right here in our back yards. Pack a picnic, bring lots of water to drink, and enjoy what we love: good friends and a great place to find out something new about wines.
Please Note: Like a parent with many, many children: I am just noting some of our new wines on the list. The list of incredible wineries we represent is large. I am not choosing one over the other, just the new wines listed. (The only way I would choose one child of mine over the other is if they looked like me, only more handsome, or taller, or thinner, or maybe if they didn't look like me at all....it is all so confusing.....I should have had kids....)
Sep 4, 2009
Double click on each line below to take you to a Printable copy of the menus, recipes and specials.
Copy of September 2009 Menu
Promotions
Recipe: Cafe Luna Cream Cheese Spread
Recipe: Cafe Luna Quick Basic Curry Base
Copy of September 2009 Menu
Promotions
Recipe: Cafe Luna Cream Cheese Spread
Recipe: Cafe Luna Quick Basic Curry Base
This Months Menu High-Lights.....
New This Menu:
Well my friends, the menu change has been a hit! The two page format with one page of appetizers and light entree's along with several salads has been very much of a tasting menu for a lot of you. Thank you!!!
Main Entrees
Mediterranean Seafood Stew - Did you know Gary is half Portuguese? His Mom's family was from the beautiful Azores - an incredible tropical island that we will someday visit. His mom was also the kind of cook that could make mud-pies taste good. She taught me the benefit of Linguisa sausage and the role it plays in Portuguese cooking. Kind of like our bacon. The Linguisa renders its fat, and that is used to saute and other parts of the dish, gathering layer after layer of flavors. We are taking large prawns, cod fish and clams, sauteing them with Linguisa, tomatoes and white onions, finishing them with a great saffron stock and fresh fennel sauce, and serving with a mound of Basmati rice. Wonderful. So good sometimes it hurts.
Prawns ala' Casa Gary and I were fortunate to have gone to this great hotel on the beaches of Mexico. The town is named "Troncones" and it is outside of Ixtapa on the coast. It is named Casa de la Serena (double click the name to take your to their web-site).. Debbie and Mike are great hosts, and have a wonderful place for us to totally "veg" out at. The avocado's are the size of my little nephews head (the 5 year old, not the 18 year old), the fish is caught right outside in the ocean and brought to the front door each morning for us to look at and purchase off the boat, and the people are soooooo laid back (groovey man...), that all you can do is relax. So that is what we are going to do again this January.
But I digress.....the Prawns! The Prawns!!! One day, we ordered 2 kilos of fresh prawns and the six of us looked at the amount of them, and said "there is no way we are going to eat all of these.....we will have to invite the village for an after dinner-dinner to eat the rest." (we are very generous that way.....) But we cleaned them, keeping the shells intact, marinated them in a puree of chiles, limes, mangos and oranges, and then barbecued them on an open flame in the shells and started to eat. Well, let me say this with all honesty: I have never seen Sheri or Sally eat so much in my entire life! The men just sat back and told them to please help themselves, thinking they would just eat a little bit, then tell us "I'm so full::::I couldn't eat another thing!" But nooooo.....our little tank-girls consumed more than their fair share, and we poor guys starved and had to subsist on Gold tequila and guacamole. Well, long story short: they are fantastic cooked in the shells, more flavor than you can imagine, messy but soooo good.....try these....Extra napkins on request.
Salmon Wellington - Fresh Pacific salmon filets topped with caramelized leeks and carrots, rubbed with French mustard and tarragon, wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden. Served topped with a light Meyer lemon beurre blanc. Dee-lish!!!!
Jerk Pork - The "HOT-HEAD" selection this month. I love "jerked" meats and vegetables, and believe it or not, the first place we tasted it was in Cozumel, Mexico. The influenences of the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and South America on this little island made my gastronomical juices happier than they have ever been. Hot. No, I mean really, really HOT and spicy and sweet and aromatic and full of flavors that between sweating and dripping, I was ohhh-ing and ahh-ing so much that I wanted to forget about getting back on the cruise ship and just stay there and simmer away....That good. We are taking our Jerk sauce, made with about 25 ingredients of fresh herbs, vegetables and many spices, pureed to a smooth paste, and then cooking the boneless pork and vegetables until they are tender and full of this wonderfulness that HotHeads crave: a #9 on the heat scale. If you love hot spicy foods, you are in heaven. The nice part about this is it can also be a vegetarian option, as the base is meatless. So there Mr. D.....food at last.
