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.



Friday, June 1, 2012

June 1st. Venice Farmer's Market. Ceviche Taco. Last of the Steak Salad.


Biked  to the Venice Farmer's Market for the first time in months.  Bought beets, potatoes, zucchini, flowers, lemons, zucchini, and a box of spicy tempeh.  Dropped off the produce and biked on to yoga.  After class,  stopping for water at the Fred Segal's Cafe stumbled upon Gail and Chuck at lunch.  I hadn't seen them for decades!  We had a fine catch-up before I biked off to the 99¢ store to continue my pre-weekend foraging.   Knowing everything had to be carried home on my bike, and well aware of all over-buying tendencies, I stopped at the taco stand--Mariscos Guillen La Playita  Lincoln for a ceviche tostada.  Just what I needed before plunging into my shopping.  There was an abundance of organic produce--always a source of great shopper excitement when that shipment comes in.  I couldn't resist huge containers of baby spinach and arugula--and would have bought a big box of spring lettuce if they'd had it--but had to settle for the smaller size.  Along with all the other items I couldn't resist--
Organic Arugula and Spinach, 99¢ Each
coarse Sicilian sea salt (whatever that might be), coconut milk, mangos, pasilla chiles, giant artichokes,   red and yellow peppers, etc., it was quite a task balancing my way home.
It was late afternoon, no need for lunch, but I was happy to begin preparations for Saturday's brunch with Heather and Russell.  Sliced eggplants to roast before setting them to marinate overnight in pomegranate sauce.  And while the oven was on, I also roasted tomatoes, and wrapped  the beets of many colors I'd bought at the farmer's market in foil, popping them into the oven to roast as well.   As tomorrow's brunch cooked, I made another salad with the last two slices of extraordinary steak.  And for dessert--that irresistible coffee and chocolate ice cream with roasted almonds and caramel sauce.  Up until this very writing I thought I'd just pulled those roasted almonds out of a Trader Joe's bag, but now I remember that my favorite childhood treat was Schrafft's hot fudge sundae with coffee ice cream and roasted almonds, served in an elegant silver dish. Those Schrafft's lunches with my mother were something.
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