Lunch For Two

Koolhaas a Cucumber

Snicker, snicker.  It's a bad pun and I just couldn't help myself.  I wanted to post my pictures of Rem Koolhaas's Seattle Public Library, but this is a food blog.  I also wanted to publish a dead easy recipe for something cool because the sweaty season has officially begun in New York.  Then it just happened: A dumb pun snuck into my head, causing a great dumb smile to bloom on my face.

Seattle is in the midst of a massive effort to upgrade and renovate their library system.  In November of 1998, Seattle voters approved a $196 million bond fund, dubbed "Libraries for All," to effect this overhaul.  It makes complete sense to fortify the library system in a town where it rains lots and it's, seemingly, interminably dark during winter.  (There are numerous sun lamp shops around town and my friends out there have admitted to using lamps to stave off SAD during the winter months.)  A year after the bond fund sailed through, Rem Koolhaas unveiled his plans for the $156 million Central Library.  That only left $40 million for the other branches, but did I mention that Bill and Melinda Gates kicked in an additional $20 million?

I'm bilious green with envy.  I saw the Central Library when I visited Seattle recently and it's awesome.  Why can't New York have a neat main library like Seattle?  Oh right, we get a Frank Gehry-designed basketball arena.  Barf.

This wasn't meant to be a tirade or a cause for moaning, so I'll stop now and move along to the recipe part of this post.  Try these cucumbers from Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites.  They're easy to prepare and they are a perfect antidote to New York's sweaty season.

Cucumbers Vinaigrette

2 medium cucumbers, peeled
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground dried mustard
ground black pepper to taste

Slice the cucumbers crosswise into 1/8-inch rounds.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a serving bowl, add the cucumbers and toss.  Adjust pepper to taste.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.  (I think the cucumbers taste better when they've marinated for a while.)

The Seattle Central Library is located at 1000 4th Avenue between Spring and Madison Streets, (206) 386-4636 

Scream of the Week: Top Pot Doughnuts

My passion for a good doughnut has already been documented right here on this site.  So it must have been fate that found me that parking space right across the street from Top Pot Doughnuts downtown Seattle location.  I was in the "Emerald City" to help Gina celebrate her birthday and on this particular day we were headed downtown to ooh and aah the Rem Koolhaas designed main public library.  I normally prepare assiduously for a trip out of New York, reading up on sights and local foods and restaurants.  I didn't this time around: I was only going to be there for four days and one of those days was Gina's 40th birthday.  We drove past Top Pot's distinctive sign on 5th Avenue and while I twisted around in the passenger seat to get another look, Gina parked the car.  "Let's go get a doughnut" I said. 

Sweet serendipity!  These doughnuts are a revelation to me, though apparently they have quite a following in the Pacific Northwest: Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz bought a dozen shortly after Top Pot's 5th Avenue location opened and then returned to discuss putting the doughnuts in his stores.  They can now be found in Starbucks locations throughout the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.  (And when will they come to New York?)  Jane and Michael Stern, of Roadfood fame, have also given Top Pot the thumbs up. 

A picture is worth a thousand words you say?  I'll let these pictures tell the story of my love affair with Top Pot Doughnuts.

Top Pot Doughnuts has three locations in Seattle:

Downtown, 2124 5th Avenue (between Blanchard and Lenora Streets), (206) 728-1966

Capitol Hill, 609 Summit Avenue East, (206) 323-7841

Wedgwood, 6855 35th Avenue NE, (206) 525-1966

Big Daddy's Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

My friend Jon, known to his intimates as "Big Daddy," has a magic way with baked goods.  Years ago when we both lived in San Francisco, I went on a pie baking kick.  It was a way to pay homage to the beautiful fruits of California and I wanted to perfect my crust making technique.  Despite numerous attempts, I always made pies with sparkling fillings and shoe leather crusts.  When Jon made a pie, the crust was tawny, flaky and crisp.  I asked him what his secret technique was and he shrugged.  So, one afternoon I watched him make pie dough.  What I realized was that Jon was just plain talented.  He harnessed a certain loose-limbed, blithe energy that I, as a Virgo and perfectionist, was unable to tap into.  He just did it, without giving it too much thought.  I had been toiling to achieve crust perfection and for Jon it was a process as uncomplicated as brushing one's teeth, or shrugging.  I have since managed to make a great pie crust but only because I stumbled upon an excellent, and illustrated, recipe in Julia Child's The Way to Cook that indulged my perfectionism with its specificity.