Appetizers, Small Plates and Light Entrees
Whoo-hoo! Our best girl-friend Sally steered me into this new region of smaller plates and things to try. She is my food concious, the one in the white robe sitting on my right shoulder while I sit on my left shoulder - usually with red on and horns.....
Stuffed Figs: Fresh figs stuffed with Gorgonzola Dolcelatte cheese, wrapped in Proscuitto, and served topped with a bit of a raspberry and Balsamic "gastrique"... a wonderful slowly reduced sauce thick enough to stay on your plate and packed with flavor. Get them while they last.
Market Pasta: Angel hair pasta, tossed with a bit of butter, fresh chopped Heirloom tomatoes, topped with our house-made pesto sauce. Simple, flavorful and to the point.
Ahi Tuna: Rare Ahi tuna, on a bed of baby greens, topped with an Italian infused Meyer lemon olive oil, served with a red chile aioli with toasts.
Gary's Mac and Cheese: He still amazes me after all these years. Still my favorite version, having tasted hundreds of versions of this confort dish. Macaroni pasta, with minced sauteed wild mushrooms, three kinds of cheese, topped with a crunchy topping, baked and topped with a spoonful of sour cream. What could be better than this?
Torta Rustica: Individual puff pastry pies, filled with sauteed veggies, Mozzarella cheese, baked until golden, and served topped with a bit of a roasted garlic and basil cream sauce. Another vegetable dish that makes you forget about meats.
Italian Sausage Polenta: Italian-style polenta cooked slowly with basil, thyme, Parmesan cheese and diced Italian sausages, cut into wedges, pan-sauteed until a bit golden, and then served layered with our house-made Marinara sauce and topped with Fontina cheese and broiled until golden and bubbly.....enough said.
Salade Nicoise - Lightly Dijon dressed greens topped with steamed potatoes, hard cooked eggs, steamed French green beans, artichoke hearts, Roma tomatoe, caper and Nicoise olives then slices of charred rare Ahi Tuna......see picture above.....its delicious.....
Sesame Noodle Salad - Thin noodles dressed in our own Peanut Sesame dressing, topped with celey, carrot slivers, scallions basil and cilantro, and chopped peanuts, served on a bed of baby greens. Served cold, this is such a hot summer dish!!!
New This Menu:
Well my friends, the menu change has been a hit! The two page format with one page of appetizers and light entree's along with several salads has been very much of a tasting menu for a lot of you. Thank you!!!
Main Entrees
Mediterranean Seafood Stew - Did you know Gary is half Portuguese? His Mom's family was from the beautiful Azores - an incredible tropical island that we will someday visit. His mom was also the kind of cook that could make mud-pies taste good. She taught me the benefit of Linguisa sausage and the role it plays in Portuguese cooking. Kind of like our bacon. The Linguisa renders its fat, and that is used to saute and other parts of the dish, gathering layer after layer of flavors. We are taking large prawns, cod fish and clams, sauteing them with Linguisa, tomatoes and white onions, finishing them with a great saffron stock and fresh fennel sauce, and serving with a mound of Basmati rice. Wonderful. So good sometimes it hurts.
Prawns ala' Casa Gary and I were fortunate to have gone to this great hotel on the beaches of Mexico. The town is named "Troncones" and it is outside of Ixtapa on the coast. It is named Casa de la Serena (double click the name to take your to their web-site).. Debbie and Mike are great hosts, and have a wonderful place for us to totally "veg" out at. The avocado's are the size of my little nephews head (the 5 year old, not the 18 year old), the fish is caught right outside in the ocean and brought to the front door each morning for us to look at and purchase off the boat, and the people are soooooo laid back (groovey man...), that all you can do is relax. So that is what we are going to do again this January.
But I digress.....the Prawns! The Prawns!!! One day, we ordered 2 kilos of fresh prawns and the six of us looked at the amount of them, and said "there is no way we are going to eat all of these.....we will have to invite the village for an after dinner-dinner to eat the rest." (we are very generous that way.....) But we cleaned them, keeping the shells intact, marinated them in a puree of chiles, limes, mangos and oranges, and then barbecued them on an open flame in the shells and started to eat. Well, let me say this with all honesty: I have never seen Sheri or Sally eat so much in my entire life! The men just sat back and told them to please help themselves, thinking they would just eat a little bit, then tell us "I'm so full::::I couldn't eat another thing!" But nooooo.....our little tank-girls consumed more than their fair share, and we poor guys starved and had to subsist on Gold tequila and guacamole. Well, long story short: they are fantastic cooked in the shells, more flavor than you can imagine, messy but soooo good.....try these....Extra napkins on request.
