Merry christmas and happy new year!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Eating plenty of good food and such.

We will be closed on Christmas Day and the Friday after. The cafe will also be closed on New year's day.

If you have a chance you should check out INK magazine this week. We contributed to an article about appetizer recipes for a new year's party!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's that time of year and the holidays are upon us once again. Thanksgiving is such an interesting tradition. A time to see family, dress little kids up as miniature pilgrims and native Americans, a time for appreciation and reflection, the Macy's day parade on a t.v. somewhere in the house, a time for naps and antacids, all together adding up as a time to stop and celebrate.

So I wish you all well this Thursday and will be thinking of you on Friday! And if you have time, leave a comment about one thing for which you are grateful.

Cherry crisp

Coffee and cookies

Coffee news in an instant! I have been spoiled with a new iphone for my birthday. Which means that I can blog from the cafe about food and fun.
Today we will be busy baking cookies for the Holiday Lighting downtown Kansas City, KS. One batch of cookies we will be baking is the Potato Chip cookie - sounds interesting doesn't it?

Twinkles

Homage to the twinkie, it's a homemade twinkle!

And the winner is...

Stephane Suetos of the KCPT t.v. show, Uniquely Kansas City, won first place at the Chili Bowl this past Saturday with her recipe for Weezie's White Bean Chili.


The Chili Bowl was a memorable culinary event - the first of hopefully many at the Songbird Cafe. Two other must-mentions are Holly, art director of the Leedy Voulkos Art Center, and Brian, Roast Master at Broadway Roasting Co, who received 2nd and 3rd place at the contest.

All the contestants brought competitive and memorable chilis and the judges enjoyed bumping elbows and tasting chili on a cold, chilly day at the cafe. Thank you to all the contestants and judges! We'll make sure to do it again next year.

1st Annual Chili Bowl

It's official the first annual Chili Bowl is set for Saturday Nov. 8th!

Everything kicks off at 11:00am and for those folks still waking up at that hour we will have coffee!

The ten contestants participating in the contest are:

Jill and Wes of Moxie Catering
Sarah of Curious Pixel - a marketing company
Beth of Succotash in the City Market
Randy with the KCK Police Dept
Ed with Autochlor
Scott of the Public Levee
Stephane Suetos host of "Uniquely Kansas City"
Holly of the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center
Joy of Nosh Catering
Broadway Roasting Co. in Midtown

I am so excited about the talented people who are participating - it should be an extremely fun event!

The cafe is located at 1315 Fairfax Trafficway KCK 66115.

If you are coming from downtown KCMO take 70W (not 670) and get off on the Fairfax Dist. exit. The cafe is located across from the Bartlett Grain Elevator right before the stop light.

Ballots for the contest cost $10 - it provides the judge with a soda, cornbread, a sample of each of the 10 chilis and a cup of their favorite chili.

Please invite friends and family to judge the contest!

Let's Celebrate this Chilly Chili season with good music, great food, and fabulous people!

The End of Summer

It is a week of change. Summer has officially ended (At the Autumnal Equinox. The Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is around September 22nd) and autumn is here. The trees in our back yard know this and have begun to shed their first layer of leaves.

I LOVE AUTUMN! It is hands down my favorite time of year. Sweatshirts, nostalgia, pumpkin patches, Halloween, apple cider, trees, the crispness of the air... I could go on - maybe I will for a bit... mums, hay bales, squash, corn mazes, competitions for the largest pumpkin, harvest moons, Oktoberfest, Weston MO's applefest, AND Songbird Cafe's Chili Contest!!!

There is a lot to enjoy and look forward to in these upcoming months.

Online Shopping

I have several wonderful serving pieces available for sale at the cafe and online at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5467629 or if you're on Etsy search for sellers and type in songbirdcafe (no spaces).

Etsy is just one more way that Songbird Cafe is trying to find its spot in the world.

My New Employee

I would like to introduce you to my newest employee - her name is Pistachio.

Pistachio is my wonderful gift from Terry (mother-in-law) and is absolutely wonderful!

Pistachio has made banana bread, cake, pie crust, and cookies. She is wonderful and gorgeous - not to mention efficient, consistent, able, and ready!

I hope she never quits.

