Posts Tagged ‘stock’
Il Corvo mushroom farm harvest dinner at [storefront] Olson Kundig Architects – Pioneer Square, Seattle
Posted on: Monday 19 March 2012
A collaboration between CityLab7, Olson Kundig Architects and Schuchart/Dow, the mushroom farm was installed at [storefront] in Pioneer Square.
Funded by Invoking the Pause, the Fertile Grounds project by CityLab7 partnered with local cafés, Caffe Umbria, Starbucks and Zeitgeist, to reuse coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms.
One of the events of the pop up concept was a mushroom farm harvest dinner hosted by Il Corvo.
A trough displayed the coffee grounds at the front window.
The structure is built with reclaimed plywood and cocooned in plastic.
22°C (71°F) temperature and 88% humidity, the subtropical atmosphere within the tent was calibrated for growing oyster mushrooms.
Bricks of coffee grounds were inoculated with mycelium and the spores germinated into fairy floss (cotton candy) like fibres, weaving a web on the surface of the caffeine soil.
Clusters of oyster mushrooms sprouted through the perforated skin.
The oyster mushrooms grow exponentially towards the end of the six week period.
These wide gills were ready for harvesting.
An illustrated mind map of urban food systems connections.
‘Counting and cultivating co-benefits of coffee culture.’
Handwritten comments were tacked on the wall.
Can you decipher these cute, neat notes? ‘I like to plant blueberries. I like to plant strawberries.’
And in an elegant script, ‘eating is the life’!
[storefront] is a bare space for creativity and thus a mobile kitchen was a couple of portable gas cookers.
The dining table and benches are made with salvaged wood, lovely lumbers that accentuated the sustainability theme.
We sipped Cava (Spanish sparkling wine), and nibbled on porcini and Parmesan grissini.
We settled into our seats and bottles of Elena Walch Schiava were poured. The first course was a simple salad of leafy greens, fennel, pine nuts, raw oyster mushrooms and vinaigrette. It was fresh and zingy, the crunch of the lettuce and pine nuts paired well with the firm and meaty mushrooms.
‘Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.’
Chef Mike Easton stirred the pot of risotto with an oar wooden spoon.
Cooked in porcini stock, seasoned with thyme and a bottle of wine, the oyster mushroom risotto was superb. A viscous bowl of comfort food, we savoured each spoonful of the vegetarian main dish.
Chewy discs of chocolate hazelnut cookies concluded a special meal. 1.5 kg of Nutella was in the batch of cookies for twenty people!
Sincere thanks to CityLab7, Il Corvo and Olson Kundig Architects for a unique experience!
If we were to play a word association game, the word ‘samurai’ conjures up the Samurai Pizza Cats anime for me. I have only vague memories of the show dubbed in English. Sword wielding, crime fighting cats who are undercover (or are they moonlighting) as owners of a pizzeria?
I found myself humming the tune of the theme song as I approached Samurai Noodle. Samurai Pizza Cats! Pepperoni, anchovies. Samurai Pizza Cats! I digress.
Huddled next to the entrance of Uwajimaya Village, Samurai Noodle’s street frontage is dominated by a large poster declaring ‘Seattle’s best ramen soup’ with scintillating photos of steaming bowls of noodle soups.
A red lantern and navy noren hang above the doorway. Laminated printouts are tacked on the glass panes advertising specials and exalting the health benefits of konnyaku.
Inside is a small L shaped dining room with the kitchen operating out of a narrow corridor. The menu is divided into ramen and rice, and a long list of extra toppings including the aptly named samurai armour and shōgun combo.
Samurai themed paraphernalia like sumo calendars, t-shirts and printed articles decorate the walls. The tables are deceptively spacious but the stools are awkward to perch on.
A cute wall mounted condiment shelf was loaded with salt and pepper shakers and containers of Japanese seasoning, sesame seeds, pickled ginger and chilli flakes.
I ordered the tonkotsu, not to be confused with tonkatsu which is crumbed pork cutlet. A traditional dish from Hakata, the cloudy soup is made with pork bone, a rich source of collagen. The milky broth is viscous and soothing. A thick slice of pork, green onions and black mushrooms float above the thin, firm ramen.
Service is brisk and I gladly vacated my stool as soon as I emptied the bowl.
- In: Eating | Queen Anne | Seattle | USA | Washington
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I love noodles. Pasta, udon, ramen, rice, vermicelli, soba, glass, egg – I prefer starchy carbohydrates over grains. Wok fried, steeped in soup, tossed in sauce or dry style, I eat noodles several times a week! Versatile and comforting, the key is to follow the cooking time.
The lovely Marilyn recommended Pho Viet Anh in Lower Queen Anne. The weather was mild enough for the Vietnamese noodle soup, phở.
Located on a quiet street corner in an old weatherboard house, the interior was decorated with kitsch lanterns, and the walls were painted red with bamboo panels. I had noticed a patio shaded by rainbow umbrellas. On a clear day with a gentle breeze, I was happy to dine al fresco.
Milky white and translucent, the rice paper roll was tautly wrapped. A sweet peanut sauce seasoned the prawns, romaine lettuce, rice vermicelli noodles and Thai basil with each dip. The combination was fresh and light.
Phở dominated the menu with stock and protein options. I ordered a small bowl with traditional beef stock and brisket. The phở was served with a side plate of bean sprouts, Thai basil and a wedge of lime. I tore leaves off the stalk of Thai basil and submerged them into the broth.
Cilantro, green onions and thin slices of brisket floated in a steaming broth of ginger, cloves, star anise and cinnamon. Aromatic and soothing, I relished slurping the thin rice noodles spoonfuls of soup. There was a generous amount of noodles and brisket and the beef was tender.
A popular Vietnamese sandwich with meat, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro, peppers, pâté and mayonnaise, bánh mì is on the take-away lunch menu.
As I exited, Santa and two snowmen wished me happy holidays – it’s Christmas in July!
