Aromatherapy for Dinner

I usually don't cook. Either my fiancé cooks, we go out for dinner, or we get takeout. But this evening I poured myself a glass of red wine and got started on a Greek potato-zucchini casserole from my Weight Watchers vegetarian cookbook.

I crushed and chopped the cloves of garlic first. Then I chopped the fresh dill, and took in that distinctive aroma with a deep breath. The parsley was next — a pleasing, grassy scent — and after that the onions. Then the small potatoes, which smelled earthy, like water and dirt. I sliced the zucchini into long green strips and did the same with the bell peppers.

When I poured the can of diced tomatoes into the herb mixture, the tart scent hit my nostrils, and I bent down to sniff the combination of dill, parsley, garlic and tomato. I added salt and pepper, and the mixture went into the casserole dish along with the sliced vegetables. By this point, my glass of wine was empty.

The dish baked in the oven for an hour and a half, and then I sprinkled feta cheese on top and baked it for another quarter hour. It's now cooling on the stovetop, and will spend the night in the refrigerator waiting to be divided into portions for lunch tomorrow and the day after.