Labor Day Weekend

The cafe will be closed on Friday and Monday of labor day weekend. I hope everyone has a great, wonderful, and safe weekend! Enjoy yourselves and we'll see you bright and early on Tuesday morning!

Kudos to Nicole!

The Air Show is this weekend!

The photograph here is an image of the Thunderbirds from the 1950s.

This weekend is the Kansas City Air Show and you can already hear the jets practicing overhead at the cafe. I keep looking out the windows thinking that I'll spot one of them, only to catches glimpses of spooked pigeons!

Pretty soon though I'm confident that we'll spot one overhead.

Rhubarb Pie

"MAN"-ing the cafe

This week has been busy for us and Phil is a lifesaver - he has been manning the cafe solo in the mornings! We've also been closing a lil' bit early in the afternoon to get out to the fair grounds and set up before the fair starts.

I've been sampling the fair fare and so far this week have tried a funnel cake, corn dog, tater twister, rib eye steak sandwich, and a bbq beef sandwich. After the first couple bites the novelty wears off and the food leaves you hungry. PLUS, a sandwich is itty-bitty AND it's $5 or $7.50! It makes me miss our little cafe.

I would have traded the funnel cake, corn dog, tater twister, rib eye steak sandwich, and the bbq beef sandwich for one of Phil's breakfast burritos (only $4)!

Closed Early...

Today we closed early because my Mom (Kim) and I are going to the fair!!!

In appropriate preparation we're having corn-on-the-cob for lunch. We'll probably indulge in a turkey leg or two (the booth across from us). My friend Jori of J.Bird studios will also be manning the booth with us.

Sorry we missed you for lunch today but come out and join us at the fair! Just look for the "Birds of a Feather" booth.
(It's free and parking is only $3)

Big News!

I am over the top excited about the latest news from my younger sis Ashley - she's engaged! Matt, her fiance, is wonderful and a perfect fit for her. You may have met them at the cafe one friday serving Shrimp Jambalaya and French Beignets.

Please join me in congratulating them! Let us always appreciate and celebrate love and friendship - here's to you both!

Transformation of a 'foodie'

I never thought that I would become a "foodie", but it's true - I was even caught reading Tastebud Magazine this afternoon!

Of course, I'm not claiming the title of gourmet chef or anything like that. However, I can make one hell of a blueberry cake!


Life is short and food is necessary - but hey... let's enjoy them both!

Congrats

Congratulations to the newlyweds - Corey and Danielle. We wish you all the happiness in the world!

What's your flavor?

Wayne Thiebaud's "Girl with Cone"

I decided to give a couple of new flavors of ice cream a try... mango curry and chili coconut! I am so excited and sincerely hope that they taste as great as they sound!

*update - mango curry is fantastic! If you are scared - don't be, it's great!!

i scream, you scream...

It's officially summer and what may I ask you is a better way to celebrate the fact that it's hot and sticky outside?

ICE CREAM - homemade and delicious!

Remember when it was cold outside, looking forward to those hot summer days - now you can dig on these cool treats and remember the chill.

The dessert pictured here has a raspberry foundation, a sweet scoop of vanilla in the middle, and a marvelous chocolate top.

I think tomorrow I'll make cinnamon ice cream!

Tuesdays tend to be more tame, thus making it a great day to try out a new menu item! Howzabout a garden pizza with fresh mozzarella, green pepper, anaheim pepper, onion, basil, tomato, and grilled chicken? I definitely don't mind turning on the oven for this dish!

Upcoming Events

In an effort to become more artistically active I will be involved in a couple of upcoming events - both fun and exciting.

First, Anthropologie is hosting a “Go Green” event on July 30th on the Country Club Plaza. There is a juried art show that day and the artwork exhibited will be available for sale. www.anthropologie.com

The second event at the end of July/beginning of August is the Wyandotte County Fair. I am teaming up with Jori C. Hebert (owner of J.Bird Studios) to host a booth at the fair! Both of us are extremely excited to show off some of our artwork and wares - as well as promote two fabulous locations in Kansas City, Kansas!! www.wycofair.com

So, if you are looking for an excuse to eat funnel cakes, search the coveted Anthro sale rack, or just something plain fun and interesting to do make sure to mark your calendars!

Hopefully we’ll see you there - Courtney