August 31st. Big Dinner. Burrata with roasted tomatoes. Guacamole. Roasted Asparagus and more.

Long list of errands with Sam.  His friends Anton and Jesse will unexpectedly be coming for dinner (they leave for their back-packing trip tomorrow).  Three young guys for dinner means I will make about ten thousand dishes.  And with Sam as a sous chef and shopping companion--oh dear--all limits collapse.

First stop was Sur La Table.  I arrived with pastry bag and all insufficient attachments.  Discovered that I did not need the little plastic connectors.  The star attachment in bag would do the trick.  That was easy enough.

Then to REI where Sam got socks, rope, sun screen, etc. for tomorrow's trip.  Walking to the car we got a mocha ice blended with an extra shot at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf--something I haven't had in years--very delicious indeed.

Friday is one of the day's that Gioa's Burrata is delivered to Bay Cities.  It doesn't have a very long shelf life, so guests are mandatory--especially if I buy the pound container.   The lunch hour was long over, so lines were short as we bought both the burrata and two loaves of still warm bread.

I had been thinking we'd go to Trader Joe's, but wanted to check out the 99¢ store first (this, I'll admit is a bit of an addiction).  Friday afternoon traffic was so dreadful on Lincoln Boulevard that after an excellent round of purchases at both the 99¢ store (cauliflower,green beans,asparagus,  portobello mushrooms, red peppers,  pasilla peppers, organic lettuce, dill, chives, etc) and CVS, we decided to forego TJ's and buy our chicken and beer at Whole Foods.  Good choice!!  Both items were on sale--and so was fresh corn--so we had that upscale ease and no more driving before heading home.  It was close to 6--we had way to many food items--and lots of cooking ahead!!

Sam had requested Roast Chicken. This is my expansion on Marcella Hazan's chicken with two lemons.

I put in cherry tomatoes to roast to serve with the burrata, as well as asparagus.  Also--since the oven was on, roasted golden beets and pasilla peppers for future meals.

Not cooking alone, having Sam there, helping with both preparation and pre-meal cleaning, zipped things right along--and spurred me on to make many more dishes than necessary.  Part of the rationale is of course that it is better to have a refrigerator stuffed with cooked vegetables than raw and rotting ones.   So--on we went.

Although it was scarcely necessary, and didn't quite fit with the menu, I wanted to make another round of Hunan eggplant and so I did.

Sam made guacamole.  To re-cap:  The guacamole, burrata with roasted and fresh tomatoes and basil and roasted asparagus with lemon and parmesan would be the appetizers.

The main course--chicken with roasted vegetables, the green beans with portobello mushrooms, fresh corn.   And, there was even dessert--that lemon ice-cream with triple ginger snaps with still more gingersnaps and strawberries.

Plenty of left-overs and the golden beets and pasilla peppers still waiting for their table moment.



ice cream with strawberries...

August 30th. Scrambled eggs with zucchini and zucchini blossoms.

Zucchini and blossoms, whole and chopped

Sam arriving tonight.  Amanda came on Thursday instead of Friday, and I took the opportunity to make us a grand breakfast of scrambled eggs with both zucchini and zucchini blossoms.

After yoga, bumped into Alex in the Fred Segals parking lot (How bizarre is it that I go to Fred Segals almost every day for yoga?  Won't even go into it).  We hadn't seen each other in years and decided to have lunch there.  I often stop at the cafe for a glass of water infused with celery and citrus, but I've never been tempted to eat there.  The prices, if a bit high, are pretty standard, and much more reasonable than the clothes--but although it's s always looked fresh and healthy--that might not be quite enough.  But I was starving, happy to see Alex, and there it was, so in we went.   For some reason, perhaps because I was so surprised to be there, I had a tuna sandwich on toast with a garden salad.   It was o.k.    Alex had a kale salad which looked more interesting.  She said it was quite good.  I'd meant to taste it, but forgot.  I had been much happier with the Umami burger across the street.

Continuing in my quest for extraordinary deviled eggs, I stopped at Sur La Table, in search of a pastry bag and the proper attachments in an unprecedented effort to fill my egg whites with a beautifully piped and squiggly yolk mixture.  I left with a bag, a silver funnel, and a package of four plastic connectors--together, I was assured they would do the trick.

But first, I stopped at Katya's studio for a promised cup of coffee and a catch-up after her trip east.   We had a fine visit--both over coffee and then dangling our feet in the Charmont pool where I used to bring Sarah to swim thirty years ago!!

Sam's plane was supposed to arrive at 11, but was delayed two hours--not scheduled to arrive until after 1AM.  I'd taken out dvds from the library--Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be, which I'd ordered last week, and the first season of Breaking Bad.  I figured these would keep me up into the wee hours.

It was unlikely he'd want a proper meal at that late hour, but why not try out my new equipment and make a few more deviled eggs.  Oh dear.  My splendid new equipment wasn't quite right.  The connectors were too small, the star attachment too big.  While my efforts at piping and pastry bagging should not perhaps be classified as a great disaster (the eggs looked pretty much as they might have if I'd just spooned in the deviled mixture), they did not make what we might consider an elegant appearance.  They were good enough for Sam who was happy to eat a few on his arrival, but would have to be improved for party presentation.  I didn't get to sleep until close to 3.  The work will continue in the morrow.

August 29th. Stuffed squash blossoms. Rice with Zucchini

One of my many unexpected purchases at the Farmer's Market was a little pint container of squash blossoms.  They looked quite fragile at the moment of purchase, and fearing they wouldn't last very long, I decided to experiment and fry some up.  

Made a ridiculously simple batter of flour and water--following some guidelines (which I can't now recall) which advised a batter the consistency of sour cream.  Easy enough.  I slipped a sliver of smoked mozzarella into each of the blossoms, coated them with the batter and sauteed them up.  They were not spectacular.  I might have been happier with some kind of tempura batter, but they were tasty enough and certainly looked cute.  

While I was fussing about, I'd cooked a batch of brown rice and had some of that with sauteed zucchini, onions and tomatoes.

August 28th. Hamburger. Salad. Deviled Eggs.

