The bad news: it’s probably not already in your pantry. The good news: once you buy it, you’ll use it in everything. Despite this somewhat hefty one-time cost, Suneeta Vaswani’s Easy Indian Cooking: Second Edition offers up some delicious, and (usually) simple recipes for international cuisine aficionados and newbies alike.

It gives home chefs a medley of options, including “Chaat and Street Foods,” “Snacks and Appetizers,” “Rice Cereal and Breads,” “Beans and Lentils,” “Poultry and Meat,” “Fish and Seafood,” “Vegetables,” and “Sweets and Beverages.” This variety of dishes, alongside personal anecdotes and stories from the author with each recipe, helps to give readers a more full experience. With an introduction detailing the history, significance, and current trends in Indian cuisine, this cookbook is modern, fun, and authentic.

Another helpful feature, Vaswani provides a list of common Indian ingredients, spices, spice blends, herbs, and general guidelines that apply to most of the dishes. These are particularly useful when making that initial trip to the grocery store, which, if you are a fan of Indian-style cooking, will certainly be worth it. Further, with the addition of helpful tips and pointers accompanying the slightly more difficult recipes, this cookbook really tailors to the cook who has had little experience with Indian cuisine in the past. The only downside: many of the spices, such as asafetida (hing), carom (ajwain), and mango powder (amchur), can be rather difficult to locate at your local grocery, and may require a separate trip to a specialized supply store. With the possibility of none of the sort near by, this may mean skipping a few recipes, or doing some research to track down your ingredients.

A personal favorite from the book, the “Yellow Lentil Soup with Vegetables,” is a flawless example of the easy, and relatively quick, Indian cooking that the book advertises. All the ingredients are inexpensive (again, apart from the initial purchase of the spices that go into it, including the classics turmeric, cayenne pepper, and cumin seeds) and easy to come by. Loaded with tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and green beans, and made rich by the paste of blended cooked lentils, a traditional ingredient in Indian cooking called “dal,” this soup is certainly as “soul-satisfying” as Vaswani promises. And, with only six steps, this recipe made my first experience with Indian food a success.

The meat, poultry, and seafood dishes tend to be a little more demanding, yet not undoable by any means.   The “Golden Shrimp with Cilantro and Lime,” with only eight ingredients (all of which, excluding the frozen shrimp I had used in other recipes), and four steps, was an exceptionally simple and delicious seafood dish. Vaswani recommends serving it as an appetizer, as part of a buffet, or over greens as an entrée. However, with its bold, fresh, and light flavors, this dish is so versatile that I could also imagine it adorning a bed of rice or warm naan bread.

Apart from these very traditionally Indian recipes, the cookbook also provided some dishes that are somewhat unexpected. For example, the “Indian Scrambled Eggs,” or “akori,” are a unique marriage of Indian cuisine and Americana. They provide familiarity for those more hesitant to jump right into the bold spices of other recipes. With a mix of onion, garlic, tomato, green peppers, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and cumin, these eggs have all the flavors of Indian cooking while remaining understated and unintimidating for nervous palates. Another perfect recipe for this individual: the “Indian Macaroni and Cheese.”

For those hoping to satisfy their love of international cuisine, or simply looking to try something new, Easy Indian Cooking: Second Edition is a great place to start. Although it could include more pictures, and some recipes have a rather lengthy list of ingredients with unfamiliar procedures and spices, this cookbook is nevertheless perfect for taste buds begging for something outside the norm. With only a minimal amount of effort, cooks can watch these beautiful dishes come to life and fill the kitchen with their enticing aromas. So, why not try Indian tonight?

-Paige (EPC)

I’ve written about Indique Heights previously.

-JAY

On Saturday June 1^st, wine lovers from all over Virginia descended upon Bull Run Regional Park to participate in the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival (http://www.vintagevirginia.com). It was an unbearably hot and humid day, but that didn’t diminish the enthusiasm of the thousands of people quenching their thirst with tastings from all over the region.

