It's already midsummer, and I've yet to post anything about food. To remedy that error, I will describe yesterday's impromptu romantic meal. Halfway through the morning, Tom and I realized that no boys would be home for dinner. Golly, what should we do with ourselves? Eat seafood was the obvious answer, so I drove to the fish market in Skowhegan to see what I could find. What I brought home was a dozen Taunton Bay oysters, which Tom shucked and served on the comical enameled tin pie plate that my Great-Aunt Joan once mailed me for reasons that still seem unclear. However, as you can see from the table setting, it goes charmingly with the 50s-era diner table that we found in a garage as well as the red-striped drinking glasses from the Goodwill and the pale blue plates that my grandmother bought in the early 60s on piece-by-piece special from a New Jersey grocery store.

After we ate the oysters and finished listening to a Stevie Wonder record, I made scallop ceviche. I quartered the scallops (a pound of big fat fresh ones from New Bedford, Massachusetts, via the Skowhegan fish market) and mixed them with a pint of halved cherry tomatoes, three minced garlic scapes, a handful of chopped infant leeks, a sprinkle of cayenne, and a half cup of freshly squeezed lime juice. I let all of that sit in the refrigerator for 45 minutes, stirring it occasionally as I emptied the dishwasher, cooked Indian black-pepper rice (recipe available on request), listened to a Charlie Parker record, and giggled at Tom, who was in a silly and insouciant mood all evening. Just before serving the ceviche, I added a diced avocado, salt and pepper, and a handful of finely chopped mixed herbs: parsley, cilantro, and basil. And voila.