Meat

I remember when the number of dead Americans in Iraq reached 500. "Wow," I thought, "That's a lot of people. I wouldn't be able to have a party for that many people in my house." It wasn't a particularly small house, but that was the way I thought about the casualty number.
Now that more than 1,700 Americans have died in Iraq for no clear reason, a similar thought came to me the other day. Only now, I live in a condo roughly 1,700 square feet in size. It wouldn't be much of a party, and I'd have to clear out every stick of furniture and maybe even knock down some walls -- but if every man and woman stood shoulder-to-shoulder and pressed closely spine-to-sternum, I might be able to squeeze that number of people in my house. But no more.
It's a very bad feeling.
Here's a wonderful pork tenderloin we grilled Sunday. The meat comes from Bryan's in Corte Madera. Those are baby eggplants from the farmers' market in the bowl, and the glass holds a mustardy-buttery-maple syrupy sauce I whipped together on a whim.
To your health.