It's springtime and rhubarb has hit the farmers markets and grocery stores.  Rhubarb is one of Big Daddy's favorite fruits and this is his recipe.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 cups diced rhubarb*
2 16-ounce packages of frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
4 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine white sugar, cornstarch, rhubarb and strawberries.  Mix thoroughly and spoon into a lightly buttered 11" x 13" baking dish.  Combine the remaining ingredients and work the butter in with your finger tips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over the strawberry and rhubarb mixture.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling.  This recipe serves 8, but can easily be halved.

*Select slender stalks of rhubarb, no more than an inch in diameter.  Older, thicker rhubarb tends to be more fibrous and requires peeling.

Roasted Cauliflower With Pungent Dressing

My five year old daughter eats only three vegetables.  (Let's not even talk about fruits: She eats none.)  Does this point to some kind of negligence on my part?  It would be easy to go there, but she's thriving.  Her largely protein-based diet, I call her "my Atkins baby," has caused her to grow like a weed and she's a full head taller than most of the other kids in her kindergarten class.  Her color is good and she's happy.  But I'm withering from boredom, eating asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower all the time.  I've come up with a zillion ways of preparing the "big three" and this method of preparing cauliflower is especially delicious.  It has also won my obdurate daughter's approval.

Let me say too that this is a brilliant dish to bring on picnics as it is best served at room temperature and keeps very well.

Roasted Cauliflower with Pungent Dressing

2 heads cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2" to 2" florets
12 cloves garlic
1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and peel cloves.  Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and then spread out on two rimmed baking sheets.  (You can use whatever baking pans, i.e. lasagna, you like as long as they are rimmed and the cauliflower is not crowded in the pan.)  Place the sheets in the oven and roast, stirring the ingredients often to assure even browning.  Remove the garlic cloves when they are golden brown, about 15 minutes into the roasting, and set aside.  Continue roasting the cauliflower until it's soft and spotted golden brown, about another 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Dressing

12 roasted garlic cloves
juice from 4 lemons
2 teaspoons capers in salt*
3/4 cup olive oil

Place garlic, lemon juice and capers in a blender on high to make a slightly chunky paste.  Turn blender to low and add olive oil in a slow, steady stream until dressing is completely combined and emulsified.

Place cooled cauliflower in a bowl and toss with 1/4 plus 1/8 cup of dressing, or more to taste.  Save leftover dressing for another use.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

*You can use capers in brine as well, just adjust your salt to taste.

Are donuts a vegetable?

Summer Salads: Part II

Pasta salad is a great way to cook in the warm weather. You can serve them warm or chilled, they can be fancy or casual and they beg to be drunk with chilled white wine, or sparkling Italian red wine (more on that one soon.) The following pasta salad with chick peas, garlic and sun dried tomatoes does particularly well as a left-over, so my recipe is for a large amount. However, it's also a great dish for a casual lunch for two. Serve it with white wine spritzers and Ciao Bella's blackberry cabernet sorbetto for desert.

Chick Pea and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Salad

1 can (15 oz) chick peas, rinsed and drained
12-20 sun dried tomatoes, soaked for 10 minutes in boiling water
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped fine
kosher salt
1 Tbs plus 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley (organic if you can find it)
1 lb orrechiete or bow-tie pasta
fresh ground black pepper
shaved parmesan to serve (optional)

• Put your water on for the pasta, rinse and drain your chick peas and cover sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water. In a large bowl (you will serve in this bowl) add chopped garlic and approximately 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Mash the garlic and salt into a paste with the back of a fork. Then drizzle in the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and stir. Add chick peas to soak in the garlic/oil mixture.

• When the sun-dried tomatoes look plump take them out of their soaking water. (Pour the tomato-soaking water into the pasta water, to give the pasta a rich, subtle tomato flavor). Pour the 1 Tablespoon of oil on the plumped tomatoes and stir around to coat.

• Put in your pasta as soon as the water boils. Chop the tomatoes into small, approximately 1-inch pieces and add to the chickpeas. Wash and dry the parsley, then chop. You should have at least one cup of loosely packed parsley. Add to the tomato and chick pea mixture. Stir everything to coat with the olive oil/garlic mixture.

• Cook the pasta to al dente, drain and add to the chickpea and tomato mixture. Grind black pepper to taste. Toss well, to make sure everything is coated with the garlic/oil sauce. Serve with shaved parmesan slices, if you want.