Salmon Wellington - Fresh Pacific salmon filets topped with caramelized leeks and carrots, rubbed with French mustard and tarragon, wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden. Served topped with a light Meyer lemon beurre blanc. Dee-lish!!!!
Jerk Pork - The "HOT-HEAD" selection this month. I love "jerked" meats and vegetables, and believe it or not, the first place we tasted it was in Cozumel, Mexico. The influenences of the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and South America on this little island made my gastronomical juices happier than they have ever been. Hot. No, I mean really, really HOT and spicy and sweet and aromatic and full of flavors that between sweating and dripping, I was ohhh-ing and ahh-ing so much that I wanted to forget about getting back on the cruise ship and just stay there and simmer away....That good. We are taking our Jerk sauce, made with about 25 ingredients of fresh herbs, vegetables and many spices, pureed to a smooth paste, and then cooking the boneless pork and vegetables until they are tender and full of this wonderfulness that HotHeads crave: a #9 on the heat scale. If you love hot spicy foods, you are in heaven. The nice part about this is it can also be a vegetarian option, as the base is meatless. So there Mr. D.....food at last.
Appetizers, Small Plates and Light Entrees
Whoo-hoo! Our best girl-friend Sally steered me into this new region of smaller plates and things to try. She is my food concious, the one in the white robe sitting on my right shoulder while I sit on my left shoulder - usually with red on and horns.....
Stuffed Figs: Fresh figs stuffed with Gorgonzola Dolcelatte cheese, wrapped in Proscuitto, and served topped with a bit of a raspberry and Balsamic "gastrique"... a wonderful slowly reduced sauce thick enough to stay on your plate and packed with flavor. Get them while they last.
Market Pasta: Angel hair pasta, tossed with a bit of butter, fresh chopped Heirloom tomatoes, topped with our house-made pesto sauce. Simple, flavorful and to the point.
Ahi Tuna: Rare Ahi tuna, on a bed of baby greens, topped with an Italian infused Meyer lemon olive oil, served with a red chile aioli with toasts.
Gary's Mac and Cheese: He still amazes me after all these years. Still my favorite version, having tasted hundreds of versions of this confort dish. Macaroni pasta, with minced sauteed wild mushrooms, three kinds of cheese, topped with a crunchy topping, baked and topped with a spoonful of sour cream. What could be better than this?
Torta Rustica: Individual puff pastry pies, filled with sauteed veggies, Mozzarella cheese, baked until golden, and served topped with a bit of a roasted garlic and basil cream sauce. Another vegetable dish that makes you forget about meats.
Italian Sausage Polenta: Italian-style polenta cooked slowly with basil, thyme, Parmesan cheese and diced Italian sausages, cut into wedges, pan-sauteed until a bit golden, and then served layered with our house-made Marinara sauce and topped with Fontina cheese and broiled until golden and bubbly.....enough said.
Salade Nicoise - Lightly Dijon dressed greens topped with steamed potatoes, hard cooked eggs, steamed French green beans, artichoke hearts, Roma tomatoe, caper and Nicoise olives then slices of charred rare Ahi Tuna......see picture above.....its delicious.....
Sesame Noodle Salad - Thin noodles dressed in our own Peanut Sesame dressing, topped with celey, carrot slivers, scallions basil and cilantro, and chopped peanuts, served on a bed of baby greens. Served cold, this is such a hot summer dish!!!
Aug 10, 2009
Hi All You Luna/tics!!
Yes, yes, yes... I am seven days late with this - but for a valid (I think so at least) reason. We are trying a new concept here at Cafe Luna, that I wanted to make sure was workable in my tiny, tiny kitchen. And the fact that Ryan and Teresa are off getting married (many congratulations and success!!) and honeymooning, so it really is a solo effort.
We have included almost a whole page of new appetizers, light entrees and small plates, plus some new salads to the menu along with our page of entrees. This to shake it up a bit for ourselves, and mostly to make my regulars happy with items that they can share, or just have a small portion of. So I think you will be happy with this new rendering.
I have had four nights now of trying it out on unsuspecting souls, and have gotten the rhythm down to a roll, and am ready to proceed into the future. So here you go, new menu is downloadable below, our monthly promotions are here, along with a downloadable page of coupons, and on top of that, some new wine trivia and info of what we are doing.
