in the beginning

let the waters..be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear

 

• three quarters of a pound of small squid, bodies and tentacles, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, rinsed, dried, then very quickly arranged in an enameled cast iron pan after its cooking surface had been brushed with olive oil and heated on top of the range until very hot, the cephalopods sprinkled with some super-pungent dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia and one crushed dried pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, with a good squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil drizzled over the top, and placed in a pre-heated 400º oven, roasted for four or five minutes
• eight Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved, combined in a small ceramic baking dish with a dozen tiny wild garlic plants (bulbs and stems) from Lani’s Farm, a little olive oil, half of a teaspoon of chopped thyme from Foragers Market, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, placed ahead of the squid in the same 400º oven for about 20 minutes, removed, placed on a bed of slightly-wilted hydroponic watercress from Two Guys from Woodbridge, sprinkled with more thyme and some chopped parsley from Eataly
• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany) white, Vernaccia San Gimignano Fontaleoni 2014
• the music was from Jordi Savall’s 2-disc set, ‘Christophorus Columbus – Lost Paradises‘,  with Solistas de la Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI, and Montserrat Figueras