Just what the doctor ordered

Guests at Cuisine de Provence often ask me "so what kind of food do you cook for just everyday?" They would probably be somewhat disappointed, as I am so not an organized daily cook - I don't really plan our meals but sort of look around the kitchen, the pantry - or, if I am really good - into the freezer early enough to allow for defrosting time.
Which didn't happen today. I woke up with a real bad toothache and what was really disheartening about this was that our wonderful dentist had recently retired. Don't you find it is one of the hardest things ever to find a dentist you really trust? I had no choice but to bite the bullet so to speak, went to his successor, begged the receptionist to be allowed to see the doctor and got away with antibiotics and painkillers and six (yes, six) bottles of mouthwash - French doctors don't do small prescriptions. But I really think I found a new dentist we will be happy with. Phew!
By then it was lunchtime with nothing planned for so another improvision needed. I had cherry tomatoes, miniature red and yellow peppers, a big bunch of flat leaf parsley and garlic. A big splash of olive oil went into a pan, the cherry tomatoes and chopped up peppers followed and I let everything wilt over medium heat. A clove of garlic, finely minced, a glass of tomato sauce and a few capers and pasta from the pantry - lunch was ready. Perfect food for a still somewhat fragile tooth - just what the doctor ordered.

Summer Time - Salad Time

"Gourmande in the Kitchen" is a deliciously inspiring blog I follow and this morning it just so happened that I could just taste the featured "Zucchini Noodles" and, better still, had all ingredients at my fingertips. Now to me this is more a salad than noodles (being a bit of a traditionalist, as far as I am concerned noodles have to be warm) but since summer has finally reached Provence and today's temperature is 33 C/ 91 F - salad is what we crave now. And this one is as fast as it is delicous! All you need are a few zucchini, a handful of cherry tomatoes, a few capers,  half a lemon and olive oil, a julienne cutter and voilà - a delicious and very pretty summer salad is about five minutes away! Merci Gourmande!