As soon as the weather warms (and the rains cease — a dove with a sprig of impatiens landed on my windowsill, indicating the waters are about to subside), thoughts turn to the pleasures of outdoor dining The barbecue season, perfuming the air with the aroma of charbroil and keeping the heat out of the kitchen, has arrived.
Pizza may be a year-round staple, but in the summer season it can take on a special bright freshness. Now is the time. Herbs, fresh tomatoes or even a little ratatouille discovered while rummaging in the refrigerator are wonderful additions, providing you make the pizza yourself, an activity that allows for creative innovations and saves on gasoline.
Mussels, readily available now that the weather and water are beginning to warm, are yet to find as popular a place on menus here as clams. Perhaps if the Indians had started the colonists off with a mussels bake, the history of seafood consumption would have been totally different.
Although at least 100 chocolate cake recipes have passed through my ovens in 18 years of marriage to a chocoholic, I know I have scarcely scratched the surface of possibilities in this enchanting subject. While many of these have become favorites, I’m just as ready to try something new.
