June 7. Long Sunset Walk. Mayonnaise. Noodles with Peanut Sauce. Artichokes. Rajas. Eggplant. Arugula

A refrigerator full of leftovers and produce.  A perfect set-up for an impromptu meal.  And, wonder of wonders, all the pieces fell into place.  Both Lisa and Patty showed up around 6pm.  Although there were no clear dinner plans, I was confident that my refrigerator would provide.  And not just my refrigerator.   Lisa arrived  bearing a steamed artichoke and the left-over rajas from earlier in the week.  No fear we might end up hungry.
Buoyed by this knowledge, we walked for hours along the beach.  A ridiculously perfect late afternoon.  Surf was high, surfers were abundant, but so were families with tiny children running back and forth into the waves, digging in the sand, tossing balls, and the ever-marveling tourists who had made it past the boardwalk insanity to the miracles at the waters edge.  The sun had set by the time we returned home.  We were three hungry women.   Dishes emerged from refrigerated tupperware like clowns out of a circus car.  Roast Beets.  Artichokes.  noodles with tofu and carrots in peanut sauce.  Rajas con Crema. Eggplant with pomegranate Sauce.  Arugula.  Uh-oh to the arugula said Lisa and Patty, noting that some of the leaves had a slight yellow tinge.  If this has not yet been made clear, let me take the opportunity to state that I tend to use my own personal standards (paying little heed to expiration dates for example) in determining whether a food item is usable or not.  The arugula might not have been spectacular in a salad--but it's expiration date (not that I may much attention to such things) was five days in the future.  I assured my guests it would be fine sauteed with a little garlic and lemon (and of course there were enough other dishes that it wouldn't matter if it didn't work), and they didn't try to stop me.  In addition to the arugula, the only other item I thought we should make was home-made mayonnaise.  Melissa Clarke had recently written a paean on the subject --and our many artichokes provided the perfect occasion to try it out.
Due to our hunger and the speed at which we were preparing things, I didn't read the recipe through to the end--but will record it here in both it's actual and ideal form.

MAYONNAISE
1 large egg yolk at room temperature (uh-oh said I--but Lisa popped an egg into warm water--and there we had it)
Two teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cold water
3/4 cup canola oil
1 plump clove garlic

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard, salt and water until frothy (very bubbly).  Then--and here, it certainly helped to have a well-staffed kitchen--much easier for one person to slowly dribble in the oil, while another keeps whisking vigorously--slowly add the oil--and within minutes you'll have a thick emulsion of mayonnaise.
It looked great--but we were all a bit disappointed with the taste.  Problem solved with the addition of a crushed garlic clove--made it fabulous.  Reading through the recipe after the fact, I discovered that one of the variations is an aioli, made with substituting olive oil for some of the canola oil and smashing the garlic with the salt at the start.  We'll do that next time.  This time, we happily ate the mayonnaise with each of the many courses--and were as happy as can be.

Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise (Lisa Fischer, 2012)

We even had room for a bit of chocolate and coffee ice cream for dessert.

June 6. Biking to Social Security. Golden Tofu and Carrots with Peanut Sauce .

As part of my effort of combining longer than usual (for me) bicycle trips with activities linked to my ever-advancing years,  I biked 5 miles to the Social Security Office in West Los Angeles to begin the process of figuring out "retirement benefits."  I thought I'd done due diligence by ferreting out some documents pertaining to my divorce, but those xeroxed sheets were scarcely sufficient.  I need  certified copies of both marriage and divorce certificates (with serious raised seals).  .  I was assured by our government's friendly representative that this will not be a problem.  We shall see.
Biked from social security to yoga (that's almost ten miles of serious biking).  After yoga,  stopped at the Bike Center where Emily gave my bike a quick tune-up to prepare me for a possible bike-ride downtown to get a certified divorce certificate--and even better offered to make the trek with me next Tuesday.  Since my bumper was smashed in at Fred Segal over two months ago, I have gradually (and much to my surprise) I have become seriously car adverse and bike almost everywhere--the thought of driving downtown, dealing with traffic, parking, etc. is more daunting than the thought of biking 30 miles round trip.  This might mean I'm losing my mind. Evidence not quite in.
Lena called just as I was heading home.  She was planning to walk over with baby Phoebe (now four months old!).  As we were both starving, it was a perfect opportunity to speed home and see what I could lure out of my refrigerator.
I made Golden Tofu with Peanut Sauce in record breaking time.

