My No. 1 summer essential.

Last Friday, my house was a flurry as my three roommates packed and readied for jaunts abroad: Jason to Greece, and Michael and Greg to Spain (expect a guest post from Michael upon return). Not wanting to add to the confusion, I planned to spend most of the day out of the house. Instead, I spent the late morning and early afternoon at our kitchen table, a big old farm-style table we salvaged off Craigslist from some guy in the East Village years ago. It's the center of our home, and from my seat on Friday I enjoyed watching my friends pack their bags, exchange travel tips and leave me detailed instructions on how to care for our many plants. Around 1 p.m., we were all a little hungry, and Jason wondered aloud if he should leave early to have lunch out. Knowing we had more food than I could possibly eat myself, I told him to go out for some beer and that I would make lunch.

Quick and easy lunches are almost as good as long leisurely ones; they certainly can be as restorative and satisfying. As always, I like to seek inspiration from my favorites: Chez Panisse in Berkley (love the new Web site), Le Languedoc on Nantucket, Mass., and Blaue Gans here in New York. Friday, I prepared for ours by boiling a few eggs and putting together a cheese platter with some aged cheddar and feta. Next, I washed some lettuce from our CSA share, chopped a garlic scape and a handful of raw almonds, and mixed an oil and vinegar dressing. Finally, I tossed some leftover spaghetti with marina (I didn't even bother reheating it) with some extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. So it was a little more Italian than French or German, it was still delicious and a nice way to say "bon voyage."

While recounting the afternoon to a friend yesterday, I realized none of it would've been possible without a few staples, the things I can't cook without. My list of must haves is short: good coffee, extra virgin olive oil, a handful of vinegars (I like this white wine vinegar from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Mich.) and lemons. With these four things in my possession, I feel like I can conquer the world, or at the very least entertain a few hungry stomachs. Of course, actual food is required to do the latter, and what's in the house varies depending on season. For now, it's loads of gorgeous produce from Garden of Eve Farm, like bok choy, frisée, kale, lettuces, cucumbers, dill, garlic scapes, summer squash and this thing:

That's kohlrabi, and it's not as scary as it looks. But until I decide what to do with it, I'm sticking to what I know best.

The only salad dressing you'll ever need (really)

So fresh and simple, a nice oil and vinegar salad dressing will allow for quality produce to speak for itself. And the best part is, variations abound: olive oils and vinegars range from sweet to spicy, and fresh-squeezed grapefruit or lime juice can easily replace the lemon. Chopped herbs or cheese (a crumbly blue or feta works well) can be added for texture.

Ingredients

2 parts extra-virgin olive oil
1 part white wine vinegar
1 part lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large boil, whisk together above ingredients. Add desired produce. Delicately mix by hand.

I'm planning a dinner party.

Two dear friends are visiting me next week from Portland, Ore., and I want to throw them a party, a dinner party, the kind of affair that strikes boredom in the hearts of some and sheer excitement in the hearts of others. I obviously fall into the latter category, although my excitement can be peppered with stress and long lists of to-dos (clean bathroom, fluff pillows, pull extra wine glasses from storage). This is often made worse by the fact that I am not a planner. I prefer spontaneity, which means I won't think about food until I assess my weekly CSA goods and run to the market the day before. Wine is a bit easier, since in the summer I love a good rose or Txakolina or -- even better -- this killer Txakolina rose from my local wine shop. However, one bit of planning is best taken care of sooner rather than later: the guest list. This dinner will be small, since I prefer intimate dinner parties; my table seats eight, which leaves me five invitations to extend. Although I could call my guests or shoot them a quick email, I like to use crush3r.com. I've always admired handwritten invitations, but sometimes I just don't have time. Crusher makes sending a clean, smartly designed invite hassle free; neither you nor your guests have to create an account, but you might want to.

So-so-so-so(ba) satisfying!

Summer has been strange and slow to start, and my food swings have been utterly confused as a result. On hot days, I crave yogurt and berries for breakfast, leafy salads for lunch, and I much rather go out than cook dinner. On rainy days, I want nothing more than a big pot of coffee, NPR and a full day in the kitchen. But on a hot rainy day (the only kind of day we seem to have anymore), my stomach and heart can't seem to agree. Instinctively, I crave autumnal meals, but saucy pastas, risottos and stews are hardly appetizing when the humidity is nearly 70 percent. Likewise, the quinoa salads I rely on for quick, easy meals haven't satisfied nearly enough.

Inspiration truly does come from the most unlikely places, including mine, which came last week from a local Chinese food chain restaurant called Ollie's Noodle Shop, which has a location near the restaurant-starved Lincoln Center where I was headed for a movie. I can safely say I've never been to a place like Ollie's, which boasts a stellar take-out business, has two sizable floors of seating and offers hundreds of dishes (one source I found estimated 200). It's the kind of menu that quickly excites me by the number of possibilities, then paralyzes me for the same reason.

Now, I don't love Chinese food, but I do have a major weakness for a good garlicky black bean sauce. I ordered that with eggplant and brown rice, and it was really good. But the star of the meal, the thing I carried with me, was our cold noodle in sesame starter, a simple dish of chilled soba, julienned carrots and scallions, and a light sesame dressing. It was perfectly satisfying then, and it was fun to riff on for today's lunch (and maybe again for dinner -- it's that good!).

Soba noodles are fairly common and should be easy to find in the Asian section of your grocery (my local health food store stocks Eden Organic products in the macrobiotic section). You'll also need tahini, or sesame paste, but raw peanut butter would work, too. The remainder of the ingredients -- a hodgepodge of leftovers and greens from my weekly CSA share -- I had on hand; the pickled carrots were a gift and we have garlic scapes (not as intense as raw onion, sweeter than actual garlic) in abundance, thanks to that aforementioned CSA share. Like with most cooking I do, I like to use whatever is fresh (and preferably local) and whatever needs to be eaten (because I hate wasting good food).

Making this salad was easy and fun. The shaved celery offered a nice crunch before cleansing my palate for the double punch of garlic and sesame. The pickled carrots were also crunchy, but sweet versus earthy and a bit tangy, too. And the soba, cooked in six minutes and quickly chilled, was like a nice pasta, only lighter and seemingly weather appropriate. Looks like I finally found a compromise.

Chilled soba and vegetable salad with spicy sesame dressing
Inspired by Ollie's Noodle Shop

Ingredients

8 ounces soba, cooked and chilled
3 garlic scapes, julienned
2 stalks celery, shaved
1/4 cup pickled carrots, julienned
4 tablespoons tahini (or substitute)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
Juice of one lemon
Salt, to taste (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Shave two stocks of celery (using a vegetable peeler, peel celery like a carrot) into a bowl filled with ice water. Refrigerate until celery curls and grows crispy (10 minutes).

Julienne remaining vegetables, set aside.

Whisk together tahini, vinegar, pepper and lemon. Salt to taste.*

In large bowl, mix noodles, julienned vegetables and dressing.

Upon serving, top with a small handful of chilled celery curls and toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4.

* Note: For sweetness, feel free to add a little honey or soy sauce.