Thinking about this year's menu

Summer comes on quick, even though that's hard to believe when it's 19 degrees outside and there's still snow on the ground. This week I'm going to place my seed order from Southern Exposure to ensure that my plants are ready to put in the ground come April. Last year I got a late start and only ended up with just a few delicious pineapple cossacks and one plant that I thought was a cucumber, but was really just a weed.

Sizing up our summer schedules and in an attempt to maximize the availability of home-grown produce, Cafe Davis must unfortunately be slightly shorter this year - 23 days instead of the usual 28. There's typically at least 5 days when people don't show up anyway, but the constricted schedule means that all of you procrastinators will need to be on the ball and come on the early dates as well! With that, I think that Cafe Davis 2009 will begin on July 14th (right after we get home from our beach vacation!) and end on August 8th. The Cafe will not meet on Mondays so that Mike can play softball. Everyone is welcome to meet us out at the ballpark for hotdogs, though, and root root root for the Profs!

Now on to the menu - this year I'd like to throw it out to you all for suggestions. I always try to be creative and try new things, but if there are recipes out there that you're jonesing to try or that you want to share, bring 'em on! If you want to check out past menus, you can do so at the Cafe website.

I'm going to continue the theme of eating local/sustainably, so I'll include some suggestions/ground rules for choosing recipes below.

1) Think about ingredient availability. Try to choose veggies that are in season. We typically grow a wide variety of tomatoes and peppers, eggplant (although not with much success), yellow crookneck squash, zucchini squash, cucumbers, assorted berries (although our plants are young and not producing much yet), kale, a variety of leaf lettuces, and most common herbs. We're open to new things, though, so if you submit a recipe before I place my seed order, I'll be happy to give a new fruit/veggie a whirl. You can also check out seasonal veggie availability online for more info.

2) Think about value. We feed A LOT of people in 23 days. Caviar, while delicious, is not really a viable ingredient choice. We also tend to buy pork and beef in bulk from local producers, so it might be more cost effective for us to make dishes that involve less popular cuts of meat or slow-cooked meats than to dish up a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

3) Think about ingredient substitutability. Harrisonburg has a lot to offer, but sometimes specific ingredients can still be difficult to find. If the recipe includes a footnote to look for a particular ingredient in a specialty food store, avoid it or do some research to see if something more common can be subbed in. Going to the grocery store is the only part of this whole experience that I don't like, so make it easy on me!

4) Be creative. One of the cardinal rules of throwing a dinner party is to NOT make something new for guests. Recipes should be tried and true. I wholeheartedly disagree. Besides the chance to hang out with so many delightful people, the real reason I do this is for the culinary adventure. I like trying new things. Testing myself. Overcoming odds when I don't have a clue of what the recipe is talking about. Broadening my horizons. You get the idea. Beyond aspic, I'm pretty open.

That's it! I'm looking forward to what you all might stumble upon and submit for consideration. I won't guarantee that I'll choose your recipe, but there's a good chance that I will. The next step for you, then, will be to join us in the fruits of our collective labor this summer. I can hardly wait!