Cauliflower’s back, and so is summer flounder.

And summer.

• two 8-ounce flounder filets from American Seafood Company placed inside an oval tin-lined copper au gratin pan, skinned side down, the top surface spread with a mixture of at least one tablespoon of zest from a Whole Foods organic lemon; one teaspoon of pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, where it’s sold dried and still attached to the stem; one teaspoon or more of balsamic vinegar; 3/4 of a tablespoon of olive oil; almost a teaspoon of lightly-crushed black peppercorns; a quarter to a half of a teaspoon of sea salt; and most of one fresh garlic head from Berried treasures Farm, chopped finely, baked for about 15 minutes in a 350º oven, removed and arranged on two plates, drizzled with some juice from the lemon which supplied the zest earlier, micro sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge sprinkled on top

• florets of a medium orange cauliflower from Norwich Meadows Farm sautéed in a pan in which 3 roughly-sliced cloves of an immature, not-yet-dried head of garlic from Lani’s Farm, some crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia, and more than a teaspoon of Italian fennel seeds had first been heated, the cauliflower sautéed for a few minutes until beginning to soften, at which time it was joined by 5 or 6 ounces of halved and seeded orange and red grape tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, and some sea salt, the pan covered and the cooking continued, gently, until the tomatoes had been wilted a bit and become a part of the mix, the vegetables finished by stirring in some powerful chopped peppermint from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a California (Carneros) white, La Tapatia Chardonnay Carneros 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the Erkki-Sven Tüür album, ‘Illuminatio; Whistles and Whispers from Uluru; Symphony No. 8’