inch by inch

it has been such an amazing spring! hot weather, sunshine, green everywhere, birds everywhere, but also kismet is back in the garden!!

watch as our garden grows, and look to mark your calendar for upcoming garden events!!

today genevieve & i dug raised beds (with emer in the lower bed pulling sod & making beds too), and planted our wee little onion stets (from cate & paul at high ledge farm), as well as sewed some seeds! it is kind of crazy how amazing it feels to be in that garden! Every morning when I arrive, i take a walk around the grounds and note the growth that occurred since i had been before.. sometimes, even while i am working, i feel like i can look up and SEE things GROWING! dandelions have practically blossomed & gone to seed before my eyes in this crazy 80 degree spring heat wave!

join us in celebrating the tiny miracles!

hello spring!!

turn around

Q: what's happening? Is kismet moving?

A: After extensive consideration, we have decided to stay put!

(we love our wee little kismet!)

Q: so, what's the scoop?

A: thankfully, we have been able to figure out a way to stay small and yet become more sustainable- it has been an interesting and inspiring process, and i am so excited to be able to have made this decision knowing that we really considered all of our options and were supported and encouraged along the way. Thanks to Chittenden Bank who accepted and approved our loan to expand downtown, and to Keven and Jesse who gave us the keys to their buildings and offered us locations that would put kismet "on the map" so to speak, we were able to organize the logistics of the "new" kismet.

After many many meetings, sight plans, estimates, brainstorming, emotional releases, and all of the other day to day business of the current kismet, it became clear that timing was becoming imperative. Frightened and pressured now, to "make it happen" i worked with nina to devise alternative plans should the move take too long or prove to be out of budget.

Plan A: renovate and move into a new space by may first, launching into wedding catering may 15th (yikes!). Raise another $100,000.

plan B: stay put and look at making more space in the building we currently occupy.

honestly, just having a plan B felt like a relief. As the days and weeks seemed to slip by like seconds in a minute, i was becoming more and more stressed about having to force something into being that may, or may not be ready in time. I went downtown and had breakfast out- i sat in almost every cafe in montpelier and just observed. I kept asking myself- is it worth it? what are my motives? what do my customers want?

I went home, tired, restless, and overwhelmed. I kept closing my eyes and begging myself to go easy- to prepare myself for miracles-

the next day i went to kismet. When i opened the door i felt happy- it felt safe and bright, and cozy in there. I checked my email, and there were several from regulars saying that they didn't want us to move, that they love the small space, and how they want us to make it work there-then the first few guests arrived and in a matter of minutes the dining room was full of familiar faces and conversations that were shared between all of the tables. At one moment some-one looked at me, and i felt myself smiling, and they said quietly and directly "i love it when it's like this in here, it just feels so good". we exchanged eye contact and quiet excited smiles, like we both just found out that we were so lucky to be there and that

kismet has something really special.

OK.

so we stay.

and practice the art of patient loving- watching kismet grow from the inside- making room and celebrating the intimacy.

Q: Now what?

A: re-arranging, cleaning, organizing, repairing, stocking, working with staff to apply new systems and more efficiency, expanding services, working on the menu, expanding our catering services, and ........

well, hello there...

well, hello there- how do you do?
it is now 2010, and wow, can you believe it?
I'm still kind of in shock- though thankful that this winter has been less cruel than others (at least here in Montpelier)
and wow- i realize that my age is like a wild weed- growing taller and with deeper roots- and lately it seems that i am constantly nostalgic.. last year doesn't seem that long ago- kismet, deep in snow, kale and eggs and polenta bread- and at the same time, 10 years ago i was only 12 miles down the road (and with the same lot of folks)- my children have grown, i have ventured into my thirties, and the little girls i watched (and admired) nine years ago at the river run are in their twenties now!

