yay, balcony dinner!

It's not yet altogether warm out, though it's sunny. I managed to get outside a couple of times today while working at home: first for a latte this morning, and then after doing a lit review I wandered down to Whole Foods for some items for dinner. I was determined to enjoy this evening out on our balcony as best I could.

Oh, it took an extra layer for warmth, but we did have dinner out there. I should be grateful for the bright weather and the absence of the heat and humidity that will hit - inevitably - this summer. And I am. Tonight was my show of appreciation.

If I were dining alone, I would have tossed all of this into a bowl and eaten it in front of some Bravo reality programming. Instead, Conrad and I opened a bottle of an unfamiliar NZ Pinot Noir - a Marlborough wine called Fire Road - that I found at Whole Foods (and re-sealed it after a glass - a really plain, boring wine that will be useful for cooking instead) and had the sort of dinner we love to sit outside and enjoy. As summer heats up, we'll do more of this sort of thing.

So then, salad. Each of us grabbed items from the platter and composed our own plates. Anchovies (not salty but in vinegar), olives, tomato, walnuts, asparagus, cheese, radishes. A little dish of a simple dressing (garlic, the olive oil it was gently sauteed in, sherry vinegar, salt). Some cherries. We've since moved inside to sip wine (our "house wine", Mark West Pinot Noir) and geek out on laptops. Yep, a very nice night, indeed.