I'd promised Kate a few dozen deviled eggs for her birthday party on Saturday night.  I'm always delighted when deviled eggs show up on the table, but they're not something I've made in years.    
An internet search revealed a world of deviled egg madness and options, but I've always gone with a very simple combination of mayonnaise and mustard, salt and pepper.  Of course, I had no real idea of proportions, but that is normal, and it usually all works out.  Still, this was for a significant birthday, and I did want to make party-perfect eggs, so was quite happy to discover a familiar enough recipe in the fat Gourmet Cook Book I'd picked up at the Venice Library, that echoed my own long ago deviling procedures.   I'd boiled three eggs and chilled them before leaving for yoga.  On my return, mashed up the yogas, and made my eggs with random amounts of the above ingredients.  Quite tasty, but not very beautiful.  Might have to think about piping.

After many months, Huli was fixed my necklace and bracelet.  After my deviled eggs lunch drove to pick them up and then, because I was in the neighborhood did a Tuesday double-header which I hadn't enjoyed in years- Culver City Farmer's market and Trader Joe's where, in anticipation of Sam's visit, made many excessive purchases.

I do seem to be on a bit of burger binge--made myself a hamburger for dinner--I'd divided my pound of chopped meat into four burgers--cooked two, saved one and froze two uncooked chunks of meat for that hovering future.  The meat was from TJ's--but also had salad with farmer's market lettuce.

August 27. Pier Burger.

After yoga, long conversation at bike store about secret menus at different restaurants.

Inspired by all that burger talk couldn't resist buying a cheeseburger to go at Pier Burger--a new (I think) relatively fast food burger on the pier.  Ate it at home with iced coffee.

Lunch was  so late in the day, yogurt, strawberries and cottage cheese sufficed for dinner.

August 26th. Cucumber Soup. Steak and avocado salad.

Another bowl of cucumber soup for a very late lunch.

Late lunch followed by an early dinner. I'd bought a tiny New York steak  on sale at Ralph's last week.  I  pan-grilled it (is that the term?), and tossed it into a  quick salad of romaine lettuce,  avocados and tomatoes.

I eaten early  because a)I was hungry and b)I was planning to hear the Standards around 6pm at the coffee shop next to Vidiots.

As I stepped out my door, a young woman, tearful and panicked leaned over the gate.  "Call the police!" she shouted.  "He's crazy."  As she ran to the porch, I dialed 911.  My phone responded by turning into a red-illuminated microphone (could this be true?  I think so).  The woman, who was house-sitting next door, was in a complete state.  Her boyfriend had thrown her to the floor and broken a table.  Was he still around?  I wasn't sure.  It was late Sunday afternoon.  Each Sunday, thousands gather on the beach at the foot of our street for an enormous drum circle.  To keep an eye on things, there are generally many police, in cars, on foot, bicycles and sometimes horses in the immediate vicinity.  Surely one, or two or three of them could stop by.  But, my temporary neighbor wasn't sure if she wanted the police.  There were two young teen-agers holding boogie boards and looking frightened and confused in the front yard.  A man soon showed up.  He was not the boyfriend, but a friend who was visiting with his sons.  He told me there was just a mis-understanding and nothing to be concerned about.  I kept the police on the phone.  I did not want to be the person to report that all was well at the moment chaos might ensue.  Soon, another woman arrived and hugged the first woman.  Everyone told me that things were under control and assured me there would be no trouble.  A dog had also gotten away during the fracas, so there was much hysteria on many fronts.  At the time, it didn't seem like there was a need for the police.   I relayed this information to the police dispatcher, got on my bike and rode off to hear music.

I arrived just as The Standards, Mike, Ryan and Dennis  were packing up their instruments.  I made my apologies, complete with lengthy narrative of 911 intervention.  They urged me to stay on to hear the next band--The Painkillers--and I did.  They were terrific (Ryan got to play harmonica and sing a bit with them).  They had some of their own songs, but mostly sang blues, old folk, Dylan, etc.  It was a complete treat.  I was as happy as can be, biking home with lights flashing after the show.

August 25th. Left-overs. Apple Pan. Photography and films.

With plans to meet Randi at 1:30 for many activities, ate many left-overs--eggplant with rice, roasted tomatoes, etc. to get me through the afternoon.

First stop---Who Shot Rock and Roll?   at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City.  Neither of us had ever been there. I'd mistakenly assumed it was nestled somewhere in the shopping center/movie complex, where we parked, before discovering it was on the other side of The Avenue of the Stars.  We eventually found our way there through the vast and empty concrete landscape.   It was packed--a line outside and very crowded inside.  The video, shown regularly in a central room was quite good, though it didn't leave us much time for checking out the rest of the show.  I was delighted in the ladies room to see that the show continued with an ever-changing photo display in the middle of the mirror.

It's imperative to be at the Writer's Guild Theater in time for the screenings.  The guy at the door leaves his post, locking the  doors at the very moment the film is scheduled to start--no late entries, so although we were fairly close, we wanted to allow enough time to get there.  We made our way back to the shopping center parking lot quickly, but that was the end of our speedy exit.  We'd  carefully noted that my car was parked in the aisle marked B39.  On our descent into the lot (confident that we could find the car due to our proficiency in numbers and letters), we realized that in addition to these two categories, there was a third which we'd completely over-looked--there were pillars of many colors.  Due to our negligence in the hue department we spent close to one-half hour searching for the car--which we finally found by returning to the surface, trying to remember which stairway we'd emerged from and descending once again.  The car found, we sped to the film, but we were moments late and the doorway dark.

Of course, this was not the only film in town, and neither one of us had been desperate to see it, so disappointment in check, I drove to the Westside Pavilion--on the odd chance that there would be a film that we'd want to see showing at the moment of our arrival.

No film fit that bill.  Instead, we went to Macy's where Randi bought a little Cuisinart food chopper on sale.  Thinking of all that food processing, we realized it was time for a meal--and by good fortune, the Apple Pan is still right across the street.  After a short wait, we had hickory burgers and french fries.  Well fortified, and with time to spare, we thought we'd go back to the Writer's Guild and see Hope Springs.  This time, after finding our car exactly where we'd left it in minutes flat,  we arrived with time to spare, found street parking and saw the movie, which we both liked more than expected.  

