The Pendulum Swings

Today was another, even warmer perfect fall day and the leaves are peaking. I got to work outside for a couple of hours and enjoy the sounds and smells of the season. The scarcity and magic of these days makes them even more valuable, and the undercurrent of melancholy at the fleeting warmth gives each moment added weight. Time is fat like pumpkins right now.

To balance the divine excess of last night, a couple of clean and healthy dishes tonight. Little puy lentils simmered with carrot, onion, and celery and finished with olive oil, parsley, and fennel fronds accompanied a puréed soup of celery root, leeks, fennel, onion, sorrel, and potato with a broth fortified by the bones of the two legs of duck confit we had last week. The soup really worked; with good texture and a broad range of integrated flavors- from the meaty duck to the bright lemony sorrel- it was light for a warm day yet still rich for the time of year. Ditto the lentils, but from the other direction: vegan, but intensely earthy and substantial. Speaking of earthy and substantial yet light, a 2001 Guigal white Hermitage matched both these dishes quite well.