Fusilli

Eastside Road, October 19, 2012—

YOU'VE SEEN ENOUGH pictures of pasta, no reason to add another: here instead is a close-up of our everyday green salad, which I'm incapable of eating without a slice of bread. The very best part, no matter how delicious, fresh, and tender the lettuce, is the last of the vinaigrette, scraped out of the empty salad bowl with the heel of the bread.

The usual vinaigrette, as I think I've mentioned before, is simple: crush a clove of good garlic with the right amount of good salt. (I'm using Rose de Lautrec garlic from our garden, and sea salt from the Ile de Ré.) Cover the resulting mash with the right amount of olive oil and let it stand while you're fixing and eating dinner.

After dinner, add the right amount of wine vinegar (we're using our own, from Zinfandel), whisk it up with a fork, throw in the lettuces, and toss.

Before the salad tonight, fusilli with pesto; afterward, apple crisp.

Tempranillo Barrica, Albero, 2009: full and forthcoming