The weather this week is just gorgeous, so we’ve been eating down on our patio every night. When the air is warm, the sun is filtering down through the bay laurel and the wisteria, and the grill is heating up, it’s like a little fantasy of the south of France. This happens maybe five times a year, so we try to make the most of it.

Dinner last night was simple: grilled corn on the cob, grilled zucchini (fresh picked just ten feet from the patio), grilled chorizo sausage, leftover pico de gallo from our party last weekend, and leftover guacamole (we made enough for a small avocado-loving army). And a bottle of Willow Crest Cabernet Franc we picked up in Prosser over Labor Day weekend. No recipes required, just char-grilled yumminess.