Alexis turned twenty one yesterday, and to celebrate, kismet sends her off with much love and encouragement. She left today for a cross country drive to visit her sister in Mexico. I am so happy for her- and happy for all of us who have been able to watch her grow into that person she is now! though it may be snowing in Texas, at least i know Alexis can manage... we will miss her, but happy to hear of her travels when she returns. and I am happy for this inspiration to revisit my own travels cross-country (and Mexico too!)..(ole!!)

ok
ok
so what of kismet?
well- let's talk about 2010.
kismet has been approved for a large loan to move downtown and expand.(!) Over the last year, it has seemed that everyone wants us to do that (expand). It's true that our space is tiny. we push ourselves to serve nearly 90 folks a day in our wee 18 seat space, and our catering business has grown such that we can barely fit anything in our fridge!! But we love it here too. And, it will be hard to say goodbye to this space that has become so (uncomfortably) comfortable. This has become our home, and you have become OUR family.
For the most part of this year, I have been working on expansion plans for kismet-
for most of this time, i have also been overwrought with confusion about the right thing to do. I know that financially, moving would be taking on a BIG risk.. more debt, bigger lease, more bills, more payroll.. but at the same time, it could mean more time together- more room & a place in the heart of downtown...
Anyone who knows me, knows that this year has been full of anguish for me. "WHY?" i keep asking myself.. "WHY CHANGE?"- and "WHAT?"

so..

this is your chance...

what do YOU WANT KISMET TO DO?

how should we do it

when we

make the move?

(here's your chance to speak your mind!)

thank you

The kismet crew returned to Barre Street after a well deserved and appreciated vacation on Friday to the joyful faces of many- we had a busy day that (thankfully) flowed really well (even though i did capture nearly a 1/2 gallon of heavy cream in my shoe). After work (and nearly 100 meals later), we all ran home and got dressed for our next engagement. Sara Grace, with her head newly shaven, aimed for the main stage of the North East Kingdom music Festival to play at sundown, and the rest of us to the Seven Days Daysies Party, where we received our first Daisy!!

Thank you to all who voted for us (we didn't even realize there was a vote in order, and none of us even voted --or bribed anyone else to!). I have to say that it felt pretty good to see a few of our other local businesses catch some praises too! congrats to Carlos at positive pie, the folks at bear pond, the gals (and men) at salaam, aliza and randy at red hen, and langdon street cafe-
Montpelier has changed so much since i came here as a child in the 80's- and so much so in the last 5 years. I look forward to watching Montpelier grow, and become more widely appreciated, and at the same time, one of the reasons i love doing business here is because it is so casual, friendly, and supportive. I hope that will never change..

thank you again--
and see you soon!

c'est la vei

since last time:

yes! we did get the permit for the outdoor seating, and are working with a generous lot of folks to create an extension to the current kismet dining room--

yes! we did get our liquor licence-- mimosa's & bloody mary's and some rum drinks are all we have so far, but hoping that you will help us pick some wines and a couple of beers to add to the menu-- any ideas?

but alas, dining has been S L O W this week- so if you were waiting for an open table-- NOW is the time, because it seems that ALL of the tables have been open a lot lately!!

wild mushrooms!
thanks to Dave, our neighbor/forager, our fridge is FULL of them! and they are amazing in flavor, aroma, and unique appearance-- i feel like a little gnome in her den kitchen toasting, roasting, drying, and sauteing the assortment...

local strawberries-- i know, seems CRAZY because it has been so cold-- but yes, they are around, and as it so happens this time of year, the rhubarb and strawberry meet like two ships crossing in the night, and if we are lucky, we will be processing fresh rhubarb/strawberry jam within the next week or so-- yippee!

and wholly greens!! --local (like 2 miles away) spinach!, salad (with flowers--thanks joe!) from screamin' ridge

and it is life-

kismet is 2 and 1/2- and like a mother of a toddler, i am readying myself for the inevitable business of caring for a child who can walk on it's own... For the last 2 and 1/2 years, we have nursed her, held her close, and kept her in the little baby crib, off the beaten path, in a makeshift home (cozy and safe). We have introduced her to the world slowly and cautiously-- but now she has her little

ego-- her want to thrive-- her relationships and friends and connections-- and it's time to ready ourselves for her inevitable maturity--

as many of you know, we have been looking for a new home for kismet-- something a little bit more DOWNTOWN, if you know what i mean.

Well, we've been looking and two places presented themselves to us. We have been asked many times about the situation and i have to say, it's a little bit stressful- it's like considering three places at once--

where we are, one on state, and one on main--

there's a lot to consider and a bit of risk in each decision--

oh... if only things could be easy!

so-- we are asking for that right now.

