July 7th. Artichokes and Roasted Tomatoes. Ballona Creek Bike Path. Surfas.

While having my coffee this morning, roasted tomatoes and steamed artichokes for dinner tonight.  To make sure they would be dinner suitable had a sampling for lunch along with the left-over corn salad before heading out to explore the Ballona Creek Bike Path.  I had no idea how far it goes--but at the moment it ends near the new Culver City Metro Station.  An extension goes right by the previously elusive Hayden Tract and ended right across the street from Surfas.

I'd been thinking I might have to stop at In 'n' Out since I was in the neighborhood, but given the proximity of the Surfas cafe, which I'd never tried, there was no way not to park my bike and go inside.  I ordered half of their "ultimate grilled cheese sandwich,"  white cheddar, fontina, blue cheese with mayo on pecan raising bread with a small salad, and while I was waiting, wandered into the store, for the first time in years.

My goal for the day was to empty the refrigerator, and not add new items, but I couldn't resist buying a tub of burrata when I learned it was only delivered on Saturday (this of course felt like fate--I've since learned that Bay Cities sells it for a few dollars less--and if you happen to be in El Monte you can buy it at the Gioia factory for almost half the price.  And how could I not buy a little slice of Humboldt Fog once I was informed that there was a price war somewhere in fogland--and it had never been cheaper.  Of course I had to get a baguette to go with (what could be better--or at least more French-- than biking with a baguette in a basket?)

July 6th. Los Angeles touring! No cooking! Pann's. Museum of Jurassic Technology. Paradise Cove

No cooking.  Dan arrived from San Francisco around 9:30 am.  He had mentioned that someone had recommended he visit the Museum of Drastic Technology.   A reasonable confusion--and as a name, a bit more comprehensible than the correct name of the Museum of Jurassic Technology--I hadn't been there in years and was delighted to put it on the tourism schedule.
First of course, we had to eat.  Luckily, en route to the Museum (which doesn't open until noon on Friday), we could stop at Pann's.  Another spot I hadn't visited in decades.  I knew it was famous for it's Googie Architecture  and thought it was the site of the coffee shop scene in Pulp Fiction (turns out that's not true--the coffee shop in that movie was Holly's--an earlier incarnation of Pann's--same owners--that has since been demolished).  Those reasons, one accurate, one not, seemed good enough to merit a breakfast stop.  And--indeed we were not disappointed.  We had huge and satisfying breakfasts--Dan ordered catfish and was astounded to discover the catfish came with eggs, potatoes, biscuit, etc.

Well fed, we had time for a bit of touring before the museum's opening.  I'd thought we'd get a glimpse of Eric Owen Moss's architecture at the Hayden Tract, but somehow, got a bit befuddled with the curves and turns of National Boulevard and managed to bypass it--going instead straight to the Museum of Jurassic Technology which was, as always, mystifying and terrific.

Dropped Dan at Sam and Andrea's and returned home to bike to Linda's for the next event of the day--her birthday celebration at Paradise Cove.

Despite our doubts--fears of lingering cloud cover,  Friday afternoon traffic, high cafe prices and even steeper and more mysterious parking fees, it turned out to be a perfect choice for our small but multi-generational crowd.   The beach is beautiful--chock full of exotic amenities like giant beds, cabanas, etc.  (none of which we utilized), and the cafe while pricey and not extraordinary, doles out generous portions that are easy to share.  We consumed an enormous amount of calamari, french fries and more.    Food expectations are easily met when you get to sit at tables on the sand, and children can dig away while parents and grandparents eat.  A fine time was had by all.

July 5th. Leftovers. Fresh fruit.

Lunch--left-over corn salad.  caramelized tofu with roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

Big shop at Ralph's and Trader Joe's--for still to be imagined meals.  Ralph's had organic strawberries and raspberries of $1.99 each.  How the world of produce has changed!  Should we be wary consumers?  I'm afraid I can't muster up the necessary vigilance so  but for the moment, I'm happy to trust in Ralph and his organic farming buddies.

Minimal dinner of nectarines and strawberries with cottage cheese and yogurt.  Avocado salad.

July 4th. Corn Salad

Bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, raspberries with cottage cheese breakfast and lunch combo.