Next week, you will be getting another letter from me with a great couple of recipes on it that will help relieve summer.
UPDATE: Tomatoes plants at house: Zero (0) on one bush, 18 on the other. But who's counting?
Now here is the real story: Gary and I have been in the middle of a major 12 week project that the builders of our home have been conducting. The paint on our house has bubbled and blistered off, and the contractor has had to strip the paint and then grind all the first 1/4" of plaster off the entire outside of the house. That took three weeks. We have been living with humongous amounts of plaster dust everywhere. And unable to get to the vegetable garden side of the house. So, with the tomato plants full of plaster dust, they dwindled to half their size. And to add insult to injury, these ugly green horned tomato worms from hell suddenly appeared out of nowhere and preceded to eat the rest of the plants leaves.
Now listen, if you have not seen these "things" let me give you a visual:
Imagine your index finger without a bone, all bright green and undulating as you touch them. Squishy and sticking to your tomato plant with Velcro-like strength. And imagine yourself trying to pull them off, and in the back of your mind screaming like a little girl because you have to even touch them, because you are also afraid that they might break in half or worse: squish in your fingers. Well... the butch guy that I am winds up having to lean against the wall and take a breath after just looking at these things, and then sterilize my hands for half an hour afterwards. (yeah, yeah, yeah: wear gloves you say.....well you have to understand I don't want anything of mine to touch these things....).
So this month, the worms win......
I love the Farmers Market.....
We hope to see you soon, and hope you might drop a line of your tomato plant experiences.....and your favorite recipes and things to eat in the summertime....love hearing from you.
Take care.
David at Cafe Luna
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August 2009 Promotions
Double-click here for a printable page of coupons
Here is our promotional plan for this month (oh you Wino's will be happy!!)
#1. On Wino Wednesday, all wines are 30% off the list price. The change here is it used to be wines under $35.00 and over 50.00......now you get to have any one on the menu, bottles only. So now, a $40.00 bottle will run you $28.00 on Wino Wednesdays......Yahoo!!!!!
#2. BYOB Thursdays! On Thursday nights, we will be having diners wishing to bring in their own bottles of wine getting two free corkage per table. That alone will be a $30.00 savings. Please don't bring in wines on our list though.....how gauche. Call us first if you have a question......or better yet, how about if I download a copy of our current listings with this mailing?
#3. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights 1/2 off dinner coupons. Buy first dinner at regular price, second dinner is half off the menu price. Bring the attached coupon in and be honored for the month of August, 2009.
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Mr. Don's Pan Roasted Chicken Breast - Don is a great guy who loved this chicken dish, and if you love something and are the first to tell me, you get a plate named after you. Well, he and his lovely bride are two people who have opinions that I like to hear, and if he loves it, it must be great. We take a "Frenched" chicken breast - a breast with just one joint of the wing in it - pan-saute it until the skin is ultra crispy, finish roasting in the oven, and then serving it on a bed of baby gnocchi's, Fingerling potatoes, and roasted mushrooms in a rich pan-pan juice reduction with a bit of fresh basil. Heaven on a plate.
Jerk Pork - The "HOT-HEAD" selection this month. I love "jerked" meats and vegetables, and believe it or not, the first place we tasted it was in Cozumel, Mexico. The influenences of the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and South America on this little island made my gastronomical juices happier than they have ever been. Hot. No, I mean really, really HOT and spicy and sweet and aromatic and full of flavors that between sweating and dripping, I was ohhh-ing and ahh-ing so much that I wanted to forget about getting back on the cruise ship and just stay there and simmer away....That good. We are taking our Jerk sauce, made with about 25 ingredients of fresh herbs, vegetables and many spices, pureed to a smooth paste, and then cooking the boneless pork and vegetables until they are tender and full of this wonderfulness that HotHeads crave: a #9 on the heat scale. If you love hot spicy foods, you are in heaven. The nice part about this is it can also be a vegetarian option, as the base is meatless. So there Mr. D.....food at last.
Appetizers, Small Plates and Light Entrees
Whoo-hoo! Our best girl-friend Sally steered me into this new region of smaller plates and things to try. She is my food concious, the one in the white robe sitting on my right shouldar while I sit on my left shouldar - usually with red on and horns.....
Stuffed Figs: Fresh figs stuffed with Gorgonzola Dolcelatte cheese, wrapped in Proscuitto, and served topped with a bit of a raspberry and Balsamic "gastrique"... a wonderful slowly reduced sauce thick enough to stay on your plate and packed with flavor. Get them while they last.
