The Perfect Friday Evening

9 x 12 inch wall sculpture

It's Friday evening and you just got home after a long commute in bumper to bumper traffic. You sit down at the kitchen table and open the window overlooking the highway which is always snarled with noisy traffic no matter what time of the day or night. Friday's are particularly noisy. You think to close the window, but the warm setting sun lights up your kitchen and relaxes you. As you look out the window you see two leaves from a sycamore tree floating over the highway below. With the angle of the sun the highway appears magenta instead of the usual dusty and drab gray.


All you have in the refrigerator is a chilled bottle of Verdi Spumonte and a couple of long slender eggplant you purchased at the local market a few days ago. Even though it's Friday night, you decide you're much too tired to go out or fight the traffic again. So you pop the cork and pour yourself a glass of the bubbling wine and slice up the eggplant.


You melt a couple of pats of butter in a saute pan and put in the slices of eggplant. You sprinkle the eggplant with minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, celery salt, and fresh ground pepper, and cover the pan with a lid. The garlic and spices permeate the air and you can just imagine the taste of that succulent eggplant melting in your mouth. As the butter is absorbed into the eggplant you drizzle a little olive oil to keep the slices from burning, then turn them over to brown them on the other side.


You take balsamic vinegar out of the refrigerator and pour a small amount on a plate. When the eggplant is soft you put the slices on the plate and sit down at the sunny kitchen table. You place a bite of eggplant in your mouth and savor the flavors, dipping it gently into the balsamic vinegar just enough to absorb a taste of the vinegar. You're finally relaxing after a stressful work week.


Then you hear a knock at the front door and wonder who it might be. A sales person? Should you answer it? You decide to see who it is and you open the door. It's your favorite neighbor across the hall asking what the wonderful smell is coming from your apartment. You invite your neighbor in, pour them a glass of wine, and you slice up the other eggplant. As you both sip your wine accompanied by the sauted eggplant you realize it's the perfect Friday evening.