National Book Festival is This Weekend

This Saturday I will be volunteering at the National Book Festival, a day to promote reading and literacy on the National Mall. The Junior League of Washington's cause is literacy so every year we provide volunteer services for this great event. I went a few years ago to see John Irving speak, and worked the lines last year. It is so much fun, especially to see all of the kids so excited to meet their favorite authors (some people line up for hours!) This year some of the big names are: Tiki Barber, R.L. Stein, Philippa Greggory, Alexander McCall Smith, Salmon Rushdie, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and Cokie Roberts. You can see all the authers and get more info here :http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/authors/

Its a really fun event, I encourage everyone to come!

Restaurant Review- Heritage India in Glover Park

That is my book club with our waitor at Heritage India. After reading, "Beneath a Marble Sky" by John Shors, a beautiful historical fiction novel about the building of the Taj Mahal in India, we decided to meet at Heritage India in Glover Park to discuss. Now I thought I wasn't a big Indian food lover, but recently I have been feeling more adventurous with spicy foods so I went ahead and ordered a spicy lamb dish in saffron and yogurt sauce. Basically I needed a LOT of bread and rice to keep my mouth from igniting b/c it was very spicy but it was some of the best lamb I've ever had. I could tell it had been slow cooked because it was just so tender and came apart really easily. I also got to try other dishes and appetizers like tandori chicken, samosas, and this appetizer with potatoes and date-jelly. Everything was delicious. I would recommend this for a group dinner since its a lot of fun to pass everything around and get to try new things, its also very reasonably priced.

Restaurant Review- Oya

A few days ago my book club met to discuss Christopher Moore's Fluke, at Oya on 9th and G. If you like sci-fi-esque magical fiction with interesting characters and plot twists, I recommend reading Fluke. If you like great food, long wine lists, "hip" decor and a $28 prix fix summertime menu, I recommend trying Oya. The wine list is quite long with good descriptions (for those of us who don't know squat about wine) and a range of prices for wines by the glass (for those of us who can't tell the difference between a $7 glass and a $15 glass). I think the bar was very backed up because it took FOREVER to get the wine, but I was very pleased once it came out! Please don't confuse Oya with Oyamel a few blocks over on 7th, although if you do, the hostess at Oyamel will hopefully be as nice to you as she was to me, and point you in the right direction. Oya touts itself as "Asian french fusion" although it doesn't seem to be crazy combo dishes like some of the other fusion restaurants. I had the goat cheese salad to start with was delish, it was one of those goat cheese puffs, topped with some cooked apples next to a side salad (apparently "Asian" greens, but it looked like pretty standard mesclun mix) with walnut vinegar. For the main course, I tried the Sea Bass with miso flavor which came with a risotto-stuffed red pepper. I went for the "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate" dessert which lived up to its name and was very chocolately and delicious. I also tried a bite of the banana bread pudding, wonderful as well. I will definitely be returning!

Farmers Markets

A local farmers market is a huge asset to any neighborhood. Nini Planck's book "Real Food, what to eat and why", which got me eating meat again after 2 years of vegetarianism, has convinced me that farmers markets are the absolute best place to buy food. I try to make it to the farmers market on 14th and U on Saturdays mornings or the DuPont farmers market on Sunday mornings. Today I walked up to 14th and U to browse and came home to make a delicious lunch, organic bratwurst on the grill, skinny asparagus boiled in some salted water, and fresh sweet strawberries for dessert (the strawberries were too hard to resist so they were more of an appetizer while everything else cooked.) The best part? The whole meal cost me about $4-$5, definitely less that I would have paid going out for a sandwhich.

Visit http://www.localharvest.org/ to find the closest farmers market to your neighborhood (or future neighborhood if you are house shopping!)

For more information on Nina Planck and her food/nutrition wisdom visit http://www.ninaplanck.com/