Noodles with Golden Tofu, Orange Carrots, Green Cilantro and Peanut Sauce

using that excellent recipe  from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  I didn't caramelize it--so much hunger, so little time, but the time limitations and hovering guaranteed   I didn't overcook the tofu--it was golden and crispy on the outside while soft in the interior.  Happily meshed with the quick peanut sauce, and pasta.  I sauteed a few carrots that I'd peeled and forgotten about last week using the fthe tofu's abandoned  oil --and voila--an almost instantaneous late lunch!!  Coffee and chocolate ice cream for dessert.

June 5. Voting. Transit of Venus. Hamburger. Pomegranate eggplant for Carol. Rajas Quesadilla for me.

Stopped to vote at extraordinarily quiet polling place after yoga--got home ravenous-satisfied all hunger with an excellent meal of left-over hamburger with wilted arugula, caramelized onions and cauliflower on half a pretzel roll and a big glass of iced coffee (with a few smidgens of ice cream).

Perhaps just as predictable, but more exciting than the election was the imminent Transit of Venus.  Venus, slightly smaller than the Earth would be passing between the earth and the sun from 3:30 until sunset.  This will not occur again for over a century, so it's our last chance to catch a glimpse. Not visible to the naked eye (given the brightness of the sun and all),   can only be seen through a telescope with filter or very dark welder's glass.  Unlike last month's solar eclipse, this transit has no effect on the amount of sun beaming down, there is no discernible shift in the atmosphere, i.e. you have to know it's happening to know to look for it.   The astronomers were going to be out in force at Griffith Observatory and UCLA, but Carol was coming over after school, and I was fairly certain she wouldn't want to head out.  Would I miss it?  Waiting for Carol, I walked to Ocean Front Walk, assuring myself that in that mass of pulsing humanity, I was bound to find at least one telescope or darkened piece of welder's glass.  And praise be!  At the very end of the block, my imagined telescope stood pointed towards the sun with its transiting Venus.  Steve, a regular at the drum circle for

Steve and Sequois with telescope pointed towards sun

past decade, explained that he had brought his telescope from his  Palisades home to view the transit from one of his favorite spots.  When I told him this was my street, he was a bit concerned that I might have been miffed by the years of drumming.  Perhaps his well-filtered telescope was a conciliatory gesture. In any case, either due to my softness for large crowds of dancing fools or my ever-increasing deafness, the drum circle on my block has been more a source of marvel than distress.  With a telescope on the corner, I brought down any neighbor who might have stepped out-doors--Sid and Judy with two grandsons, Lloyd and Lola, Andrew and later Carol and Joanie (who'd called for some last minute voter consultations.  Here's a reflection on paper that approximates (without the sharp contrast of yellow sun and black Venus shadow what we saw.

Venus beginning its transit (tiny spots are dust on telescope)

Back at the house, once the sun had set, we pretty much by-passed dinner.  Carol had the eggplant in pomegranate molasses sauce with a cup of tea, while I made myself another quesadilla with rajas con crema.  We didn't listen to one word of election coverage. despite our dutiful attendance at the polls.  

June 4. Hamburgers on Pretzel Rolls with Caramelized Onions, Brussels Sprouts with bacon and dates, Roasted Cauliflower.

No Yoga at noon--but late lunch none-the-less with Kate whom I haven't seen in months.

