Archiwum
- Index
- Lois McMaster Bujold Omnibus 4 Miles Mystery and Mayhem
- Diana Palmer Wakacje w Meksyku (Mystery Man)
- Diana Palmer Mystery Man
- Alex_Joe_ _Pieklo_jest_we_mnie
- MARTIN FRITZ Dlaczego, dlaczego, dlaczego
- B A Tortuga [Doce 02] Amorzinhos [Torquere] (pdf)
- dowcipy
- D´Arc Bianca Brotherhood of Blood 01 One and Only (nieof.)
- 1854 Hard Times
- BAIRD JACOUELINE Grzeszna Namić™tnośÂ›ć‡
- zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- lafemka.pev.pl
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
After an appetizer of Wellfleet oysters, the waiter brought around the wine list while we waited for our entree. I m no oenophile. Personally I like a nice
claret with just about anything. But I thought I should try at least to choose a white wine to go with the seafood we had ordered. I skipped sauternes they
all taste like vinegar to me and moved on to the chardonnays. I selected one about midway in the price list and hoped for the best.
They brought the bottle out with the usual absurd fanfare, showing me the label, proffering the cork and then pouring a bit from the towel-wrapped bottle
into my glass. The waiter looked so haughty and patronizing, I felt I had no choice but to go into my wine-expert act. I squeezed the cork to make sure the
tip was damp. At least I knew not to sniff it. I picked up the glass, whirled it around and sniffed that. Then I took a sip, squished it around in my mouth and
finally swallowed.
Aah, aa-aah, I pronounced solemnly, A sturdy little wine, unpretentious, yet subtly aware of its true importance.
Janet literally let out a whoop of laughter that caused nearby heads to turn. She stifled her next outburst and wiped her eyes with her napkin. You know
you are certifiable, don t you? Sturdy little wine! How about impudent, yet captivating? Or delicate, with just a hint of inner strength? She turned to the
waiter and smiled. I m sure it s perfectly fine. Just pour, please. He did, looking as if he had sampled some of his vinegary sauternes.
A waitress was right behind him with our luncheons. I d picked the local bay scallops with their wonderful nutty taste, and curly French-fried potatoes
plus a fresh asparagus salad. Janet was having filet of sole Veronique and an endive with avocado salad. The meal was served with a crusty loaf of herb
bread and sweet butter. And the wine, thank God, was indeed fine. We concentrated on the food for a while in companionable silence.
Then Janet asked how my scallops were. Best in the world, I answered. Caught right out here in the bay, probably early this morning. And well
prepared, I might add.
My sole is good, too.
Probably caught in Miami, frozen for six months and flown in, I teased. I never could understand sole Veronique. It is cast in stone that French-fries go
with fish. Who eats grapes with fish?
Well, it s delicious, she defended. And it s quite a historical dish. While your ancestors were still painting themselves blue, the Romans were dining
on sole Veronique! Perhaps in some former life I reclined on a couch beside the emperor and peeled him a grape. Then I dipped it in poisoned wine and
fed it to him and became the all-powerful empress.
Gee, you d have been perfect as Mrs. Nero.
Such a nasty, overrated little boy. I d have had him for breakfast and then spit out the seeds.
You are ferocious! Listen, Empress Veronique, if we should go into a time warp and find ourselves in ancient Rome, remind me to head for the
provinces on the first ox cart express.
I d find you. And make you bring me here again for lunch. It s really perfect.
And she was really charming, I thought. I couldn t remember when I d so enjoyed a luncheon. She may have been only twenty-five, but there was a
worldliness about her that belied her youth.
She cut herself another small slice of bread and buttered it. This herb bread is superb. I recognize the marjoram and rosemary, but I can t place the
seeds. And that s unusual, I m customarily pretty good at identifying tastes.
I m almost sure it s borage.
Really? I m not sure I ve ever had it. You re very clever.
It was a popular kitchen herb in England back in the fourteenth century, just as my ancestors were over in the creek scrubbing off the woad and putting
on the shining armor. That s quite a while after we threw you Romans out. They used it in salads, as well as breads. And medicinally for something, too,
but I can t remember what it was.
Good grief! I ve an expert on my hands! You must be a fabulous cook!
Oh, yes, I agreed. I make an omelet that is simply beautiful until you try to get it out of the skillet. And I make a very tasty grilled cheese and tomato
sandwich. The bread gets this really interesting dark brown, but somehow the cheese doesn t melt and the tomato falls out.
Oh, come on!
About my cooking, it s the absolute truth. I do know a bit about herbs because of my Aunt Mae. When her husband died, she started fooling with herbs
as kind of a hobby to take up her time. Now she s made quite a little cottage industry out of it. Janet gave me a curious look over the top of her wine
glass. She grows them in the backyard and sells them dried in bottles, or growing in those tiny clay pots. She has a bunch of tourists who come back to
her place year after year. In fact she s written two little books about them, and they actually sell well enough to stay in print. You know, in nature food shops
or gift shops, and a few little specialty book stores around New England.
Janet was obviously impressed. That s fascinating! I love to cook, and I love herbs, properly used. I ve always wanted my own restaurant, a small one
with my own unique touch. Her eyes lit up just thinking about it. Maybe I ll call it The Veronique. One where I could meet the diners and yet do some
cooking, too. Intimate, I guess that s the word I m looking for. But not kitschy.
Oh, never kitschy, I smiled. But you are going to be one busy lady a book here, a restaurant there . . .
She looked down, embarrassed, and I was immediately sorry I had teased her about it. She reddened but she answered stoutly, Well, I guess I ll just
have to be an overachiever!
We went on to finish our meal and coffee, chatting about nothing in particular. Teachers we had liked or disliked. Food we like or dislike. Movies,
books. Places we had been. She told me about her time out in Washington State where she had been stationed while in the Coast Guard. She had loved
it. Especially out on the Olympic Peninsula just west of Seattle. She rhapsodized over the mountains, the lakes, America s only tropical rain forest, and the
silent beauty of the Pacific with the stone monoliths rising eerily from its quiet surface on a foggy day. She showed me a snapshot of her, standing in front
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]