Yes, it really was hot, both inside the apartment and out, but assembling this simple meal didn’t add anything to the temperature of the kitchen last night (the thermometer was already showing 86 degrees at 10 o’clock, but it didn’t register any higher after I was done cooking).

The flame under the covered pot was on for only about two or three minutes, so little of the heat it generated escaped into the room.   Also, we had two efficient fans in the dining area near the window, so within only a few minutes after I had thrown everything into a large enameled cast-iron pot we were able to enjoy a perfect late-summer supper.

When we had finished this course I realized we had still had some wine (we must have been really busy with the bivalves), so I brought out a sampling of some excellent light cheeses.  We followed that small course with some luscious plums.

By the way, while I’ve had a lot of shellfish casualties in the past, there were almost none this time:   Of the two pounds I started with, not one mussel was lost after making it into the pot (although three, which had already opened, had been rejected while I was cleaning them).   O Canada!

I want to say one more thing about this meal:  I’m crazy about lovage.   I have to restrain myself, or I’d probably try to introduce this herb into at least half of the things I put together.  This time however the recipe, by Jerry Traunfeld (which I found in a piece by Sara Dickerman in the Times Magazine four years ago), already called for it.

• small mussels (farmed in Canada, somewhere in the Maritimes) from Citarella, steamed with a third of a cup of dry Vermouth, a little butter, 2 cups of diced “Black” (mahogany-brown) heirloom tomatoes from Bill Maxwell’s farm, ground pepper, chopped shallots, and generous amounts of lovage, also from Maxwell’s;  served with crusty long (Italian?) bread from Citarella
• cheese:  from the Greenmarket, two wonderful soft-ripened goat types, “bigelo” and “doolan”, from Ardith Mae in Hallstead, Pennsylvania
• wine:  Tuscan, San Quirico Venaccia di San Gimignano 2008, from Appellation Wines
• three varieties of ripe plums from New Jersey’s  Tree-Licious orchards, picked up in the Greenmarket three days before

goat chops, Kermit eggplants, plum tomato, everything ready for the grill pans

Kermit eggplants in grill pan, cut side down first (after a rinse, the tomato followed the Kermits)

goat chops, just after hitting the second grill pan

the finished plate on the table

Just after assembling the materials on the counter lat night I realized that  this meal would be very easy and stress-free to prepare, and that there were going to be almost no issues involving the coordination of different dishes or their separate timing, so for the first time ever I chanced taking a few pictures throughout the process.

They’re not much to get excited about, but the meal was terrific (I do the tomato thing regularly throughout the second half of the summer, and they’re always a treat; I loved the taste and texture of the little round green eggplants, my first exposure to this variety;  and the chops turned out better than ever before), and the pictures do give some idea of what we both enjoyed last night, before, during and after the process.

• kid goat chops from Patches of Star Dairy in the Greenmarket, first marinated in oil, garlic, pepper, juniper berries and crushed bay leaf, then pan-grilled and finished with oil, lemon, and parsley, accompanied by  a halved, seasoned, and pan-grilled ripe plum tomato (picked up last weekend at The Meat Hook in Williamsburg), finished with Balsamic vinegar;  eight tiny green Thai Kermit eggplants (also called, I understand, “Garden Egg” and “Bitter Ball”) from Lani’s Farm in the Greenmarket, halved, cross-hatched, coated with a mixture of oil, chopped garlic, shredded fresh mint, then seasoned, pan-grilled, and finished with good oil;  and some sliced Rustic Italian bread from Amy’s in Chelsea Market
• wine:  Sicilian red, Hauner Salina Rosso 2008 Isole Eolie (Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola grapes), from Chamber Street Wines
• slices of an Asian melon called Sun Jewel, from Norwich Meadows Farms in Norwich, New York, purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket

• heirloom tomatoes from Bodhitree Farm in the Greenmarket, with oil and torn basil;  accompanied by thin, toasted slices of ciabatta
• drink:  Pernod and water
• two pan-grilled loin lamb chops from Citarella [a total of only 10 ounces or so, only $8.84 for both - and, without exaggeration, I'd call them the best chops ever!], finished with oil, thyme from the Greenmarket, and drops of lemon;  accompanied by Japanese eggplants, also from Bodhitree , which were halved, scored, coated with chopped garlic and mint (both from the Greenmarket) and then grilled on another ribbed cast-iron pan
• cheeses:   “Dorset” a soft washed-rind cow’s milk, and “Manchester”, an aged goat’s milk, both from Vermont’s Consider Bardwell Farm, which has a stand in the Greenmarket;   also accompanied by toasted thinly-sliced ciabatta
• wine:  Rhone, Belleruche Côtes du Rhône 2007 M. Chapoutier from from Philippe Wine
• slices of a Korean melon called Sun Jewel, from Norwich Meadows Farms in Norwich, New York, purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket
• dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans

• Roberto’s grissini
• cod fillet in green sauce (described by Mark Bittman as “a Basque staple”), that is, a seasoned fillet from The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market cooked slowly for 10 to 12 minutes in a skillet with a generous amount of oil,  turned once halfway through, a handful of chopped parsley added at the time;  accompanied by tiny Fairy Tale eggplants, sliced in half, coated with oil, chopped garlic and fresh oregano, both from the Greenmarket, then quickly grilled on a ribbed cast-iron pan; and slices of Rustic Italian bread from Amy’s in Chelsea Market
• wine:  Greek, Hatzidakis 2007 Santorini from Chamber Street Wines
• Charentais melon from Norwich Meadows Farm in the Greenmarket

• fennel-flavored taralli
• Pimientos de Padrón from Lani’s Farm in the Greenmarket [this time there wasn't just the occasional hot pepper;  instead, perhaps a third or more were hot, and although Barry and I are not greenhorns we found them painfully, insanely, hot];  accompanied by slices of Rustic Italian bread from Amy’s [and then some quickly-marshalled roasted peanuts and milk - yes, milk! - to fight the Scoville heat units]
• [a phenomenal] culotte steak, from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, seared, then baked briefly in a moderately-hot (375 degrees) oven, finished with oil. lemon, parsley and allowed to sit for a few minutes;  accompanied by some lemon-and-oil-dressed watercress; grilled plum tomatoes from the Greenmarket, finished with balsamic; and a bit more of the Rustic Italian bread
• wine: [the totally] excellent Ercavio Tempranillo Roble Castilla 2007, from K&D Wine and Spirits
• Charentais Melon from Norwich Meadows Farm in the Greenmarket

• “Ligurian fish and potatoes” [using a beautiful cod fillet, from Riverhead's P.P. & D.D. Seafood, purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket, and a recipe from Mark Bittman I found in 2004:   lay the cod on a bed of coarse salt and completely cover it with more salt, setting it aside;  then slice potatoes to a thickness of less than 1/4 inch (I used Keuka, from Maxwell's Farm in the Greenmarket) and toss them in a baking pan with a generous amount of oil;   cook for 20-30 minutes or so in a 400 degree oven until tender, then thoroughly rinse and dry the cod, place it in the pan on top of the potatoes, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with ground pepper, and return the pan to the oven; the fish should be done in 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness, and then garnish all with chopped parsley (I used lovage from Maxwell's Farm)];  accompanied with kale, also from Maxwell’s, sauteed in oil with garlic
• wine: Spanish Rueda, Shaya 2008 Verdejo old vines from 67 Wine
• strawberry compote using Tahitian Vanilla Ciao Bello gelato, and a sauce of berries macerated a bit with with Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup mixed with turbinado sugar

• thick culotte steak, from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, pan-seared, then cooked briefly in a hot oven and finished with shallots, oil, lemon;  accompanied with roasted Yellow Finn potato wedges, from Healthway Farms via the Greenmarket, finished sprinkled with balsamic vinegar;  wilted cress from Woori Farm in the Greenmarket;  and garnished with a small tomato halved and sauteed, also from the Greenmarket
• cheesees:  Pata de Cabra,, a Spanish washed-rind goat cheese;   Gardunha (rustic Portuguese goat cheese made near the Spanish border);  and Amanteigado, a Portuguese sheep’s milk cheese produced in the coastal plain west of Lisbon (all three from Murray”s Cheese;  accompanied with slices of a Royal Crown Brick Oven Baguette (Brooklyn) purchased at Garden of Eden
• wine:  Argentine, Malbec, Tikal Amorio 2007 Mendoza, the gift of a friend

