Summer.  In the heat of the afternoon, a stillness has descended on the backyard.  The low drone of bumble bees buzzing in the garden, the neighbor’s cat slinking across the grass.  My ambition extends no further than lazing on the porch with a good book.

Do you keep a book list?  I love lists.  To-do lists, book lists, the perfect wardrobe list . . . the very act makes me feel organized.  And so helpful, too, as more than once I’ve started a book only to realize I’ve already read it.  While perusing the stacks at the library, I discovered British author Anthony Capella.  He is, by his own admission, an Italophile and lover of all things culinary.  His novels are positively seductive. 

A few days ago I began reading “The Wedding Officer”, set in 1944 Italy.  Which, of course, had me immediately craving pasta.  With the mint that grows wild in the corner of the garden, I made a simple sauce of eggplant and tomato.        

This is a fragrant dish that takes a mere thirty minutes to prepare.  I hope you enjoy it.  And if you have favorite book titles that you’d like to share, I’d love to add them to my list.

– Doreen