Simple Is Good

Last night, either of us wanted to cook. Fortunately we had enough leftover from last weekend to bring to work for today's lunch, so we didn't need to labor in the kitchen.

On our neighborhood walk, we saw that guy from Phoenician Bakery wheeling around a small truck with breads then knocking on the door of one of the houses.

A boy in little league uniform answered the door. Their Beagle, too, followed the young master greeting the Bread Man with long howls and lots of tail wagging.

"Want any bread today?"

"Dad..."

"Ur, no bread today. Could you come back Friday?" A voice came out the living room.

With the door closed behind him, the Bread Man was ready to go on his usual route.

I had seen him many times but never bought anything.

"Today is the day," I thought.

"What bread do you have?" I dragged John to the mini mobile bakery.

"French bread, rolls, and Pita bread."

The paper sacks were rather slender, so I asked, "are these baguettes?"

"They are French bread. Yeah, like baguettes."

Well, we paid $2.50 for a loaf of something between a peasant loaf and a baguette. I supposed we didn't always have to define/label everything exactly. It was a nice loaf of French style bread and the main course of our dinner.

Melted cheese on sliced bread, California green olives (in herbed vinaigrette), and fresh pear-shape tomatoes filled us up. I poured a glass of Spanish red John insisted that he tasted strawberry flavor then I opened a bottle of Italian red that was described as chocolaty.

I imagined a Mediterranean affair with the simple foods we had. The Spanish wine was great though I didn't taste hints of strawberry. It had slight sweetness of caramel and vanilla. I was surprised how well it paired with tomatoes and olives. Who said reds couldn't go with salads? The Italian wine was equally pleasant. It struck me with similarities to Californian reds and yet no dominating berry flavors, instead, pear. Not chocolaty to me at all. I'm not sure what experts say about these 2 wines -- I might post reviews later. Whatever they are, we love them!

A very simple and satisfying meal, we ate and drank to hour hearts content.