• sweet red radishes from the Union Square Greenmarket stall of  S.&S.O. Produce Farms, in Goshen, New York
• sauteed duck-breast sausages from Marlow & Daughters, garnished with watercress from the Greenmarket’s Woori Farm;  accompanied by a rhubarb compote (Greenmarket rhubarb);  Saltzkartoffeln (boiled red-skinned Desiree potatoes from the Ulster County’s Healthway Farms stall at the Union Square Greenmarket, finished with dried breadcrumbs browned in butter);  and cucumber salad (Greenmarket).
• cheeses:  two excellent artisanal forms from the Greenmarket stall of Vermont’s Consider Bardwell Farm, “Dorset” a soft washed-rind cow’s milk, and “Equinox”, a semi-hard, sharp, extra-aged  raw goat;  accompanied by thin slices of a German-style 100% whole wheat bread, Orwasher’s, from Marlow & Daughters, with salted butter served on the side [in the image above, the Equinox in on the left, the Dorset on the right]
• wine:  Austrian, Weingut Hofer Zweigelt 2008 from Appellation Wines

• sweet red radishes from the Union Square Greenmarket stall of  S.&S.O. Produce Farms, in Goshen, New York
• salad of radish greens (the same radishes), some dandelion greens, and pieces of romaine lettuce from Garden of Eden, as well as watercress and chopped fresh garlic from the Greenmarket stall of Woori Farm, in Westtown, New York, finished with chopped fennel fronds (Garden of Eden), and a dressing of Ravida (Menfi, Sicily) oil, VEA L’Estournell Garnacha varietal red wine vinegar (Catalonia), accompanied by thin-sliced toasts of two-day-old ciabatta
• flounder fillets from Blue Moon Fish, at the Greenmarket, sprinkled with Martin Pouret Orleans white vinegar (from Chardonnay grapes) and salt, lightly-floured and sauteed in oil, then removed from the pan, to which time butter and lemon juice are introduced, scraped together and gently warmed, to be joined by some fresh chopped dill (my alternative to the more conventional parsley) from a small rooted plant picked up at the Shushan Vally Hydro Farm stall at the Greenmarket, the finished sauce poured over the fish;  accompanied by boiled red-skinned Desiree potatoes from the Ulster County’s Healthway Farms stall at the Union Square Greenmarket, finished with butter and chopped oregano (also from the Greenmarket);  and red chard from Suffolk County’s D&J Organic Farm in the Greenmarket, sauteed with fresh garlic, finished with a little oil
• fresh early, pesticide-free strawberries from Bodhitree Farm on top of a scoop of Tahitian vanilla Ciao Bella gelato, with a sauce composed of a few of the berries macerated with Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup mixed with turbinado sugar
• water: San benedetto [we normally drink tap water, but we had some of this delicious acqua minerale frizzante left over from a party a few days earlier]
• wine:  Spanish, Naia 2008 Rueda (Verdejo) by Jorge Ordonez, from 67 Wine

• mixed olives served with Taralli Pugliesi (Finocchio) from Puglia Sapori, both purchased at Garden of Eden
• thick culotte steak, from Dickson’s Farm Stand Meats, pan-seared, then cooked briefly in a hot oven and finished with a drizzle of oil and lemon and the addition of  chopped parsley; accompanied by halved tiny ripe cherry tomatoes from Garden of Eden briefly heated in oil and finished with some chopped thyme; and wild nettles from the stall of Paffenroth Gardens in the Union Square Greenmarket wilted inside a large pan in which chopped ramps had been briefly sauteed, then finished with a squeeze of lemon
• goat cheese, “Le Cendrillon”, served with thinly-sliced ciabatta toasts (Sullivan Street Bakery, via Garden of Eden)
• wine:  a medium French red, from Roussillon,  Le Vignes de Bila-Haut, Côtes du Roussillon Villages 2008, M. Chapoutier, from K & D wines