First up is Rinku Bhattacharya with her new book; Spices & Seasons; Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors. Loaded with great tips, technniques and great photos to help you create healthy Indian influenced meals.
Inspired by the bounty of local produce, mostly from her own backyard, Rinku set out to create recipes for busy, time-strapped home cooks who want to blend Indian flavors into nutritious family meals. Arranged in chapters from appetizers through desserts, the cookbook includes everything from small bites, soups, seafood, meat and poultry, and vegetables, to condiments, breads, and sweets. You’ll find recipes for tempting fare like Mango and Goat Cheese Mini Crisps, Roasted Red Pepper Chutney, Crisped Okra with Dry Spice Rub, Smoky Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Puree, and Red Harvest Masala Cornish Hens, to name a few.
As exotic and enticing as these recipes sound, the ingredients are easily found and the instructions are simple. Rinku encourages readers to explore the bounty of their local farms and markets, and embrace the rich flavors of India to cook food that is nutritious, healthy, seasonal and most importantly, delicious.
In the second half I’ll be talking to Cally Mercer of Mercer Estate wine in Washington’s Columbia Valley. This family run winery is one of the oldest to produce high quality wine since planting Cabernet in what is now known as the Champoux Vineyard in 1972. From the first release of the 2005 vintage the family has continued to grow and expand while winning awards for well made wine from the Columbia Valley.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2009 Mercer Canyons Columbia Valley Red Blend
84% Merlot, 8% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot – This wine is deeply complex with notes of ripe black cherry, cocoa powder, warm spices and char. On the palate the wine is full and rich with supple tannins and lush fruit. The balanced acidity and tannins lead to a lingering finish of dark fruits, earth and spice.