Four weeks and counting!

We have accomplished our New Year's resolution to be open for four consecutive weeks. Jill and I went out to dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate. We wanted to try something new, so we asked our waiter what he recommended, and he immediately said emphatically, "14C. Is best." We didn't know exactly what 14C was, but we ordered it, and it was quite tasty (it was garlicky fried shrimp served over a sweet-and-sour cabbage salad). The waiter came back and asked how we liked it, and we said it was very good, to which he replied, "Yes. Is best." That man has a straightforward relationship with food.

We had a good day in the cafe today--we sold out of all our hot food and pastries. Don't worry, we have lots more for tomorrow: I just made more croissant dough today, plus we've got breakfast pizzas with acorn squash, pancetta, and sage; apricot-almond muffins; apple-cream cheese danish; peanut butter cookies; and more. A woman came in this afternoon and paused in the doorway, looking around. We asked if we could help her with anything, and she told us that her husband had brought her one of our orange-cranberry-walnut muffins this morning, and after tasting it, she had to come here and see the place for herself. I'm not sure what she was expecting to see, but as long as she likes the muffins, that's the important thing. A few weeks ago we heard from a guy who had bought a blueberry muffin on his way to work, and after he ate it he called us to tell us it was the best muffin he'd ever had. That was very nice--I have to admit that I've never considered calling a place after I left to tell them how good their food was.

The cooking classes are filling up, too. We had a full class for last night's Fast and Easy Asian-Inspired Meals, and The Zen of Chopping class tomorrow is also full. The Zen of Chopping class is really fun, and recently I saw proof that the skills really stick. At the beginning of one of the Winter Comfort Food classes, I doled out vegetables that needed to be chopped to everyone, without giving many specific instructions (I don't worry too much about precision chopping in my general classes). A few minutes later, I came back to check on the person who was mincing the onion, and I was amazed to find a pile of the most beautifully minced onion I've ever seen. I was so surprised I stuttered. My incoherent exclamations brought the whole class over to admire the onions, and when I complimented the woman who had chopped them, she said, "Well, you're the one who taught me how." I hadn't recognized her as one of my previous Zen of Chopping students! Even better! I think all the other participants in that class signed up for tomorrow's Zen of Chopping class, and now it's full. I'm looking forward to sending another ten expert choppers out into the world--my small contribution to making the world a safer and more peaceful place.

We'll probably add another Zen of Chopping class to the schedule in March, because we have a waiting list for our next two sessions. If you're interested in getting an e-mail when we add classes, and when we have our next knife sharpening day, please send a message to Info@GenerousServings.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line (we won't spam you).