Given that I am the child of two very heavy smokers (one lifelong, one who quit in her sixties), it's amazing that I can smell anything at all, let alone that I have what appears to be a very acute sense of smell.
Today, I am giving thanks for this gift as I chop the marjoram and thyme fresh from the newly potted plants on my balcony,
as I smash the garlic (not homegrown, alas) and sprinkle the newly ground black pepper and Penzey's Very Hot Crushed Red Pepper onto the cherry tomatoes and chicken thighs. A couple of glugs of olive oil, a good hand tossing, half hour or so of rest, and this is going into the oven to roast into something so close to my idea of taste perfection I can hardly get my head around it. And the smells that will be wafting out of my oven - I can't even tell you how my mouth waters while this dish is roasting away at 450 degrees.
To distract me from hovering over the oven, I'm starting to inspect the new books that arrived in today's mail.
Oh, were you under the impression that there was a moratorium on book buying this calendar year? If yes, you are correct in your thinking. However, I celebrate a little-known tradition of unlimited book buying during one's birthday month, which in my case is April. All month long, I buy any book that strikes my reading fancy. If you think this is ridiculous, think about the time BBMBB (Before Birthday Month Book Buying), which amounted to Just Because I'm Breathing Unlimited Book Buying.
Anyway, I've gotten an lot of great stuff in April, including the haul you see Sammy skirting here. Translations abound. I can't wait to sink my brain in.
Thirty-five minutes later, I'm four chapters in to the Joe Hill book, and heeeeeeeere's supper:
It doesn't look that appetizing, but I've already tasted one or two of the blistered cherry tomatoes, and I can say (immodestly?) that they are simply delicious. A nice green salad and some crusty bread would be perfect accompaniments, if one is inclined. Me, I'm going to inhale this and get back to Joe's action in New England and Christmasland.