August 24th. Guacamole. Hunan Eggplant. Caramelized tofu with brocooli

After lingering at yoga, I was too hungry to bike all the way  home without eating (this happens sometimes).  I had been looking forward to another round of cucumber soup, but instead I stopped at Sushi Sapporo, the Japanese restaurant on Lincoln adjacent to Albertson's.  I'd been pleased enough when I'd stumbled in there a while ago.  It is not amazingly delicious, but they do have a good lunch special.  You have your choice of two or three items along with miso soup, salad and a nicely cut orange.  I ordered sushi and sashimi and was about to choose a third dish, but the waiter implied that two selections should be more than enough.  Later, after I'd just about cleaned my tray, he asked how everything was.  I told him it had all been quite fine, but I feared he underestimated me for I surely could have eaten more.  He was most apologetic and quickly returned with a California roll,  so in fact I did not leave hungry.

Thinking about my empty refrigerator, I continued on Lincoln to Ralph's and with a vegetable loaded bike returned home.   It was close to 5--there was a note from Drea wondering if she could come for dinner after work.  That wouldn't be until after eight--so why not?   I was sure we could come up with a decent meal and would basically cook it together.

Weeks ago, Robin had mentioned a delicious Hunan Eggplant in her repertoire.   Her recipe was the first listed in a Google search.  .  I'd just bought a quite lovely eggplant--Our vegetarian dinner would be the eggplant with my excellent stand-by  caramelized tofu.

The avocados I'd bought last week were beginning to ripen.  I couldn't resist making a one avocado guacamole--just the avocado, a few chopped cherry tomatoes, a crushed garlic, lime juice and chopped cilantro.  I even had a tiny bag of fritos which I'd been looking for an excuse to open.  And, I also put up brown rice--I always forget about it as it takes so long--but knowing that there were hours before we'd eat--no reason not to get that rice cooked and waiting. I also opened the package of tofu I'd had forever (expiration date still a week or two away), and placed it between two cutting boards with a heavy can of tomatoes on top to press out some of the liquid.

OK--On to Hunan Eggplant.  You can check out the inspirational recipe here.  I stuck pretty close to the original--but here's my version:

Cut eggplant into cubish--about 1/2" to 1".  In a wok or large frying pan (I used my wok here), heat a few tablespoons of canola oil (peanut oil is usually preferred for stir fries--but I didn't have any).  When pieces are nicely browned on most sides, remove with a slotted spoon.

Add another tablespoon or so of oil to wok. When hot, add 3-5 minced garlic cloves, one or more tablespoons chili paste with garlic, and a teaspoon or more of minced fresh ginger.  Cook 10-20 seconds (you don't want the garlic to brown).   Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 cup of liquid (chicken stock would be best, or vegetable stock, but I just used water which was fine) and two teaspoons sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Return the eggplant to the wok along with one tablespoon rice vinegar.  Cook a few minutes, until eggplant has absorbed most of the sauce.  Stir in two tablespoons chopped cilantro (original had green onions, not cilantro)  and one tablespoon sesame oil.  Serve with Rice.

Hunan Eggplant

With two cooks working, it was easy to make the caramelized tofu while the eggplant absorbed its excellent juices. 

At the last minute, I tossed in yesterday's left-over steamed broccoli--and we what I at least would consider an almost proper Chinese dinner.

As we were cleaning our plates, Andrea was about to take the antibiotic which her brother had prescribed for a nagging cough. It was nowhere to be found.  She was convinced, she'd left it on her new desk in Woodland Hills and was lamenting the drive she'd have to make on Saturday, as well as the rupture in her most unusual antibiotic course.  True, or not, my feeling these days is that I rarely go out at night.  It was almost 10:30 on a Friday night.  A perfect time to step out.  Seizing the opportunity, I offered to drive to Woodland Hills at that very moment (though we first had to have some strawberries with yogurt to properly end our meal), and indeed that was just what we did---heading through the pass to the Judge's office in Woodland Hills in search of a pink medicine bottle.   

August 23rd. Cucumber Soup. Potatoes and onions with egg.

Cucumber soup for lunch.  I didn't make that much, but even though I didn't make a huge amount, and I'm not extending it as I go along, it certainly is supplying many meals.

Last night, inspired by smells of cooking potatoes and chicken from downstairs, I put up four potatoes from the farmer's market to boil---and promptly forgot about them until the water had boiled off and the poor potatoes were beginning to burn in the bottom of the pan.  By the time I noticed,  I'd finished my left-over penne dinner so....into the fridge went those over-cooked potatoes.

Tonight they emerged, in better shape than I'd feared,  to be sauteed with onions and topped with a fried egg.  Minimal but fine Thursday night meal.

April 22nd. Cucumber Soup. Left-overs penne plus.

Quiet day of many left-overs.   Cucumber Soup for lunch.

For dinner, the left-over penne with mushrooms, and the zucchini, roasted tomatoes, other tomatoes, roasted peppers and artichoke hearts tossed in.

August 21. Cold Cucumber Soup. Surprise Dinner. Pennete with mushrooms. Roasted Peppers. Roasted Tomatoes Zuccchini with herbs.

Expected another quiet day.   On return from yoga,  finally got to eat that long-awaited cold cucumber soup.  Looking for some elegant garnish, I thought I'd scallop some rounds of Persian cucumber, but instead, using the multi-sided scraper I'd bought at in Hoi An, I made made long graceful julienned strips which 

settled in a fine tangle atop the bowl of soup into which I'd stirred a fair amount of yogurt.

That was lunch.  I was planning on more or less the same for dinner, but at around 3pm, I got an e-mail from Drea.  Back in town, and starting work, she'd written a few days ago about the possibility of dinner some night this week.  She was now asking, if despite the short notice, tonight would work.  I have always said that my ideal dinner is one in which I have close to no time to prepare, so of course this was perfect.  And it did seem the logical outcome of my sudden shopping trip on Saturday night, and my Sunday cooking as well.  I wasn't sure if Sam was coming (he wasn't, he was in San Francisco).  Drea is a vegetarian, so for her at least, the cucumber soup was not an option.  But--I already had  left-over frittata, roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, so was quite certain I could come up with a respectable meal, especially with the bread and wine that Drea offered to bring.  .