Mixed Plate: 3 or 4 Artisinal cheeses, fresh fruit, sliced cured meats and Gary's "Pops" peppers - sweet bells roasted, skinned and pickled with onions. Wonderful served with breads to smear everything on.
Market Pasta: Angel hair pasta, tossed with a bit of butter, fresh chopped Heirloom tomatoes, topped with our house-made pesto sauce. Simple, flavorful and to the point.
Ahi Tuna: Rare Ahi tuna, on a bed of baby greens, topped with an Italian infused Meyer lemon olive oil, served with a red chile aioli with toasts.
Gary's Mac and Cheese: He still amazes me after all these years. Still my favorite version, having tasted hundreds of versions of this confort dish. Macaroni pasta, with minced sauteed wild mushrooms, three kinds of cheese, topped with a crunchy topping, baked and topped with a spoonful of sour cream. What could be better than this?
Torta Rustica: Individual puff pastry pies, filled with sauteed veggies, Mozzarella cheese, baked until golden, and served topped with a bit of a roasted garlic and basil cream sauce. Another vegetable dish that makes you forget about meats.
Pork Sliders: We love barbecued pork, slow cooked, shredded and simmered in our barbecue sauce. So we are serving three of these babies with some fun options: red pickled onions rings, vinegar cucumbers, and little French cornichons - tiny pickles. This is fun food.
____________________________________________________________
Trade Notes / Rants & Raves
More Wine Notes and Cafe Luna Wine Club Information:::
Our local wineries are great. Great to visit, great to taste and sample, and even better because it is good money spent for your collection. We have maps here at Cafe Luna, and believe me, Gary loves to map out a route for you if you want.
Each week, I get to taste some of the very best this county has to offer. I am overwhelmed at what we have around us.....and I only wish that my Cafe and my pocketbook let me buy all of the great and wonderful wines I get to sample (eat your hearts out....)
But, yes, there are some not so great wines out there too. Be discerning. Develop a sense of what you like in a wine and grow from there. The wineries will help you developed your palate and if you learn to trust your own taste-buds, you will be happy. My Motto: you either love it or you do not: no one can convince you otherwise. Stick to you guns, and buy and drink what you love and can afford.
And right now, many of them are having winery only specials that can save you a bundle. Visit them or call them...You will be happy.
I am endeavoring to developed a list of like-minded people who are looking for some outstanding and very reasonably priced wines. This group will be for Case Purchasing only, at a very big discount. If you would like to be included in this Wine Club at Cafe Luna, drop us a line. It will be for pick-up here only, and we will be sampling these new wines a couple of times a month. We just sold an Italian Primitivo for $11.00 a bottle, and it was great!!
These are wines we won't be carrying here on our list, because they are usually small lots of production.
When you check out these wineries, make sure you check their Events pages if they have them. These are the upcoming days when you will be able to enjoy some of the special offerings that the counties have to showcase their wares. Those days are fun, and you get to do something out of the normal range. These summer days ahead are going to be a blast for us wine drinkers, and the wineries are trying to keep us amazed at what they can do. And you can buy incredible wines on top of it all. I love my job....
___________________________________________________________
Thank you for your business, we can only hope that things are getting better for all of us.
We love seeing your faces, and miss seeing those we do not.
Drop me a line with an idea, or a suggestion and I will try to respond.
Take care.
David at Cafe Luna
Yes, yes, yes... I am seven days late with this - but for a valid (I think so at least) reason. We are trying a new concept here at Cafe Luna, that I wanted to make sure was workable in my tiny, tiny kitchen. And the fact that Ryan and Teresa are off getting married (many congratulations and success!!) and honeymooning, so it really is a solo effort.
We have included almost a whole page of new appetizers, light entrees and small plates, plus some new salads to the menu along with our page of entrees. This to shake it up a bit for ourselves, and mostly to make my regulars happy with items that they can share, or just have a small portion of. So I think you will be happy with this new rendering.
I have had four nights now of trying it out on unsuspecting souls, and have gotten the rhythm down to a roll, and am ready to proceed into the future. So here you go, new menu is downloadable below, our monthly promotions are here, along with a downloadable page of coupons, and on top of that, some new wine trivia and info of what we are doing.
Next week, you will be getting another letter from me with a great couple of recipes on it that will help relieve summer.
UPDATE: Tomatoes plants at house: Zero (0) on one bush, 18 on the other. But who's counting?
