You know the kind of experience where you say, “I wish I had my camera”? That was our dinner in the hotel the night after the Winter Garden Farmers Market. It wasn’t a picturesque scene, but it was noteworthy.
Scrapbooking is another pastime of mine, recently I took an online journaling class. One of my favorite prompts the instructor gave was, “Describe five ‘photographs’ you missed with your camera.”
There was a footstool for the table, and washcloths for napkins. Plastic forks juxtaposed with a glass of red wine, and mesclun salad greens with Mediterranean cucumbers served in a cardboard take-out container. I had tossed the salad with Florida Citrus dressing in a ziplock bag; on top of that used ziplock sat giant slabs a brandywine tomato with a schmear of pistachio pesto. We had half of a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken with a loaf of artisan bread and local, aged, raw-milk cheese. For dessert we had bright red, juicy Plant City strawberries.
No waiters, no candlelight, no live music, just one memorable evening.
To be out-of-this-world good does not always require lots of fuss. Sometimes, my favorite meals are on the fly. The experience in savoring the flavors of un-adorned fresh foods, can be just as good if not better. When food is freshly picked at its peak and combined with other seasonal flavors, an extraordinary meal can be easily created.
What was the best meal you’ve ever had “on the fly”?