With over fifty wineries in attendance, choice was a key component of the day. This was also the first year that equal attention was paid to the food portion of the day. Top chefs from the Virginia area performed food demos and tastings as well. There were also at least twelve of the top DC food trucks in attendance.

My group arrived early and hit the winery tents immediately. Although this was my husband’s and my first time attending, we were in the good hands of a few other old pros. First thing we learned, make sure you bring a tent! Especially, on a day as hot as Saturday, we were lucky that someone had thought ahead enough to bring one of those large outdoor tents and blankets for a comfortable retreat when breaks were needed.

I stuck to mainly white wines during the tastings and found most of the wineries expecting as much. One complaint we did all share was that there was a lot of empty space in the middle of the winery tents. They had the winery tables lined up along the perimeter of the tent leaving the workers covered, but little to no shade for the people tasting. If they had pushed the tables back just a bit further the overhang would have covered the attendees as well and left less unused space.

Our strategy consisted of participating in tastings at some of the places we already knew and liked, but then we allowed ourselves to primarily be led by names that intrigued us. These strategies brought us to places like Shenandoah Vineyards http://www.shentel.net/shenvine/, Potomac Point Winery http://www.potomacpointwinery.com/, Democracy Vineyards http://www.democracyvineyards.com/, Unicorn Winery http://www.unicornwinery.com/ and many more. We enjoyed these vineyards although some were a bit sweet for our liking. Our definite favorite of the above mentioned was Potomac Point. My husband and I had already been fans of this vineyard from enjoying their 2009 award winning Viognier. We were told at the festival that they will be debuting a 2013 Viognier that should be of equal quality although it wasn’t available yet for tasting. I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled.

The food trucks also got a lot of our attention. I was a bit more limited in choices with my gluten-free lifestyle, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the food trucks in attendance offered gluten-free options http://www.vintagevirginia.com/food-trucks/. The highlight of my day was my ice cream sandwich from Captain Cookie and the Milkman http://www.captaincookiedc.com/. They offered gluten-free chocolate chip cookies from Happy Tart Bakery http://happytartbakery.com/. These cookies had HUGE chunks of chocolate in them and although they were slightly crumbly, they literally melted in your mouth with the ice cream. Paired with a black raspberry ice cream, these homemade ice cream sandwiches were to die for!

Overall, the festival was a great experience. It was worth braving the heat and I will definitely return again in the future. Next time I’ll bring a water bottle spritzer though.

-Joyana (JPM)

1. Pineapple Sage Ice Pops contain water, granulated (white) sugar, fresh sage leaves, salt, and a pineapple. You make a simple syrup with the water, sugar, and sage on the stove top and then add to to the pineapple which you puree in a blender. I had a very sweet pineapple on hand, so reduced the amount of granulated sugar in this recipe. These pops were delicious, The sage added an earthy herbal flavor to the pops without overpowering the pineapple. I will make them again.
2. Strawberry Lime Ice Pops contain dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar), lime zest and juice, and strawberries. I used fresh strawberries that were purchased as seconds from the Kingstowne Farmer’s Market stand that covers the individual containers with red protective nets. (The stand in question is the last one on the right if you walk towards the popcorn vendor.) These pops were tart, sweet, and extremely tasty, and I will make them again.
3. Watermelon Punch Ice Pops contain seedless watermelon, grenadine syrup, and lemon juice. These pops were supposed to be the last recipe I made from this book but I did not like how they turned out, and decided to give the book another chance. The grenadine syrup separated from the watermelon, and the pops did not taste good regardless. More lemon juice might have helped, if the grenadine syrup and watermelon had not separated. I followed this recipe precisely.
4. Sweet Screwdriver Ice Pops contain granulated (white) sugar, water, orange zest, orange juice, vodka, and orange liqueur. I tried this recipe figuring that regardless of it containing alcohol (which could affect the freezing process) that it was going to come out well. Turns out that even though I followed the recipe precisely, the pops did not completely freeze (a major problem). The pops did taste good but were soft and crumbly.