My first thought was to make some vegetable laden pasta, but I soon decided to serve most of my well-cooked vegetables on the side.  I roasted the cauliflower I'd been saving for just such a moment, and sauteed the three small zucchinis that had been waiting for their moment.  They were so delicious, I'll write the recipe right now.

SAUTEED ZUCCHINI
Three small summer squashes, cut into one inch by 1/4 inch strips.
olive oil
Two plump cloves garlic
1/4 cup mixed herbs (parsley, thai basil, Mint)

Heat oil in heavy pan.  When hot, add zucchini.  When they start browning nicely, stir, cooking until most are well-browned.  Stir in the chopped garlic for a minute or so (don't let it brown).  Turn off heat, stir in the finely chopped herbs and serve.

In addition to the dished of vegetables pictured above, I also made pennete (little penne) with a mushroom sauce.  And--since I'm feeling expansive--here's that impromptu recipe as well.

PENNETE WITH MUSHROOMS
Six Dried Shitake Mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1/2 Pound Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Chopped Herbs--Thai Basil and Parsley
Bit of Smoked Mozzarella, chopped
12 ounces of pasta.

Soak the Shitake mushrooms, saving the water.  Squeeze and slice.  Saute the crimini mushrooms in olive oil and/or butter (I like to use both--leaning towards more butter).  When the mushrooms seem almost done, add the shitake mushrooms--and the garlic--stirring so the garlic doesn't get browned.  Add the mushroom liquid--bring to a boil.  Add the smoked mozzarella (I just had a smidgen --it added an excellent smoky flavor--and more would have been fine.  I had a 12 ounce package of pennete which turned out to be perfect amount for the sauce.  Stirred it in, and served with grated parmesan.

We ate the pasta accompanied by the various roasted vegetables.  For dessert, we had Trader Joe's Lemon and Triple Ginger Snap Ice Cream.  This is something I bought after reading a rave on a web site of Trader Joe's enthusiasts.  I have long been a fan of the triple ginger snaps, but would never have bought the ice cream--which turned out to be completely delicious--and even better accompanied by a few extra cookies and strawberries.  An excellent very impromptu meal

August 20th. Meat loaf sandwich. Cold Cucumber Soup.

Quiet day after all the visiting and eating in and out yesterday.

Had what felt like an appropriate post-yoga lunch of cottage cheese with tomatoes.  Was going to make a proper salad but the tomatoes were good enough to go it alone.  Cottage cheese with tomatoes.

For dinner I had the last of the four hamburgers from last week.  On toast with lettuce and tomato--a meatloaf sandwich, made from a very simple and tiny meatloaf.

I did finally make Cold Cucumber Soup No. 3.  Since this is a cold soup that is cooked first, I'd started it too late to eat this evening, but it is now chilling in the refrigerator and will be fine tomorrow.

August 19. Frittata. Roasted tomatoes. Roasted Peppers. Caponata. Yogurt with Strawberries and Toasted Walnuts.

Perhaps I do  conjure guests through shopping. Debbie called at about 8:30.  We'd had vague breakfast plans--I'd gone shopping last night with the thought that I needed some food at home, but I'd half expected we'd be eating out.  Instead, I ended up inviting both her and David for breakfast--they could arrive at any moment--and I was scarcely awake--so had to do some quick improvising. (This is of course the task I've set myself, so I am  not complaining, just noting).

I couldn't quite think, so fell into my regular routine.  Roasted a pan of yellow and red cherry tomatoes   as well as the red peppers.  While these were roasting, I sliced and sauteed onions for yet another zucchini and onion frittata.  Good thing I'm so fond of my basic staples.  I don't need much encouragement to prepare any of these dishes, and without thinking, I'd just replenished my stock of all the basic ingredients.  And as a bonus,  I'd bought Valencia oranges (usually get them at a Farmer's market, but they were organic and inexpensive at TJ's--so thought I'd give them a try and they did indeed provide a better juice (maybe it's the season) that the ones I'd last bought at the Farmer's Market.

The breakfast menu:  fresh squeezed orange juice, yogurt with sliced strawberries, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries, zucchini and onion fritta with sides of the left-over caponata, roasted tomatoes and roasted peppers.

In the evening, biked to The Inn at Venice Beach, Debbie and David's hotel on Washington Boulevard.  The plan was to then walk to a restaurant.  I'd thought we would try Sunny Spot, where I'd been for a happy hour weeks ago, but the walk felt too long for the wearied wedding guests so we turned around and ended up at Mosto Enoteca, an Italian restaurant, upstairs in the mall that once housed  Killer Shrimp and Aunt Kizzy's.  We had a surprisingly elegant little meal--with a great view of a sliver of a crescent moon setting in the twilight sky over the sea.

August 18, Egg Salad, Penne in Chicken broth. .

Quiet Saturday at home.  Egg salad sandwich for lunch.  An early dinner of the left over penne with chicken broth--not quite a soup--but almost.

After dinner, noted that there was next to nothing in the fridge, and thinking that Debbie might be coming for breakfast tomorrow, I uncharacteristically headed out on a Saturday night shopping trip.

First stop--the 99¢ store, where I bought cleaning supplies as well as lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, red peppers, and finally cucumbers for that long delayed cucumber soup!  My purchases totaling $12.99 were enough to earn me (as part of the chain's 30th anniversary celebration an  enormous 99¢ store re-usable bag.  Then on to Trader Joe's.  I thought it would  be popping on a Saturday night, but the parking lot and store were both almost empty. The first time I've been there with my car in months--so could stock up on seltzer, ice-cream bread, eggs, coffee, organic bananas and strawberries, flowers  oranges and Persian cucumbers for that soon-to-be-made soup--bulkier items and meltable that are not particularly bike-friendly.    Returned home pleased that I had enough items to whip up a meal or two if guests should materialize at my table.  

August 17th. Frittata. Three-Colored Metro Ride. Atheneum Picnic Buffet

Today shared yesterday's uneaten zucchini and onion frittata with Amanda.

