Naomi: Cooking for one and for friends



For years now, even before I wrote the recipes in what I think of as my "static blog," Fiftytworecipesfrommymother, at the request of my children, Sarah and Sam, Sarah had been urging me to keep a daily (more or less) record of my cookings--the meals I make for myself in my (surprisingly) solitary life as well as those I make for friends. For whatever reasons, I've never done it.


But, after months of wandering, I've finally begun. As I haven't quite mastered the art of cooking for one, and love throwing together grand meals at the last minute, I have been encouraging friends to call to check on what I might have on hand any evening for a quick meal. Instructions can be found in my entry for March 20th--What's in Naomi's Refrigerator.

This is primarily a record of the meals I prepare for myself and others, accompanied by "mug shots" of the food (when I remember to photograph before eating). Shot by my phone, with no styling, they may not capture their subjects at their best, but so be it.



Thursday, June 21, 2012

June 21st. Quesadillas with rajas. Home repair errands. bok choy and shitake mushrooms

Biked home after an especially long round of yoga (a workshop as well as the regular ashtanga), and made quesadillas with cheese and rajas for lunch.
I then boldly biked to B&B Hardware in my quest to fix Eddie's broken bathroom doorknob..   My limited internet research led me to believe that I needed a new spindle.  This would be fairly easy to replace.  My diagnosis wasn't quite right.  I soon learned that my spindle was fine--the problem was the screws which I could replace for about 30¢ apiece.  An alternative would be to  buy a brand new (not very attractive)  doorknob for ten dollars.  It's not as if the old door knob was a gem, but I had gotten myself fairly invested (emotionally, not financially) in  this bit of repair work. I was zipping right along.  Dave, the salesman showed me how to install the new screws (American, not Chinese, like my old failing screws, he pointed out).  Unfortunately, they didn't have  the 3mm Allen Wrenches I needed to complete the job--they sent me to TruValu on Venice and Centinela--Oh I was feeling righteous and ridiculously efficient and competent.  Uh-oh.  Reaching for my little pink money pouch (which I'd stuffed with many more dollars than usual as I was stopping at Pete the Chairman's jumbly shop to leave a deposit for the repair work on the dining room chairs), no pink purse to be found.  I knew instantly I'd left it on the cashier's counter at B&B where I forked over my $1.30 for screws.  All bargains instantly erased.  But no.  I asked if anyone at TruValu knew the number of B&B and a random voice from the aisles recited it from memory.  I called--and indeed--once I adequately described the purse--a pink cloth rectangle with  "a lot of cash," I was told it was waiting for me.  So back to B&B.  Cash retrieved, on to the Chairman where I realized in all the excitement I'd left the Allen Wrench at TruValu.  Not a problem--Lincoln Hardware, right across the street was open for another four minutes (they close at 5:15).  I zoomed across, bought the wrench (could I have made all my purchases there?  there are some questions I prefer not to ask), returned home, and successfully installed the doorknob--carrying out all landlady responsibilities--not exactly with ease, but with a certain amount of grace (I like to think).

Time for dinner.   The shitake mushrooms and baby bok choy I bought in Westminster have been waiting in the fridge for five days.  The  mushrooms are maintaining their vigor, but the bok choy was beginning to age a bit  in the vegetable crisper.  I made a quick stir-fry, beginning with quickly sauteeing ginger and garlic, then added the sliced mushrooms, cooking for a while to crisp the edges.   I usually braise the bok choy, but this time I shredded them, stirred them around a bit, threw in some of my frozen cubes of chicken broth, soy sauce, chili garlic paste.  I cooked it for a while, then added some thai basil and a splash or two of sesame oil.
While the veggies cooked, I made white rice, and had quite a respectable meal  at the end of a long day of yoga, biking and home repairs.
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