This book has some really interesting recipes, and includes the following sections:

1. Citrus Fruits
2. Temperate-Climate Fruits
3. Berries
4. Mediterranean Flavors
5. Tropical Fruits
6. Chocolate, Fudge, Caramel and Cream
7. Soda Fountain Ice Pops
8. Herbs, Spices and Vegetables
9. Classic Comfort Desserts
10. Tea and Coffee
11. Latin American Flavors
12. East and Southeast Asian Flavors
13. Indian-Style Ice Pops
14. Less-Drip Ice Pops for Kids
15. Holiday Ice Pops
16. Cocktail Hour

It is interesting that the two recipes I altered (by altering the amount or type of sugar) were actually the ones that turned out well.

Even though half of the recipes I tried did not work out,  the book should be worth your time if you are willing to try recipes, tweak them, and then try them again. Reducing the amount of alcohol in the Sweet Screwdriver Ice Pops should help them freeze better. I would probably try the Pomegranate Watermelon Ice Pop recipe (which is a variation of the Pomegranate Ice Pop recipe) instead of trying to fix the Watermelon Punch Ice Pops since the Pomegranate Watermelon Ice Pops sound like the better option.

-JAY

We sampled a variety of Alter Eco’s products, including:

Dark Quinoa (60%): This chocolate has nutty toasted quinoa and a nice flavor and crunch. Plus, Quinoa is healthy, right? This is the Alter Eco bar both “S” and I kept reaching for, so is our favorite of the Alter Eco bars. While we are mentioning quinoa, We’ve also tried Alter Eco’s Organic Royal Red Quinoa and Organic Royal Black Quinoa, both of which are nutty, flavorful, and delicious, so we are not surprised that they did such a good job on the Dark Quinoa bar.

Dark Mint (60%): This one is bold, brisk, a little crispy, and has a nice mint flavor. This one is my second favorite Alter Eco bar.

Dark Cacao (63% cocoa): This one has cocoa nibs and is crunchy with a bittersweet bite.  They definitely did a great job on the texture and flavor of this one.

Dark Twist (60%). I agree with Alter Ego that this bar (which features crystallized orange peel) is vibrant and tangy. This is a “go to” bar for me, but I do love combinations of chocolate and citrus.

Dark Blackout (85%): This bar is dark, deep, and fruity, and not as strong as I expected at 85% cocoa. I enjoyed it much more than I would have expected.

Dark Noir (60% cocoa): This is their standard dark chocolate, and is dark, rich, and a bit sweet and smooth.

Dark Velvet (47% cocoa: has a touch of milk and is velvety smooth): This one is a little mild for my taste.

Dark Almond (60%): This bar has a great chocolate flavor, but does not have the almond flavor I expect from this combination.

A note about fiber in the Alter Eco bars:  Th Dark Blackout is the clear winner in the fiber wars with 5 grams of fiber per serving. The Dark Cacao and the Dark Almond have 4 grams of fiber per serving. The Dark Quinoa and Dark Twist have 3 grams of fiber per serving, while the Dark Velvet only has 2 grams.

We also got to sample a few of Zoe’s  Chocolate Company‘s products. Zoe’s is based in both Frederick, MD and Waynesboro, PA. Their truffles arrived packaged nicely in a small brown pack with a pink ribbon.

The ZCC Cafe Truffle‘s gnache filling has a nice creamy texture, and is definitely good quality chocolate. ZCC describes this truffle as “Dark chocolate ganache infused with freshly roasted Greek blend coffee beans enrobed in creamy milk chocolate.”

Zoe’s Sports Bar.

The Dionysus Baklava Truffle  is like chocolate covered baklava, and has good texture that is both soft and crunchy; this is definitely a truffle I could just keep reaching for. ZCC describes it as “Creamy Greek honey combined with roasted walnuts and baklava spice, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in a blend of nuts & spice.”

The clear winner in the ZCC products was the Sports Bar, which has a great combination of chocolaty, peanutty, sweet, and salty flavors; this is a delicious and chocolate bar that also has great texture. The bar unfortunately is basically shrinkwrap sealed, so it is not packaged in a manner where it can be easily opened or resealed. ZCC’s description of the Sports Bar is below:

“Our Sports Bar was the all time favorite for the world leaders to get a taste of an all-American traditional pastime, the big game. Crispy puffed caramelized popcorn-like rice crisps mixed into luscious dark chocolate and topped with carefully roasted honeyed peanuts. A little salty and a little sweet.”

