Although we are almost through the last of October, SoCal has been hit with a serious heat wave. Living is a little cottage by the sea has all kinds of benefits but one downside is we are lacking AC. So once I pick up the kids from school, get the twins down for their nap and help Thomas with his homework, dinner time hits and I'm overheating. As a result Matt and I have had a few 'lazy nights'. We get the kids fed and don't feel up to cooking a meal so I'll pull a couple of simple ingredients that we have in the fridge and graze.

I always have a couple of types of cheese, meat, and sides on hand for nights like these. Slicing up a block of Manchengo, some pitted mixed olives, pieces of capocollo, and pistachios we had our Spanish plate. The snack ingredients are all relatively mild and aged so it's easy to keep them on hand.

I paired it with a crisp and dry French Grenache Rosé from the Pays d'Oc Region.