Plein Air Dinners

For months now we've been enjoying plein air dinners on the our deck. In fact, we breakfast on the deck when we can. One of the reasons I love Julia's final book The Way to Cook is that she offers techniques to be applied to a variety of things. She gives people like me who love to cook, but often scurry for "next steps" from the cookbook, a confidence in our own style. For me that's a "light touch", very fresh, and quick/easy--at least in the summer! (In the fall and winter I adore soups and stews.) Perhaps what I find easy others may not -- but Julia does! This from her introduction: Dinner in half an hour? ...You can make a fresh, informal, home-cooked meal in a minuscule kitchen--and you will know what you are eating. Pour out a glass of wine and while you're gossiping about the day....skin the tomatoes....blanche the green beans...


Tonight while Darling Husband prepared the grill for his BBQ ribs, I picked the garden basil, white umbrella garlic flowers just blooming, and yellow nasturtiums, sliced the tomatoes, and popped the corn in the oven. We decided to have our first- of- the- season eggplant tomorrow. Then up to the deck with a tablecloth and the tomatoes, and enjoyed a "Southampton" with DH (Pellligrino and bitters).


It's hard for me to tell if Julia was the kind of cook who cleaned up as she went along, but I do. And then there's almost nothing to do after dinner. DH is the same way.

Dinner
BBQ ribs on the grill
Local corn on the cob
Vine ripened tomatoes in basil
Local merlot


Cost: 1/2 the ribs, have to ask DH, $2 corn, $1 tomatoes.


Bon appetit!