Now here is the real story: Gary and I have been in the middle of a major 12 week project that the builders of our home have been conducting. The paint on our house has bubbled and blistered off, and the contractor has had to strip the paint and then grind all the first 1/4" of plaster off the entire outside of the house. That took three weeks. We have been living with humongous amounts of plaster dust everywhere. And unable to get to the vegetable garden side of the house. So, with the tomato plants full of plaster dust, they dwindled to half their size. And to add insult to injury, these ugly green horned tomato worms from hell suddenly appeared out of nowhere and preceded to eat the rest of the plants leaves.
Now listen, if you have not seen these "things" let me give you a visual:
Imagine your index finger without a bone, all bright green and undulating as you touch them. Squishy and sticking to your tomato plant with Velcro-like strength. And imagine yourself trying to pull them off, and in the back of your mind screaming like a little girl because you have to even touch them, because you are also afraid that they might break in half or worse: squish in your fingers. Well... the butch guy that I am winds up having to lean against the wall and take a breath after just looking at these things, and then sterilize my hands for half an hour afterwards. (yeah, yeah, yeah: wear gloves you say.....well you have to understand I don't want anything of mine to touch these things....).
So this month, the worms win......
I love the Farmers Market.....
We hope to see you soon, and hope you might drop a line of your tomato plant experiences.....and your favorite recipes and things to eat in the summertime....love hearing from you.
Take care.
David at Cafe Luna
____________________________________________________________
August 2009 Promotions
Double-click here for a printable page of coupons
Here is our promotional plan for this month (oh you Wino's will be happy!!)
#1. On Wino Wednesday, all wines are 30% off the list price. The change here is it used to be wines under $35.00 and over 50.00......now you get to have any one on the menu, bottles only. So now, a $40.00 bottle will run you $28.00 on Wino Wednesdays......Yahoo!!!!!
#2. BYOB Thursdays! On Thursday nights, we will be having diners wishing to bring in their own bottles of wine getting two free corkage per table. That alone will be a $30.00 savings. Please don't bring in wines on our list though.....how gauche. Call us first if you have a question......or better yet, how about if I download a copy of our current listings with this mailing?
#3. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights 1/2 off dinner coupons. Buy first dinner at regular price, second dinner is half off the menu price. Bring the attached coupon in and be honored for the month of August, 2009.
___________________________________________________________
Double-click here for a printable copy of this months menu
New This Menu:
Main Entrees
Mr. Don's Pan Roasted Chicken Breast - Don is a great guy who loved this chicken dish, and if you love something and are the first to tell me, you get a plate named after you. Well, he and his lovely bride are two people who have opinions that I like to hear, and if he loves it, it must be great. We take a "Frenched" chicken breast - a breast with just one joint of the wing in it - pan-saute it until the skin is ultra crispy, finish roasting in the oven, and then serving it on a bed of baby gnocchi's, Fingerling potatoes, and roasted mushrooms in a rich pan-pan juice reduction with a bit of fresh basil. Heaven on a plate.
Jerk Pork - The "HOT-HEAD" selection this month. I love "jerked" meats and vegetables, and believe it or not, the first place we tasted it was in Cozumel, Mexico. The influenences of the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and South America on this little island made my gastronomical juices happier than they have ever been. Hot. No, I mean really, really HOT and spicy and sweet and aromatic and full of flavors that between sweating and dripping, I was ohhh-ing and ahh-ing so much that I wanted to forget about getting back on the cruise ship and just stay there and simmer away....That good. We are taking our Jerk sauce, made with about 25 ingredients of fresh herbs, vegetables and many spices, pureed to a smooth paste, and then cooking the boneless pork and vegetables until they are tender and full of this wonderfulness that HotHeads crave: a #9 on the heat scale. If you love hot spicy foods, you are in heaven. The nice part about this is it can also be a vegetarian option, as the base is meatless. So there Mr. D.....food at last.
Appetizers, Small Plates and Light Entrees
Whoo-hoo! Our best girl-friend Sally steered me into this new region of smaller plates and things to try. She is my food concious, the one in the white robe sitting on my right shouldar while I sit on my left shouldar - usually with red on and horns.....
Stuffed Figs: Fresh figs stuffed with Gorgonzola Dolcelatte cheese, wrapped in Proscuitto, and served topped with a bit of a raspberry and Balsamic "gastrique"... a wonderful slowly reduced sauce thick enough to stay on your plate and packed with flavor. Get them while they last.
