Carol has been a good friend for 37 years, but it has been awhile since we’d seen each other. That was remedied yesterday when she came over for lunch. The menu choices were selected around vegetables and good breads. She brought a bouquet of beautiful flowers that matched the tomatoes being served perfectly, and we happily ate and reminisced for 3 1/2 hours, without ageing a bit.

The meal was built around three dishes: Grilled bread with white bean purée, tuna tapenade, and beet tartare with capers, mustard, and shallots. These were easily prepared in advance and were ideal at room temperature. A fruit salad was made for a simple dessert.

After Carol left I had a supper snack, trying out two new recipes. One was Pancetta-Wrapped Mushrooms — except I made it with Prosciutto instead. The other was a version of the Italian flag, in the form of Bruschetta, made with grilled peasant bread, whipped feta and almond milk ricotta, chopped arugula, and Piquillo peppers on top.

Dinner Tonight

Tonight was a different story. After running errands much of the day, I did not have lunch until 3 PM, so my own dinner was put off until 8:00. I was eager to use the rest of my Peruvian bay scallops, and I had a variety of complementary leftovers I could consume with them. Thus was born:

Peruvian Bay Scallops with Chanterelles, Arugula, Arrowhead Cabbage, and Radicchio

Rich, flavorful, and successfully reducing leftovers in their primes.