red capsicum by default

By the time we started thinking about dinner last night it was kind of late; we were tired. The goal was reducing the cooking time as much as possible, without sacrificing the required excitement associated to the mastication process. The nature of the ingredients was going to play a main role in this limited attempt to satisfy our appetite. There were a few red peppers left in the fridge, so it was clear that our beloved garlic had the opportunity to be the catalyst of our last meal of the day.

Once we had a little mountain of chopped garlic on the board, which didn't take more than a couple of minutes to prepare, and the extra virgin olive oil was hot enough, our two main ingredients met in the pan. After five minutes they were ready to top a few slices of our favourite rye caraway sourdough.

At that point we had already started the evening with a glass of Principia's 2008 chardonnay, a very fortunate discovery from the Mornington Peninsula, together with some really tasty kalamata olives Sandra got last week.

The plates were ready, and so were out stomachs. The soundtrack for this improvised culinary moment  was provided by Jeff Klein's band: My Jerusalem. Quite an addictive sound with a truly fascinating smoky voice. I remember the first time I saw them in 2009, at the Cadillac Lounge in Toronto, they became the musical highlight of my winter season. Two years later I was able to attend one of their concerts in Austin, and I was very happy to watch how their show had just grown into a magical space that only a few artists can reach. Real masters at what they do.

A few tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber helped constructing our salad of the day, dressed with Spanish extra virgin oil and balsamic vinegar of Modena. A very elemental, refreshing and easy to digest ensemble.