Mixed Plate: 3 or 4 Artisinal cheeses, fresh fruit, sliced cured meats and Gary's "Pops" peppers - sweet bells roasted, skinned and pickled with onions. Wonderful served with breads to smear everything on.
Market Pasta: Angel hair pasta, tossed with a bit of butter, fresh chopped Heirloom tomatoes, topped with our house-made pesto sauce. Simple, flavorful and to the point.
Ahi Tuna: Rare Ahi tuna, on a bed of baby greens, topped with an Italian infused Meyer lemon olive oil, served with a red chile aioli with toasts.
Gary's Mac and Cheese: He still amazes me after all these years. Still my favorite version, having tasted hundreds of versions of this confort dish. Macaroni pasta, with minced sauteed wild mushrooms, three kinds of cheese, topped with a crunchy topping, baked and topped with a spoonful of sour cream. What could be better than this?
Torta Rustica: Individual puff pastry pies, filled with sauteed veggies, Mozzarella cheese, baked until golden, and served topped with a bit of a roasted garlic and basil cream sauce. Another vegetable dish that makes you forget about meats.
Pork Sliders: We love barbecued pork, slow cooked, shredded and simmered in our barbecue sauce. So we are serving three of these babies with some fun options: red pickled onions rings, vinegar cucumbers, and little French cornichons - tiny pickles. This is fun food.
____________________________________________________________
Trade Notes / Rants & Raves
More Wine Notes and Cafe Luna Wine Club Information:::
Our local wineries are great. Great to visit, great to taste and sample, and even better because it is good money spent for your collection. We have maps here at Cafe Luna, and believe me, Gary loves to map out a route for you if you want.
Each week, I get to taste some of the very best this county has to offer. I am overwhelmed at what we have around us.....and I only wish that my Cafe and my pocketbook let me buy all of the great and wonderful wines I get to sample (eat your hearts out....)
But, yes, there are some not so great wines out there too. Be discerning. Develop a sense of what you like in a wine and grow from there. The wineries will help you developed your palate and if you learn to trust your own taste-buds, you will be happy. My Motto: you either love it or you do not: no one can convince you otherwise. Stick to you guns, and buy and drink what you love and can afford.
And right now, many of them are having winery only specials that can save you a bundle. Visit them or call them...You will be happy.
I am endeavoring to developed a list of like-minded people who are looking for some outstanding and very reasonably priced wines. This group will be for Case Purchasing only, at a very big discount. If you would like to be included in this Wine Club at Cafe Luna, drop us a line. It will be for pick-up here only, and we will be sampling these new wines a couple of times a month. We just sold an Italian Primitivo for $11.00 a bottle, and it was great!!
These are wines we won't be carrying here on our list, because they are usually small lots of production.
When you check out these wineries, make sure you check their Events pages if they have them. These are the upcoming days when you will be able to enjoy some of the special offerings that the counties have to showcase their wares. Those days are fun, and you get to do something out of the normal range. These summer days ahead are going to be a blast for us wine drinkers, and the wineries are trying to keep us amazed at what they can do. And you can buy incredible wines on top of it all. I love my job....
___________________________________________________________
Thank you for your business, we can only hope that things are getting better for all of us.
We love seeing your faces, and miss seeing those we do not.
Drop me a line with an idea, or a suggestion and I will try to respond.
Take care.
David at Cafe Luna
Jul 3, 2009
Hi All You Luna/tics!!
"Ain't it cool?" (To quote John Travolta...)
The weather I mean? Sweaters or t-shirts? What should we be wearing? And with this weather we can see who really has those fake sprayed on tans and how "natural" they look. Ha! Weather in the 80's.....who are they trying to kid?
UPDATE: Tomatoes plants at house: 56 on one bush, 39 on the other. But who's counting? (ME!!!)
So as we start out on the month, I am perplexed as to what we should be looking forward to. The weather, yes, of course. The new menu: a given. New and improved wines? My Holy Grail. Older wines just getting better: the dream and the reality.
But the forecast? Don't know so much about this one.
As a raging optimist, I must say, it is beginning to get me down. To have so many people that we personally know without a job, or getting letters of "intent" to be possibly layed off -- well.........optimism has a tendency to get pushed way back on the burners. And to have people that you love being let go:::::
what are we able to do for them?
Gary and I can at least feed these friends because we do believe that a good plate of good food helps to heal wounds -- for at least the moment you are eating. And maybe pour some great wines that will take the edge off of what we are all encountering daily.