Pretzel Rolls waiting for their Burgers

A perfect opportunity to make burgers with the chopped meat I'd bought at The Harris Ranch.  Not much to prepare, but I did bike to 3 Square Bakery  and bought two pretzel rolls--to play the part of Hamburger rolls as they do in the pretzel burgers.  Also caramelized two onions to a rich dark brown and cooked up bacon.
There was about a fourth of a cauliflower which I sliced and roasted, and also made a round of brussels sprouts with bacon and dates--using up the last of the sprouts and bacon.  I had avocados,  roast  beets and  artichokes,but restrained myself and served Kate a lunch of an open faced  hamburger on half a pretzel rolls with caramelized onions, bacon and arugula.  Cauliflower and brussels sprouts on the side.  A very proper lunch followed by a walk on the beach where the sun had just successfully burned off the last of the fog.
Lisa called to suggest we join forces for dinner, so although I was still sated from that late lunch, I biked over with greens and roasted beets for salad, as well as the pasilla chiles I'd roasted and peeled yesterday.  Lisa, remembering our excellent chile rellenos, had roasted and peeled three chiles herself, but in a nod to speed and simplicity, we decided to go the rajas con crema route.  We didn't have any Mexican crema, but did quite well with a mixture of sour cream, cream cheese and yogurt (doing the good work of emptying Lisa and Gar's refrigerator as well).   The rajas were an excellent accompaniment to bar-b-qued pulled pork from TJ's with rice and an arugula and beet salad.  After a dessert of halvah and tiny chick pea cookies, with many lights   a-flashing, I biked home along ever-bustling Abbot Kinney.

June 3. Crispy fried eggs with arugula, roasted tomatoes and bacon bits, farfalle with roasted tomaoes, arugula and parm

Last night's dinner was so minimal, I awoke starving which led to the creation of a proper Sunday Breakfast For One--two crispy fried eggs on a bed of arugula with roasted tomatoes and a teeny side of bacon ends.

Quite Substantial Sunday Breakfast for One

Walked to the Ocean Park Farmer's Market with Robin before biking on to yoga--came home--thought I could slide through lunch with a half a grapefruit, a banana, and iced-coffee (I did pump up the coffee with a few spoonfuls of coffee and chocolate ice-cream), but two hours later made a quick little tuna salad--with only celery, mayo and tomatoes to tide me over.
With my refrigerator well-stocked with those 99¢ greens, to say nothing of two packages of extra firm tofu, half a dozen roasted and peeled pasilla chiles,a pound and a half of hamburger meat and an assortment of vegetable odds and ends, Based on past weekend, I'd half-assumed some-one would show up for Sunday dinner, but...although Andrew knocked on the door to return the drill I'd lent him and borrow two eggs, there were no guests.
I could have snacked my way through the evening, but since I am  keeping this record to encourage a certain mindfulness, as well as to show how I'm able to whip up an excellent meal on short notice, I decided to treat myself as a surprise guest and see what I could spin out of my refrigerator:
Farfalle with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic in white wine,  Arugula, Two kinds of Basil and Parmesan:
Cherry Tomatoes-
Whole Garlic Cloves
White Wine
Farfalle
Arugula
Sweet Italian Basil
Thai Basil
Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Roasted tomatoes with garlic and chopped greens just before their union

I had some left over roasted tomatoes as well as some fresh ones.  I roasted the un-cooked tomatoes with a few fat cloves of garlic and a bit of olive oil.  While they were roasting, I put up water to boil for the pasta and chopped up a couple of cups of arugula and a good sampling of the two basils.

At some point, I poured some white wine in with the tomatoes and garlic and let it boil down a bit.  When the pasta was just about done, I tossed the chopped greens and a half a cup of parmesan in with the tomatoes--stirred until wilted--and tossed in the drained pasta with a half a cup or so of the pasta water.

The resulting dinner was an excellent outcome for  solitary round of "What's in Naomi's Refrigerator?"

June 2. Onion and Zucchini Fritatta Eggplant with Pomegranate Sauce. Roast Tomatoes. Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan, Garlid and Lemon, Mixed Greens with multi-colored Beets and Avocadoes.

As I drank my coffee with a piece of toast, I began preparing brunch.  Russell and Heather were arriving at 12:30, so plenty of time to get all things in order.  The eggplant, after marinating all night in its pomegranate sauce, had plenty of time to reach room temperature, as did the roasted tomatoes which I'd made the night before.  All I had to make this morning was a frittata with onions and zucchini.  The recipe calls for basil, which I usually use (if I don't have basil, I'll use parsley).  But today I used Thai basil which I'd bought at the Farmer's Market, which provided a lively touch.   

Roasted Tomatoes (the only dish that passed the relatively low photo bar)

Also served roasted asparagus with garlic, parmesan and lemon and a salad of mixed greens with the multi-colored roasted beets and avocado.  

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.