Although it was over 100 in South Pasadena, I was not giving up on my plans to meet Suzanne and Peter at their local Metro Gold line station.
Suzanne had suggested we have dinner at Cal Tech's Athenaeum, at the warm weather outdoor buffet.   After my  forays on the Culver City Expo line, I was ready to continue my Metro explorations--driving to Pasadena late Friday afternoon or evening would take hours--this seemed the perfect opportunity to ride three Metro Lines--Expo, Red and Gold.
I've finally learned how to buy tickets from the silent machines on ground level, and since I now know that each line of a different color requires a separate fare, I bought a one-day pass--which for $1.80 (we're talking senior rates here) would let me ride from Culver City to South Pasadena and back.  In addition to the financial savings, possession of the pass means I didn't have to buy a new ticket each time I changed trains (maybe we're all meant to buy passes all the time--it is certainly onerous to have to buy numerous tickets for each trip).

looking East from Window of Expo Train

Looking up, same window

The train leaving Culver City at around 4:40 was almost empty, but it began filling as we headed east and  once we arrived at the 7th Street Metro Station we were in full Rush Hour mode.  Crowded but not jam-packed, and compared to New York subways, breezy, new and clean.  Rode the Red Line underground to its terminus at Union Station and then walked through that old grand station (though not through its most splendid entry hall) to catch the Gold Line on an outside platform for the final stage of my journey.

Looking towards Main Entrance (I think) while hurrying to Gold Line

Suzanne and Peter picked me up (how precise we can be thanks to these phones we once mocked--I called from Union Station and they pulled up just as I was descending the stairs in South Pasadena).

Dinner was quite jolly--a bar-b-que buffet--tri-tip, chicken and salmon with many sides and hot fudge sundaes for dessert.  The heat had abated, so it was quite pleasant sitting on the Athanaeum lawns surrounded by many happy eaters.  After dinner, we picked up the three dogs and took them for an outing on dark and beautiful tree-lined Pasadena streets.

It was after nine when they brought me to the South Pasadena station.  We must have just missed a train, because we waited for close to 20 minutes.  That first train was fairly empty, but the Red Line which I boarded at Union Station was well-populated and there was a good crowd waiting on the platform for the Expo Line at 7th Avenue.
The trip was remarkably easy.  The signage wasn't always perfect, but I'd figured out my way around, and on this my third Metro outing from Culver City, I was beginning to feel like I could become a regular.  I did have a moment of anxiety as I settled into my seat on the train clearly marked Culver City and heard an announcement that the last stop was Jefferson/La Cienega.  How could that be--that was the stop before Culver where I'd left my car.  Was this a glitch in the system I hadn't prepared for?  The young man sitting next to me was no help.  He hadn't noted that the train now went to Culver City, so thought the announcement was correct.  "That's as far as the train goes," he said, of the La Cienega stop.  Having boarded in Culver City, I knew this was not the case.  I then peered out onto the platform.  Many people had not boarded, but I assumed they were waiting for the Long Beach Line which shares these rails.  One young man walked over to help, but he spoke only German and had no idea what I was talking about.  Deciding to take my chances, I returned to my seat.  A young Latino man then turned to me.  "Don't worry," he said, "that announcement was just a machine.  "This train does go to Culver City.  I've been taking it for weeks."  Indeed, although the new station had been open for some time, they hadn't yet updated that initial recording.  My doubts assuaged, I enjoyed the half hour ride through the Los Angeles night before returning to my car that I'd left hours before in the ample Culver City lot and was home, if not in record breaking time, early enough.  On my return, I did a little research and discovered all kinds of warnings about the dangers of traveling on these many lines.  What can I say?  In my oblivious way, I found it completely pleasant and will certainly do it again.

August 16th. Zucchini and onion frittata. Amadou and Mariam on the Santa Monica Pier

Debbie and family arrived in Venice last night for son Jesse's Saturday wedding.  Debbie was supposed to come by for breakfast--but her arrival time kept receding.  I'd been thinking we could happily eat the bits of salami, smoked mozzarella, caponata, and roasted peppers that were lingering in the fridge, but decided to augment the spread with a zucchini and onion frittata.  

Although there wasn't much time once Debbie arrived, and also perhaps because I wasn't very clear about my relatively well-stocked larder,  we decided to go with the restaurant option and hurried to Joe's for the excellent $19 course lunch special.

In the evening, before biking to the pier for the Amadou and Mariam concert, I had a fine little dinner of the lunch fixings.  Slices of frittata and a sandwich of salami, avocado, and roasted peppers (I quite forgot the smoked mozzarella, but there were enough flavors to cover that omission.)

August 15th. Salami and smoked mozzarella sandwich

One meal day.  Not quite true--a soft boiled egg on toast for breakfast, hours before yoga, and then a late lunch.  One plus one would, I guess, equal two.

But, conversation with Gaia at yoga, trip to library and visit to Bay Cities where I bought another one of those small fresh-baked breads that served me so well last week, meant I didn't eat lunch until after four.  (Oh that mysterious slippery time).

I did do a little more burrata research at Bay Cities.  They do sell the same pound tubs from Gioa that I'd bought at Surfas.  Those cost $10.98.  For $5.98 you can get two four ounce balls of burrata.  They're delivered in bulk, each ball wrapped in paper, and the good cheese people at Bay Cities put together the 8 ounce tubs.  That's what I'd bought last week.  As I wrote yesterday, by day 5, the burrata felt like it was on the edge--and indeed the expiration date on the burrata that was in the case today (from the Tuesday delivery) was August 21--that's a full week after purchase--perhaps I was wrong--but still--this does seem like one product where the "use by" date is really relevant.

Not planning any celebrations in the coming days, I didn't buy yesterday's cheese--but perhaps I'll be inspired by Friday.

I did have many excellent ingredients for my late afternoon sandwich--thin sliced soppresata salami (bought, I will admit at the 99¢ store last week), smoked mozarella, roasted peppers,  sliced avocado and tomato, and as a special bonus, a fairly large clump of cilantro and a spoonful or two of caponata.  Mustard and mayonnaise on the bread--very delicious indeed!

August 14. Eggs with Burrata and Caponata. Grilled cheese sandwich.