Expect more product reviews from DCFüd this summer since I will be attending the Fancy Food Show in New York City later this month.

-JAY

Nightmare fuel for people with gephyrophobia

Good local sandwich shops are always a good find, no matter the town or the speciality. The supreme leaders of sandwich making take on a certain mythology; tales of legendary sauces on hearty breads with melty cheesesare more “HBO series” than a humble foodstuff. And people will pass on sandwich shop recommendations like a good accountant knows tax breaks. “If you’re on the way to Ocean City and need a good sub, there’s Red Door in Salisbury.” “I got lost in Delaware trying to save money on sales tax, but found Ioannoni’s in New Castle.”  Our surrounding cities have some quality choices. Ever wonder what happened to America’s once-great steel industry? There’s usually a Primanti Brothers close by in the Pittsburgh area. Baltimore’s got cheesesteaks the size of your car at Captain Harvey’s, but Chap’s Pit Beef is the place for some hot meat/bread love….though Attman’s Deli does a pretty mean corned beef. There are Annapolitans who still bemoan the loss of The Crate Cafe almost 20 years ago, known for sandwiches so tall, customers needed stepstools to eat. New York’s a sandwich-eatin’ town, and if you get lost somewhere between Tribeca and Avenue Q, Sunny and Annie’s in New York’s Alphabet City can hold its own with any of the city’s legendary sandwich places. I mean, come on, a pho sandwich?? That could make a vegan switch camps, even if only for a day.

Note – Philadelphia is pretty much one great big sandwich shop, so it’s difficult to pick just one standard-bearer. Let’s just say it’s a magical place called GENOJIMPATCARMENSCHICKESJOHNSFINKSSONNYSREADINGTERMINALNOMNOMNOM, but that’s just the short name.

D.C. folks can have a spirited debate between old standbys like Jetties or CF Folks or brash newcomers like Taylor Gourmet and SUNdeVICH. And, there’s a vocal group who will rightfully fight you over any foul words aimed at Arlington’s Earl’s or The Italian Store.

What’s the key to making a legendary sandwich shop? Is it the quality of the meats used? Local ingredients to make the spreads? The bread surely must have something to do with it, but there are far too many variables to try to crack the Successful Sandwich Store Equation. Get that dude from “A Beautiful Mind” and a young Matt Damon working on the math, and they may never crack the code. So, what’s the secret?

Potatoes.

At least, that’s what my taste buds tell me as I head to Frederick’s a.k.a. Friscos for a well-made sandwich and one of their hot starchy delights – which sounds much dirtier than I’d like it to sound… The original Friscos used to be located near Sidwell Friends and WUSA on Wisconsin Avenue back in the 1990s, and had quite the reputation as a solid place to go for a school lunch snack or a pre-broadcasting internship cheap meal. The second, now-only, Friscos opened up in Frederick in 1997 in a much larger space. More room for diners, more room to cook, this rare wonderful thing called “parking.” The DC Friscos closed in 2001, and fifteen Starbucks opened up in that former Friscos spot.*

* = slight exaggeration. The more accurate number is seven.

The Frederick Friscos may not get the pub of Fred’s more famous dining options, like Volt, The Tasting Room orFirestone’s – who proudly proclaims being voted the 2nd best restaurant in Frederick! – but Friscos’ fans are a loud voting bunch. Voted #2 in Frederick by TripAdvisor (ahead of Volt!) and currently #8 on Yelp!, though rising Mediterranean newcomer Ayse might be throwing off the voting a bit.

