The Roanoker November/December 2022 - 53

A MEAL FOR SOMEONE IN
NEED AT URSULA'S CAFÉ
For foodies looking to spread the love this
holiday season and beyond, purchase tokens
at Ursula's Café to pass out to those in need.
Ami Trowell and her husband, Jordan Fallon,
opened the pay-what-you-can café in August
2022 in response to the growing need to
address food insecurity and people experiencing
homelessness, both problems that were
exacerbated by the pandemic.
Trowell and Fallon are both professors, but
they met while working in restaurants, so offering
tasty, quality food was important to them.
Purchase Ursula Bucks, a wooden token that's
good for one free Big U combo meal, which
includes a choice of soup, side (organic mixed
greens, popcorn or packaged snack, like chips)
and a drink (total value is $8, but you can opt
to donate more). The soups are mostly vegetarian,
crafted with Fallon's flavorful scratch vegetable
stock recipe, and often reflect seasonal
surpluses, like corn or squash in summer. The
vegan chili, chockful of beans and loaded with
nutrients, is another mainstay at the café and
in the couple's own kitchen.
Next, the couple hopes to add roasted vegetables
as a side option, and sandwiches, too, like
an elevated PB&J or a falafel sandwich. Right
now, the pair are limited in what they can make
without a hood system and are actively seeking
grants to help with the buildout, so making a
donation in someone's name is also a great way
to share the food love.
KITCHEN DEEP CLEAN FROM
CRISP CLEANING SERVICES
Putting a kitchen deep clean on your wish list
might not be the most obvious choice, but
it's one that pays dividends long after. Krista
White, founder of Crisp Cleaning Services, has
the magic touch that imparts an extra gleam
and sparkle to everything she cleans. This season,
she's offering packages for a kitchen deep
clean, customized for everyone's space and
needs. The kitchen deep clean can include a
detailed oven cleaning, including the interior,
stovetop and hood; a refrigerator scrub-down
and re-org, including ditching expired condiments
and organizing items by product; and
sink detailing, including a deep clean of the
sink interior, getting rid of hidden gunk around
TheRoanoker.com
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 53
faucet handles and tap; and a deep clean of
countertops and floors. White also has a deft
touch with organization and can work wonders
with pantry or snack cupboard makeovers
(she even offers Pinterest-worthy metal wire
baskets to corral things like granola bars and
bagged snacks). Contact White for a custom
quote: 484-860-0034 or crisp.home.cleaning@
gmail.com.
HEIRLOOM-WORTHY
COOKWARE AT THE
FRENCH FARMHOUSE
The French Farmhouse is a wonderland of
beautiful homewares and décor, but we're particularly
smitten by their assortment of kitchen
items. On our wish list are the beautiful cast
iron skillets from Smithey, a Charleston based
company who selected French Farmhouse
as one of their select retail outlets. With its
elegant design and smooth, polished finish
(that's naturally non-stick once seasoned), it's
the kind of cookware that blends form and
function and begs to be left on the stovetop
to be admired.
We especially like the skillets, like the
10-inch flat top griddle, ideal for grilled cheese
and crepes, or the 8-inch skillet, with curved
sides and a long handle, that's ideal for cooking
up sides, small protein portions and the
perfect fried egg. Another, more unexpected
heirloom-worthy pick is copper salt and pepper
grinders. They're imported from Denmark
and handmade in a durable polished, solid
copper body with a three-part cast grinder
for optimal spice grinding. They're so elegant,
you may want to pick up a set for your own
kitchen collection. I
LAYLA KHOURY-HANOLD
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker November/December 2022

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