Burrata might have a very short shelf (or refrigerator life).  It wasn't exactly sour when I checked this morning, but it no longer had its original miraculous freshness.  It was early enough for me to have a proper pre-yoga breakfast, so I used the remaining burrata (it might not have been more than two big tablespoons) and the caponata to make some very luxurious scrambled eggs.  Rich, but not too rich.  I cooked some of the caponata with the eggs and had some cold on the side--preferred it in its side-dish relish form--and I don't think cooking with eggs is the wisest destiny for burrata, but in this case it was a good save.

Almost the entire morning was spent in phone calls and e-mails to Ikea.  This is all about the New Jersey kitchen, items on back orders, delivery fees, etc.  It is now looking as if I might have pulled some order out of chaos, but nothing is over until it's really over, so we shall see.

A panini of sorts for lunch.  Can you have a panini on rye?  Maybe it is then called a melt.  In any case, I had an either excellent panini or melt on rye--smoked mozzarella, roasted peppers, tomato, sopressata salami and avocado with mustard and mayo.  If I had a restaurant I might serve something like this.  It would make many people happy.

Veggies awaiting some carbs

Dinner--noble emptying refrigerator work.  Cut up the three kinds of green beans that I'd boiled the other day (for a salad nicoise that never materialized).  Sauteed three carrots cut into bean sized pieces, along with sliced garlic and radishes, before adding the beans.  Tossed in a few cubes of my frozen chicken broth and some cumin.  Would have worked with rice, but pasta felt easier, so I boiled up some penne and had a tasty respectable (at least to me) meal.

August 13. Monday. Hamburger. Meeting about boutique hotel on Abbott Kinney.

Lunch--cooked up the three remaining hamburgers.  Two for future meals, but happily ate one on wheat toast with lettuce, tomato and Russian dressing.  Lots of iced coffee with coffee ice cream left me feeling a bit too stuffed.

Instead of dinner went to a community about very early plans for a new hotel designed (or yet to be designed) by David Hertz, Venice resident known for green, sustainable, etc.  Everyone cranky because despite professed love for community, world, etc., the developers want a variance to build four stories (one story above Venice Specific Plan).

No issues were resolved at meeting, but I did take care of dinner needs by snacking on cheese, fruit, veggies with dip and mystery meat--turkey? ham?--who can tell what those pale tasteless circles are?

August 12. Sunday. Hamburger with onions, lettuce and tomato. . Broccoli with lime juice.

Many long hours and long e-mails to Ikea, trying to sort through bungled New Jersey order.

Biked to library and on into sunset.  The beach and boardwalk packed with escapees from soaring inland temperatures in town.

I'd defrosted the pound of hamburger meat I'd bought at Trader Joe's--instead of making four hamburgers--I made just one--first sauteed onions until crispy in olive oil--then seared the hamburger.  And even cooked up a hunk of the bread I'd bought at Zelda's (not nearly as good as Friday's loaf from Bay Cities which had disappeared).  Made a very proper meal, hamburger with

Russian dressing, fried onions, lettuce and tomato on French bread, accompanied by salvaged-almost-exhausted broccoli crowns,  steamed and dressed with lime and salt.

August 11. Eggplant Caponata Burrata . Smoked Mozzarella. Salami Penne with Green beans with salami

Work Day this morning at the Westminster Elementary Garden.  Volunteer at Westminster Garden--Joe Miller, of Joe's, who has been an active participant in the garden for years, delivering buckets of compostables, growing herbs for his restaurant and most delightfully, cooking with the kids in the garden once a month,   Today he supplied lunch from Bar Pinxto, his Spanish Tapas restaurant in Santa Monica: sandwiches on crispy baguettes and salad with candied walnuts and parmesan.  Th bread for the sandwiches is made from frozen dough that is sent from Spain and then cooked here!

For dessert, he served panne cotta (he came with little cups already filled and chilled)  with sliced figs and shortbread. Asking Joe if he needed help, I was assigned the fig quartering job---my idea of a grand time.

For dinner, I got to eat the by-now-completed and well chilled caponata (due to the ingredients on hand rule--no pine nuts, kalamata olives instead of green stuffed ones, and golden raisins thrown in for a little more sweet)  with the burrata, with another round of smoked mozzarella and even made a little penne with green beans, garlic and salami.     .

August 10th. Hair Cut. Bay Cities. God-mother. Burrata. Salami Roast Peppers. The Standards

John, the hairdresser had called yesterday with a cancellation spot for me at 2:50.  As I am always en route to the East Coast, or even living in New Jersey, in an alternative life of the imagination, I have stopped making appointments six weeks in the future--a must if I want to guarantee a timely hair cut.  Two weeks ago, catching a mirror glimpse of my dreadfully overgrown and scraggly do, I called John, who, due to the signing up in advance policy, always has a cancellation or two.  This time, alas, he was about to leave town for two weeks in pursuit of a desert real estate dream.  He'd promised to call as soon as he returned.  He kept his word.  There was no way I could endure my unkempt locks another minute, so it was incumbent upon me to re-arrange my day accordingly.

John is around the corner from my always surprisingly situated yoga studio at Fred Segal. I'm done with yoga around noon, so rather than rush home and back, I seized the moment to visit old Santa Monica haunts.  First stop, the re-furbished library (oh it has been years since it was re-built, but despite the hundreds of hours in the children's library with Sarah, and then Sam, it long ago fell out of my trajectory).  I've been a devotee of the    Los Angeles Public Library  since it instituted its computer hold system--not many books in the Venice Branch, but with the books of the entire city available to be sent there, why go anywhere else? Fifteen years ago, when this policy just started, I rode on a library van delivering computer ordered books in the early Los Angeles dawn.  Here's my long ago la times article, from  the days when it was still amazing to think books--in their corporeal form--for in those days that was all we had--could flit so easily from one branch to the next.
But one short-coming of the LAPL is that you can only keep DVD's for two nights.   I'm not even going to begin to explain the complications of ordering DVD's as opposed to books, from other branches.   Santa Monica, on the other hand, permits borrowers to keep DVD's for a full weeks.  Why not resume my old relationship?My lack of loyalty had been noted and I was nowhere in their spruced up system, but it was easy enough to re-apply and receive a new card.

