Quick Slow Food

My Beloved was just about to cut his first bite when I yelped, "Wait! I forgot to take a picture!"

It is a trial he lives with every day, the inevitable wait between when the food hits the plates and I finish photographing. I heat the plates to keep the food warm, but he's impatient anyway.

Small wonder, really, when food is this good. Sometimes, simplicity wins over serious preparation. In this case, all I did was slowly, slowly cook half a chunked onion in butter until it was clear and relaxed and just a little browny, then throw in a couple of peeled and cored d'Anjou pears to simmer away with the onion for another 20 minutes or so, covered. The resulting sauce looked like toasty, shiny glop but tasted like heaven on our pork chops, quickly striped on the grill and still faintly pink inside. Nestled next to a Pezzini artichoke that was steamed slowly to meaty perfection and a little cup of lemon butter that was zapped fast in the microwave.

The whole meal probably took less than an hour to prepare and less than that to consume, but that fast slow food really is the best. Even if you have to wait until the picture is snapped.