Lamb and duck

Hill Court, Warranwood, Victoria, September 28, 2014—

WE ARE EATING WELL. That is how I prefer to eat. Today, for example, after a final cleanup of the debris from the tree we felled the other day, Mel set out a lunch on the patio table, now in full sunshine since the twiggy tree is gone. She had scrapped out the remains lf Thursday's leg of lamb, and made a delicious sauce for it: mint, a little parsley, a little vinegar -- gee, it was good. Some cheese, some pickles, tiny spinach leaves from the garden, a little tuna-cannellini salad from the other day. With this, a glass of beer.

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THEN TONIGHT Mel cooked four fine meaty duck breasts. I scored the fat side and she browned them quickly in a dry black iron skillet, then braised them, using pan juices to make the prune gravy you see in the white bowl to the left. The buttery spinach complemented the duck perfectly, as did the

MGV (Mourvedre, Grenache, Viogier), Preston of Dry Creek, 2009