I'd thought I might eat at the library, but the courtyard was hot, the menu not-so-appealing, so card in hand and a selection of DVDs in bike, I made a return visit to Bay Cities.  I'd thought I might brave the deli line for a small Godmother sandwich, but spotting a pre-made regular size at the front counter, and assured it had been made just seconds before, I picked it up and with a zero coke made my way through the cash line.  I had wanted a sandwich, but I also knew that Tuesdays and Fridays were the days that Gioa Burrata was delivered.  I'd been so happy with my last burrata purchase, I thought it would be the perfect centerpiece for the dinner I'd promised Linda.  Although I was told the truck usually arrives by 1pm, it was late, so I ate half my sandwich on the patio, hoping that it would be there by the time I'd finished.  And indeed it was.

Bay Cities, unlike Surfas, gets their burrata in four ounce packages which they sell either by two or fours.  They weren't quite ready for sale, but by the time I found a fresh (still warm) baguette, my half pound was ready.  Couldn't resist adding a chunk of smoked mozzarella and a small hard salami to my order as well.

Still a bit early for my hair-cut, I stashed my purchases in John's refrigerator and made another quick visit to the library.Biked home after that long over-due haircut and inspired by cheese and bread purchases, I roasted two red peppers and set to work making an eggplant caponata and preparing my three types of green beans for a salad.

Two peppers--one red, one yellow--showing off their roasted shriveled skins

The peppers were the only dish that was ready at Linda's arrival.  I put the caponata and beans on hold and using the last bits of the Flor de Cana rum  to which I added a blended mix of  mango,  peach and ice, and topped with fresh mint leaves from the garden.  Very delicious indeed.

Mango and  Peach Rum Cocktails 

The drinks were a perfect accompaniment to the antipasto spread of burrata, smoked mozzarella, salami,  the roasted red peppers, sweet cherry peppers and avocado on that still very fresh bread.

Then off for a sunset walk to see The Standards at the Venice Bistro.   A fine evening all around.

August 9th. Eggplant Parmigiana. Chicken corn chowder

Lunch at Lena's--bought an eggplant parmigiana sandwich at Bay Cities.  Huge lines at deli counter--hot counter much quicker.  The sandwich was enormous--not quite as delicious as those of memory, but managed to eat the entire thing (I should have stopped half-way through and saved it) as Lena fed Phoebe baked pureed peaches!

Went to beach close to sunset with Robin.  Unlike me, she is a fine ocean swimmer.  I had every intention of going in--wore my bathing suit, brought a towel, etc., but the sun was low in the sky--no longer pushing me towards the water--and lacking that incentive--although the water was certainly warm enough, I only managed to go in as far as the top of my thighs.  Robin reporting that the bottom was very uneven with many sudden dips,  didn't stay in very long, making it very  easy for me to opt out.

Still digesting that eggplant,  my dinner needs were minimal and the left-over corn chicken chowder (with a few random additions) was enough for a quick and quiet meal.

August 8th. Left-over chicken festival continues with salad and soup. Chicken Salad. Chicken Soup

Plans for cold cucumber soup have not yet come through.  Froze most of the soup into cubes, but, again doing a little refrigerator salvage work (combined with some forays into the silly in summer territory of  canned goods)  made a pretty interesting chicken corn chowder.

Here's a recipe--though it's really little more than a guide for improvisation:

CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER

One or two strips of Bacon.
Two or three small potatoes
1 small onion
two small zucchinis
1/2 cup canned creamed corn (this was in cabinet--secret excellent ingredient for cornbread--but the only corn in house--so in it went).
Green beans
Chicken broth.

I sauteed the remaining bits of bacon from my package of ends and bits from Trader Joe's.  These fragments are heavy on the fat, so actually quite good if you're looking for a little bacon fat to saute your veggies.

After removing the bacon from the pan--and pouring off some of the fat (you're on your own in determining how much you need, if you want -- you can just leave a bit for the taste and add olive oil--but  really--how much harm can it do?) brown the potatoes which you've cubed into fairly small pieces (you're thinking soup here), when the potatoes are soft and browning, add  onion, green beans  and zucchini pieces cut to same size, and fresh corn kernels if you're clever enough to have them.  When vegetables are just about cooked, add chicken broth and creamed corn--if you have it.  Heat through.   Obviously all sorts of substitutions and improvisations possible here.


After cooking up the last bits of bacon, I removed it from the pan along with most of the fat.  Then sauteed a two small potatoes in the bacon fat, Sauteed the last bits of bacon, Soup for dinner.can't variations on chowder--potato, zucchini, corn, chicken soup.  green beans.

August 7th. Chicken Left-overs. Salad and Soup.

Left-overs--variations on chicken--salad and soup.

August 6th. Chicken Salad. Chicken Soup.

Saturday's chicken soup left me with lots of chicken.  I remove the meat from the bones early in the cooking so it remains edible --and today got yet another meal--chicken salad--out of it.

This was a quick and easy salad--chopped one rib of celery, one green onion, combined with a cup or so of chopped chicken, mayonnaise, raisins and curry powder.  Served it with sliced tomatoes with thai basil and sliced golden beets.

It wasn't until I began eating that I realized I was re-creating (in a fashion) one of my mother's regular lunch dishes--a hollowed out tomato filled with chicken salad.  She didn't curry the chicken, and my tomato was sliced, not hollowed, but the flavors, on a hot afternoon, surprisingly transported me to a long ago lunch time in Jersey City.
And for dessert, a left-over brownie (from Saturday) and iced coffee.
For dinner, defying the warm weather, as well as my intentions for cold cucumber soup, I had another bowl of hot soup.

August 5th. Eggs with Salmon and Corn. Chicken Soup.

Yesterday's breakfast of eggs with salmon and corn was such a success, I repeated it for lunch --though today's was more of a frittata than a scramble.

Here's the recipe, as best as I can re-call.  I think this frittat version had more grated parmesan than yesterday's scramble, but proportions are endlessly malleable and both were fine.
Sauteed a small onion,chopped in relatively small dice.  When the onion is soft add a cup or so of corn kernels--fresh are best, but make do with what you have.  When the kernels are slightly brown, add a few slices of smoked salmon (again, depends on what you have, how salmon generous you are feeling, etc).  As these items are browning, beat three eggs together, adding salt and pepper and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.