Made a corn and garbanzo salad for the annual Bar-B-Que at Gail and Ira's.

Mixed kernels of four ears of corn, one can of garbanzo beans, one red pepper chopped into pretty small pieces, two shallots, chopped fine, a few tablespoons of finely chopped parsley and cilantro, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper.  Many other variations, obviously possible.

July 3rd. Left-overs again. Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower

The last of the frittata and the last artichoke for lunch.  My intention to whip up another batch of aioli came to naught.  Instead, I spiced up a little Best Foods mayo with lemon juice and a little hoisin sauce--worked on both the artichoke and frittata.  And there was still a bit of ice cream and raspberries for dessert--this time with a slightly aging butterscotch brownie crumbled on top.

Uh-oh--not so unusual --discovered that the expiration date on box of tofu (months after purchase--so doesn't usually come around) was two weeks ago.  But--as is so often the case with expiration dates--warning was premature.  Opened the box, pressed and drained the tofu in anticipation of a soon-to-be-cooked meal.

Caramelized Tofu

Instead of early dinner, did the most tedious task of jury duty orientation on line (according to promise on web-site--this chore will enable me to report for jury duty several hours later on first reporting day--let us hope).  That task completed, I quickly cooked up a pan of  caramelized tofu, to which I added the roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower and then, unexpectedly biked to a story-telling show where Bill Ratner was reading at the Talking Stick on Lincoln Boulevard.  It was a complete surprise and a total treat.

July 2nd. Cleaning out the vegetable bin.

June gloom has returned.  Lots of eating away from home the past week (or is two?).  Tomorrow is garbage pick-up day--so a good time for a glance into the refrigerator.  Many items have been around a bit too long.  No meal plans in sight--but I'm always happy doing some cooking while making and drinking morning coffee.

In principle (and also in reality, I suppose), cauliflower and brussels sprouts--perhaps due to their wintry natures have extremely long refrigerator lives, but they do not last forever. If they were required to come with expiration dates, they've be long overdue--so no reason not to roast them up.

Ready to Roast

The big head of cauliflower yielded two and a half jelly roll pans to roast--with the brussels sprouts taking  up the slack.  After yoga biked to paint store to look for colors for newton house--by the time I'd finished I was starving--I needed nourishment before continuing home (especially because I thought I'd stop at the 99¢ store.  Many possibilities--I hadn't had a Bay Cities sandwich in ages and was thinking of eggplant, but Bay Cities is closed on Monday.  Maybe it was time for a ceviche taco at the truck on Rose, but enroute, I stopped at  Sapporo, a Japanese restaurant in the Albertson's parking lot.  which has recently replaced another not particularly memorable very similar restaurant at that very  spot.  There was an excellent lunch menu with many bargain specials--another surprise of a meal.

Lunch special with sushi and tempura 

No longer famished, I could with relative calm peruse the aisles of the 99¢ store.  Due to the limitations of a)my appetite, b)my refrigerator and c0my bike carrying capabilities, I tried to limit my purchases, but still--due to the surprise addition of five ears of corn, toilet paper, giant artichokes, etc., I found myself juggling a few too many bags on the way home.  But--I did make it without anything breaking, dropping, spilling or being crushed.  This is indeed progress.

For dinner, I cooked up many of the aging items from the refrigerator--one abandoned and resuscitated  baby bok choy, the oldest of the portobello mushrooms, one small zucchini with the long ago roasted tomatoes as well as garlic, shallots, parsley and the kernels from one of the five ears of corn,which made a quite passable sauce for farfalle.  Raspberries and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

July 1. Leftovers for Lunch. Ma Po Tofu at Eric's

Another gorgeous Sunday.  As reports of hot muggy east coast weather, Colorado Fires and dreadful weather circumstances almost everywhere, these splendid California days are a continual source of wonder.

Biking home from an early afternoon yoga class, the bike path, side-walks and streets were packed solid with Sunday celebrants.  Made my way through the crowds for a fine left-over lunch of a simple salad and frittata, with a few butterscotch brownies that hadn't made it to last nights Fireworks party.  

Late in the afternoon, I was delighted to take up Eric's invitation for a Venice respite and got to visit his family's new house and have a dinner of Ma Po Tofu which he whipped up.