These Indie editors’ picks on eating and drinking well cover the essential (how to shop wisely at the supermarket), the informative (the history of and recipe for an excellent mint julep), and next-level skills (Ayurvedic cooking to create healthy, often plant-based meals with dals, chutneys, and endless flavor).
Most of us know to avoid food shopping while hungry, but Carol Ann Kates, whose background is in grocery store management, devotes an entire guide to successful supermarket shopping, Grocery Shopping Secrets. Kates’ father was a grocer; he taught her that excellent ingredients trump a good recipe, so she emphasizes choosing quality produce and proteins. The author covers the fundamentals (make a list and stick to it) but also addresses how to store produce, cheese, meat, and pantry staples. She defines common but confusing terms, like “pasture raised” vs. “animal welfare certified.” Our reviewer considers the book an ideal primer: “The level of detail in each category is surprising in its thoroughness. All these features make it a useful starter guide for college students, newlyweds, or anyone else braving the world of grocery shopping and cooking on their own for the first time.”
Home bartender C. Townsend Brady says, “Most cocktails are simply not worth drinking.” In Mastering Classic Cocktails, he covers the drinks that are worth drinking and have stood the test of time. It turns out margaritas have been around at least 75 years, and the source of the modern cosmo existed long before Sex and the City. What makes this guide stand out are the stories behind the cocktails, along with the easy-to-follow directions for drink making. Our reviewer notes, “It’s this combination—useful information and beautifully designed pages—that really distinguishes this charming book from run-of-the-mill bar guides; this attractive volume will, of course, be at home behind the bar, but also on a coffee table. Brady’s guide is a winner across the board, with recipes and techniques galore, beautiful and colorful illustrative photos, and a bit of illuminating history served up along the way.”
Author Mahendri Arundale, who’s written several Indian cookbooks, left India for the U.S. in the 1970s and has since worked to perfect her Indian recipes. In A Happy Body Is a Healthy Body, she outlines how to use an ayurvedic diet to improve well-being. “The book presents Indian recipes that promote health with subsections dedicated to spice blends, oils and dairy, soups, khichadis (rice/lentil dishes), legumes/dal, grains, breads, side vegetables, and chutneys and salads,” says our reviewer. “The text includes healing recipes for specific ailments, such as apricot juice with nutmeg for constipation, fresh mango juice for building bodily tissues, and spinach, beet, and celery juice for uterine disorders and arthritis. This cookbook emphasizes ancient cultural wisdom and will enable cooks to produce authentic Indian dishes that cater to individual and family health needs.” While our reviewer notes that A Happy Body Is a Healthy Body doesn’t offer any case studies that point to the efficacy of ayurveda or provide recipes for those who can’t tolerate gluten and dairy, it “beautifully incorporates a healthy perspective with delicious, authentic Indian cuisine.”
Chaya Schechner is the president of Kirkus Indie.