Add the onion, corn, salmon mixture to the eggs.  Melt butter in the pan, add eggs and cook over low heat until almost completely set.  You can then run it under the broiler, or flip it to get the top nicely browned.

For dinner, still lacking cucumbers, I just had a little bowl of chicken soup with some of the chicken.

August 4. Brownies. Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Corn. Chicken Soup

First thing in the morning, made another batch of butterscotch brownies for the Venice Community Bar-b-Que later that afternoon.  And since the oven was on, seized the moment to roast the golden beets I'd bought at the Wednesday farmer's market.  

The warm summer house suffused with baking brownie smells, with a hint of beet sugar thrown in, I was inspired to make eggs with smoked salmon, scallions and corn--felt very Sunday (although it was Saturday) special.

After exchanging my brownies for a late lunch of bar-b-qued chicken and pulled pork, made a quick trip to Ralph's.  My immediate goal was to get avocados on sale, but once there, inspired by the memory of my cold cucumber soup (which is made with chicken broth), I bought a chicken, parsnip, and celery for the chicken soup base, though I didn't think to buy any cucumbers.

In any case,  I did spend Saturday night making a modified chicken soup (lighter than usual, minus the chicken feet, extra giblets, etc) which I set to cool in the not-so-full refrigerator.

August 3. Sushi. Walk on Beach. Eggs with smoked salmon, onions and corn.

Many chores and errands.  I'd lost one of those little pads on my bargain glasses from Hanoi.  I'd thought I could live without it until I noted the unprotected metal hinge was beginning to dig a serious hole into the bridge of my nose.  After yoga, stopped at Lenscrafters.  They would give me a new one, but it would take about 45 minutes to an hour.  No choice but to get a little lunch in downtown Santa Monica.  So many restaurants, so few calling my name.  Ended up with a little sushi in the food court.  Then next door to Lenscrafters, a quick stop with my $10 gift certificate at Sur La Table where I once again felt stymied by the multitude of items.  Decided on a paring knife--as my knives are never as sharp as I might wish, picked up my well-repaired glasses next door, and headed home.   

 

Later than afternoon, walking along the beach at low-tide, Gail told me that Robin had served a delicious cold cucumber soup from my cook book.  Since I'm doing so little cooking these days, just thought I'd mentioned it.

August 2. Beet greens with bacon and corn and fried eggs. Expo Line. MOCA. Mr. Ramen

Fried two eggs with the left over beet greens with bacon and corn for a very proper lunch.  Had barely finished eating and showering before Katya picked me up.  We headed to the new Culver City Metro Expo station, now, the final destination of the Expo Line that will eventually run from downtown Los Angeles to downtown Santa Monica.  Our destination was the beleaguered MOCA on Grand Avenue to see the Painting Factory, a show that was soon to close.  Except for Warhol, we didn't know any of the painters, but were very happy with the white carpeting that covered the floor and especially liked works by Julie Mehretu and Tauba Auerbach.
Inspired to continue our downtown tour, we walked north on Grand to the new Grand Avenue Park, still looking good after its first week, pink furniture in place, kids racing through the wading fountain, and then across to the Geffen Temporary Contemporary where we were too hungry to spend too much time, but gave ourselves a quick tour of the Earth Art show and watched a round of videos of explosions by Cai Guo-Qiang, an artist of pyrotechnics (who knew?)  at MOCA and other sites.

Deep in Little Tokyo, and very hungry, it was certainly time for noodles.  Lisa had told me months ago that the best noodles in town were at Daikokuya Ramen on First Street.  She'd warned me that the lines were huge(this was confirmed first by the internet, then tonight by eye-witness observation).  Last month, or maybe the month before, I'd had the incredible Ramen at Tsujita and we were way too hungry to join the crowds, so we quite happily went to Mr. Ramen, a few doors down, where we by-passed the ramen altogether in favor of huge plates of cold noodles with beef and pork--a perfect meal for a hot down-town night.
We ended the night with a long walk back to the Metro, mostly along an incredibly spruced up Main Street.  Is downtown really gentrifying after all these years?  Have all the homeless been moved to Venice?  Or just a few blocks over?  For years, boosters and developers have been claiming a re-vitalized downtown--not sure how far it's come, but Main Street didn't feel like the war zone encampment of just a few years ago. 

We found our way to our Metro platform (signage was a bit of a mystery).  The trains for Long Beach and Culver City used the same platform, and at 9pm, there was a good crowd of late-staying commuters, visiting families, and explorers of all sorts.   

August 1. Beets greens with bacon, corn and roasted tomatoes with garlic. Love the Locals.

Roasted tomatoes first thing in the morning--I'd been eating them in salads, but they were beginning to age a bit--so drizzled with olive oil and joined by a few cloves of garlic into the oven they went--filling the house with those excellent roasting smells.

After an earlier than usual yoga class, biked to the Santa Monica Farmer's market for the first time in weeks.  The bike is a good brake on purchases.  I'd brought my backpack and a few bags, but even so, I've learned it's all too easy to overload--adding the awkward bike ride home problem to the inevitable eat the vegetables before they rot anxiety.

Bough tomatoes, potatoes, three!!! varieties of green beans, fennel and golden beets.  Biked home with ease and grace and immediately cooked up the beet greens.

It was quite delicious--so here's the recipe:
One thick bacon slice.
One bunch beet greens, stems removed-leaves are torn, but not tiny.
Roasted tomatoes with garlic.
1/2 cup Corn Kernels.

Beet greens with bacon, roasted tomatoes and corn

Fry the bacon until almost crispy.  Remove from pan.  Pour off almost all the fat.  Add corn.  Saute a few minutes.  Add beet greens.  When they are almost cooked, add the tomatoes with garlic and the bacon which you've sliced into 1/2" pieces.  Heat through.  You could eat this on pasta, or rice, or polenta, or with eggs...whatever.  I myself was happy to eat it in this more or less naked state.

A quick snack at  Ozumo's Love the Locals for an early dinner with Linda.