I was worried that this would be too spicy for Jay, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was plain yummy. I made a slight change to the quinoa salad – the tomatoes are supposed to be dressed with olive oil and served on the side. I just mixed them in with the quinoa salad, which I would definitely like to make again. I was too lazy to make anything else for dinner, but the salad was pretty filling so it was fine. The tart was good, but not make-again good.

• Quinoa and Chili-Scented Pork Chops with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing (Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, p. 156)
• Chocolate and Polenta Tart (Dolce Italiano, p. 154)

Wine: Ridge 2004 Carmichael Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California). Wow – one of the best Zins we’ve had from Ridge in a while. This is the first Carmichael we’ve had, but we have three more bottles.