Still, Friscos’ is more than just a good sandwich shop. The Exploded Potatoes – the house’s version of a warm, smoky potato salad – are often offered up to customers as a free sample as they enter, a nice touch while they read the large San Francisco-themed menu. Nods to the Presidio, the Golden Gate,  Haight Ashbury are to be expected; the Russian Hill and BART references were appreciated. Beyond the fun names, though, resides some serious chow. Fresh avocado, melted brie and Bermuda onions adorn the menu, along with Virginia ham and flat iron steaks make sure meat-eaters and veggie-vores are both sated. To go with your sandwich, soup, salad or spud, they offer an assortment of soft drinks, including Frederick’s own McCutcheon sodas.

And, if you just feel like a beer, well, they have a wine and beer shop on premises, so, they usually have something that will impress the snobbiest of beer snobs.

The decor is a bizarre mix of Jimmy Buffett attitude and corporate park architecture. 1789 it ain’t. But that’s part of it’s charm. Maybe if Friscos had stayed in DC, it might have tried to be hipper, or trendier, or went crazy into the “foam” craze. Instead, it is what is was during the Clinton Administration – a good place to get an affordable, hearty meal. Just…40 miles more north than it used to be.

- RAY

Disney’s Aladdin was amazingly prescient.

Raise your hands if you’re shocked? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Iago?

-RAY

Finding meals on the road has always been one of the hardest parts about being gluten free for me. For instance, Sunday morning my husband and I had to get up and out early to attend a family event that was a few hours away. Tight on time, we decided to stop for breakfast on the road. However,  where we found something easily for him, this appeared to be impossible for me. A google search for gluten free fast food offerings for breakfast and a stop at our local bagel place only revealed an overpriced yogurt parfait. I settled for a Larabar, coffee and a grumbling stomach.

For some reason, fast food restaurants have not gotten the memo that gluten free people need things to eat on the road as well. We live in a society where we have grown accustomed and dependent on being able to pick up a quick meal on the go and eat in the car or on the Metro without needing a knife and fork. Think of all those times where you’re darting to a meeting or getting the kids to soccer practice and you only have those five minutes to grab a bite. However, there seems to be no options for gluten free meals that fit this criteria. You can’t eat a salad or the baked potato option at Wendy’s this way. There is yet to be a single fast food restaurant to offer a gluten free sandwich, burger, muffin or other type of portable option.

Starbucks, McDonald’s, Panera and all of the rest of you giants, wake up and smell the opportunity! Gluten free people need those portable options too. Why when there are English muffins and burger buns easily available in our local grocery stores have none of these chains chosen to make these options available on their menus?

Instead most of these chains make themselves as unaccommodating as possible to the gluten free population. Starbucks refuses to release the ingredients in their beverages and changes them regularly so its a continual game of Russian roulette when you order. Panera has a “secret” gluten free menu that most of the restaurants have no knowledge of when you ask. Instead you get handed the huge white book of ingredients and asked to find something for yourself that works.

If these chains are going to continue to hold their monopoly over providing for the on-the-go lifestyle, the least they can do is offer options for all of their customers. So please big fast food chains, please open your eyes to the needs of your gluten free customers. Please list your ingredients, and offer some gluten free portable options so that we too can get back to living the hectic, crazy on-the-go lives we, East Coast Americans, so love to live.

-JPM (Joyana)

-JAY

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“June 6th Cup Tasters Challenge from much-loved coffee roaster Counter Culture. This is the second official Cup Tasters Challenge in a year-long battle among all Counter Culture Regional Training Centers for a title win. The events will take place in Ashville, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Durham, NYC, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The Boston Training Center took home the Cup Tasters Challenge title belt in March, and now another region will have the opportunity to win it.

Participants at each Training Center will taste multiple sets of three cups each and identify which is different from the other two in each set. The challenge will start at 7pm EST at each Training Center (please see below for addresses), and anyone can participate: $5 to enter and free to watch.

- Asheville, NC: 77 Broadway Street
- Atlanta, GA: King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta Street NW, Suite m210
- Boston, MA: 374 Somerville Avenue
- Chicago, IL: 177 North Ada, Unit 106
- Durham, NC: 4911 South Alston Avenue
- New York, NY: 37 W. 26th St., Suite 400
- Philadelphia, PA: 2149 Unit B Catharine St.
- Washington, DC: 1840 Columbia Road NW, Suite 203″