But............
What can we do to get us away from the "ottimista/pessimista" margin?
We walk around and just hope? We talk and we keep this quiet rage inside that helps to balance the sheer dread that is becoming a part of daily life?
We cut back. We cut back. We cut back.
And in the end, we save.
But:
What are we saving for?
I do believe that it is getting to the point of people getting more involved in what we are experiencing in the country - possibly understanding that we do not "need" all the excesses that has become our symbol of "America". Not when so many of our friends and family are part of the citizenship that is looking for a job or hoping to keep their jobs at what ever costs. We are not used to this here. To have people you know wondering WHY did they buy that certain thing or WHAT WERE WE THINKING when they bit off the bit they finally could not chew, the one that put them over the edge. We have all done it at one time or another, made the leap on future faith: in our wages, our ability to pay or what ever.....
And yet, here we are.
And so, on a daily basis, I personally am getting a bit more numb. I am appreciative for what good things happen in our near future, but then somehow, expecting the bad news that seems to be delivered daily.
The cute monkey on our backs.
And with that, the numbness of America.
And with that bit of bouncing off my chest, here is the best thing for me about July: Gary's BIG BIRTHDAY!!! I will let him tell you his new age this month, but just let me say that my Blue-Cross/Anthem bill will be significantly reduced because of this new age!! He has already told me that we will not be changing anything in the house, no ramps in the bathtub, no magnifying glasses next to his books, no big necklace with a big red button on it to wire him into the medics in the event that he falls and cannot get up......
Nooooo not for him.....(sometimes he just sucks the joy out of some of the things I am planning....)
But it will mean another man at a certain age that people look at and say "Damn, he looks good."
I think so.......and that matters.
"Ain't it cool?" (To quote John Travolta...)
The weather I mean? Sweaters or t-shirts? What should we be wearing? And with this weather we can see who really has those fake sprayed on tans and how "natural" they look. Ha! Weather in the 80's.....who are they trying to kid?
UPDATE: Tomatoes plants at house: 56 on one bush, 39 on the other. But who's counting? (ME!!!)
So as we start out on the month, I am perplexed as to what we should be looking forward to. The weather, yes, of course. The new menu: a given. New and improved wines? My Holy Grail. Older wines just getting better: the dream and the reality.
But the forecast? Don't know so much about this one.
As a raging optimist, I must say, it is beginning to get me down. To have so many people that we personally know without a job, or getting letters of "intent" to be possibly layed off -- well.........optimism has a tendency to get pushed way back on the burners. And to have people that you love being let go:::::
what are we able to do for them?
Gary and I can at least feed these friends because we do believe that a good plate of good food helps to heal wounds -- for at least the moment you are eating. And maybe pour some great wines that will take the edge off of what we are all encountering daily.
But............
What can we do to get us away from the "ottimista/pessimista" margin?
We walk around and just hope? We talk and we keep this quiet rage inside that helps to balance the sheer dread that is becoming a part of daily life?
We cut back. We cut back. We cut back.
And in the end, we save.
But:
What are we saving for?
I do believe that it is getting to the point of people getting more involved in what we are experiencing in the country - possibly understanding that we do not "need" all the excesses that has become our symbol of "America". Not when so many of our friends and family are part of the citizenship that is looking for a job or hoping to keep their jobs at what ever costs. We are not used to this here. To have people you know wondering WHY did they buy that certain thing or WHAT WERE WE THINKING when they bit off the bit they finally could not chew, the one that put them over the edge. We have all done it at one time or another, made the leap on future faith: in our wages, our ability to pay or what ever.....
And yet, here we are.
And so, on a daily basis, I personally am getting a bit more numb. I am appreciative for what good things happen in our near future, but then somehow, expecting the bad news that seems to be delivered daily.
The cute monkey on our backs.
And with that, the numbness of America.
And with that bit of bouncing off my chest, here is the best thing for me about July: Gary's BIG BIRTHDAY!!! I will let him tell you his new age this month, but just let me say that my Blue-Cross/Anthem bill will be significantly reduced because of this new age!! He has already told me that we will not be changing anything in the house, no ramps in the bathtub, no magnifying glasses next to his books, no big necklace with a big red button on it to wire him into the medics in the event that he falls and cannot get up......
Nooooo not for him.....(sometimes he just sucks the joy out of some of the things I am planning....)
But it will mean another man at a certain age that people look at and say "Damn, he looks good."
I think so.......and that matters.
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