On a bike ride after a day at the Montpelier middle school, i had this realization that kismet means fate-- but that it also means faith-- faith that what you do with good intention will pay off later-- so my life is this now-- kismet is becoming her own and teaching me-- that if i believe in fate, i have to have faith and just relax--

do my best, know what i need, and just try-- (aim, fire, shoot!)--

so, i don't have any new news for you, but i will say, that things are looking good, and no matter what-- if you want kismet in your life; she wants you and will always be there--

mother's day brunch

mother's day brunch!
sunday may 10. 8:30- 2

house cured organic salmon on seeded baguette, poached eggs, hollendaise. served with roots or salad

grilled soldiers of proscuitto wrapped asparagus that you might want to dip in our egg nest toasties. (served with herbed roots)

frittata filled with peas, feta mint, and fennel tops. served

with salad, roots, and toast.

hooray for moms!

Come toast yours with

organic champagne and bloody marys!

april snow = still some winter left to go

even though the sap harvest peaked two weeks ago- and even though we've been serving local salad greens for the last month, and our local tomatoes are just as bright and luscious as they could be, it is indeed snowing... still.

if you've been reading my posts, you would see that i always get a bit anxious for summer around this time of year- and anyone who lives in vermont year round would after nearly 6 months of freezing temperatures- but after already having had some really lovely warm and 60 degree afternoons back in february, it is a bit disappointing (and confusing) to have there be snow falling and for the air outside to feel and taste and smell like november.

But, regardless, Easter is in just a few days and montpelier children will hunt for eggs int he park regardless of snow wind rain or slush, as they do every year, and we at Kismet, will create a bright and lovely Easter brunch menu like we have for the last three years. Ahhhh- brunch. It's such a great meal really, and when eggs are our canvas, creating a special menu for Easter just feels so-- natural.

Though I haven't completely decided what we will be having- i do know that it is absolutely necessary in include some items- lamb, asparagus (looking for wild red "asparagus", if you have any let me know), quail eggs, local ham, and eggs-- of course. In my family, it was a tradition to have eggs and sobrasada, apparently (after doing a google of that so i could link it for you) that must be something very specific to my family, as sobrasada seems to only exist in one photo- I have decided that i while this year i will do my best to replicate it (i'm sure my aunt marilynn is scoffing at me now), i will make it a mission to reconnect with my Portuguese roots- master my family's original recipe, and share it with all of you for real next year.. in the meantime, i will make do with some hose made lamb chorizo and egg frittata's and hope everyone in my family appreciates my efforts...

Speaking of efforts-

Kismet has been steadily gaining on expansion plans-- though there are lots of rumors out there about where and when we are moving into a larger space, I can tell you only this:

we are currently negotiating 2 spaces downtown in montpelier and hoping to have things clarified by the end of june and plan to be in our new space by the end of the year. In the meantime, we are planning to have about ten more seats outside for the summer, and will hopefully have our liquor license by next month (in time for deserving mothers on mother's day). What else? Oh! and the space currently inhabited by kismet???? well, there are lots of ideas, one of which is for us to share it with others-- do you have any ideas??

also, we are working with someone fabulous to recreate our menu and re-do our website-- i am REALLY excited about this and hope that everyone will give me some feedback about what you would like for the new menu to include.. do you have a favorite? was there a special you had once that you think deserves permanent placement on our menu? is there something we should know about items we have now and how they could be different? Kismet is yours just as much as it is ours-- trust me-- i just work here.

so, what do you want for breakfast?

good night, i love you, and I'll see you in the morning!

thinking about how things have been-

the sap flowing like mad--flooding- then stopping and standing at a STAND STILL-- that's kind of like how i feel--

man, i felt it all in February- it was overwhelming, it was all flowing freely--then slowed down... but now and now in mid march, i am feeling it again.

you may have heard about the "skinny on the skinny" post-- it was all pretty bizarre and unusual, and it set off all sort of reactions-- one of which was my choice to remove the post from this blog--

while i hoped that folks would read it and be inspired by both benjy's and my generosity (in sharing our process-s), what actually happened was an overwhelming amount of feedback that has been very distracting-

for the last time (i hope), i will say again that kismet is not worried about competition-- our (sp and kismet) conversations previously posted was about getting to know each other... that's it....

and now that time has passed, and time does what it does (allows us to evolve), we all are able to settle in to what is what..

what is what?

love is in the air....

love me and i love you back

loving redhen ham and cheese croissants, loving so many things--

montpelier...

more later