DC Food Blogger Happy Hour - June 1 - Vento

RSVP Here.

Time flies. This time last month, I was worrying about fitting into a bridesmaid dress and which restaurants to take my family to while they are here for my cousin's wedding. The wedding is over and it was a blast. My family got to try out Saigon Cafe in Falls Church, Tysons Buffet in Rockville (truly a good deal), and Rays the Steaks in Arlington, VA. Unfortunately, my brother did not get a chance to eat some Maryland blue crabs while in town so, as a gift for getting into medical school, my cousins and I sent him half a bushel from www.crabplace.com. The cost was reasonable when you compare the cost of taking 4 people out for crabs at any local DC crab joint. And, he loved it.

And the first Wednesday of the month is just a couple of days away and that means it is time to meet up with some food bloggers. We will be meeting at Vento in Dupont Circle. The happy hour specials are $5 wines and cocktails, $4 beers, and half off the bar menu.

Hope to see you there.

Going Raw

There is a new restaurant in town called Elizabeth's Gone Raw and I am really interested in trying it out. The price is a bit steep ($75 for a 5-course prix fixe tasting menu) but the message behind the food is what really makes me want to eat there. Elizabeth is a cancer survivor who has used raw and vegan food to assist with her recovery. Vegan eating is tough but vegan cooking...that is a true challenge. How do you make anything delicious without butter and cheese?!?

In my small attempt to make something vegan, I found this recipe in Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. This is a really simple and delicious dish that even my guy had to say that it was pretty good (it must be pretty good if "Mr. MeatPotatoesBacon&Cheese" says so.) I think you will be impressed by how sweet raw corn is and how well it pairs with the lime and salt that is added to the dish. I sliced the zucchini thin enough that it felt cooked after sitting in the lime juice for a bit. Great summer side dish to bring to BBQs.

Raw Corn and Zucchini Salad
Adapted from Everyday Food

2 ears corn, husks and silks removed
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Cut off tips of ears of corn; stand corn in a wide, shallow bowl. With a sharp knife, slice downward to release kernels (you should have about 1 1/2 cups); discard cobs. Transfer kernels to a medium bowl. Add zucchini, lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine.

This dish is very cheap. The corn was $4 for 5 cobs (this will get cheaper in a month.) The zucchini was $1 per lb so 2 cost less than $1. Limes were about 50 cents. I used cilantro from my little herb garden on the balcony.

I made this last weekend for my friend's vegetarian party and I used lemon juice instead of lime and I omitted the cilantro (for my cilantro hating friends.) It was very refreshing. I'm sure you can play around with this dish and customize it based on flavor preference.

Bread, Radishes, Butter, and Salt

There are so many things to love about spring and summer but on top of that list has to be that eating good can be so cheap. Over the weekend, a good friend had a vegetarian and yoga get together. While shopping at Eastern Market, my friend Jenny mentioned that she read on DCist that radishes were in season and that they are delicious sliced on top of bread and butter and sprinkled with a bit of salt (I later found out that the great U Street Girl wrote the post). We picked up a rustic baguette for $2.50, got a bunch of radishes for $3.00, and got some good butter from the dairy vendor for $1.50.

We sliced up the fresh bread, buttered it, and topped them off with the radishes. Delicious. The creaminess of the butter mixed with that bit of a kick a radish gives you (some say peppery but it seems different to me) just matches up so well. And I love biting into something with a grainy sea salt sprinkled on top.

This is a simple dish to put together for a summer party. And very pretty.