It worked so well the first time, I thought I’d do it again.

• two thick 8.5-ounce rectangles cut from two cod fillets, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, brought to room temperature, seasoned with salt on both sides, the top (the former skin side) brushed with a little French dijon mustard which had been mixed with a very small amount of water to make it easier to spread (onto that side alone), the two pieces dipped into a mixture of homemade breadcrumbs mixed with some finely-chopped parsley from Phillips Farm, browned briefly, but only on the side coated with the mustard and breadcrumb mix, in a little olive oil inside a tin-lined copper au gratin pan, transferred to a 325º oven and cooked until the fish began to flake (about 12 minutes this time, because the pieces were thick) [the recipe is based on Thomas Keller’s ‘Wild Cod en Persillade‘]
• six Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved, combined in a small ceramic baking dish with one sliced fresh green garlic from Lani’s Farm, a little olive oil, half of a teaspoon of chopped thyme from Hawthorne Valley Farm, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, placed in the oven for about half of an hour (initially at 400º, the temperature reduced to 325º half of the way through, to accommodate the cod), removed, sprinkled with more thyme and some chopped parsley from Phillips Farm
• red kale from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted with olive oil in which thinly-sliced rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to heat until pungent, seasoned with salt, pepper, a drizzle of fresh olive oil, and a sprinkling of organic lemon juice
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Akiyoshi Reserve Chardonnay Clarksburg 2014
• the music was a 1981 performance, in Leipzig, of Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’, with Kurt Masur, Theo Adam, Siegfried Jerusalem, Carola Nossek, Jeanine Altmeyer, and the Gewandhausorchester