Vibrant India

We first wrote about Chitra Agrawal when we discovered her Brooklyn Delhi products. Since then she’s been up to a lot more than just jarring delicious pickled things from India. Her latest edition to your Indian food education comes in book form with Vibrant India. South Indian cooking is not the Indian dishes that commonly pop to mind for us Americans. Having a South Indian mother-in-law has schooled me on these flavorful and light regional tastes. Chitra draws from her mother’s cooking bringing Bangalore all the way to Brooklyn where she adds her own twists to these vegetarian classics. I’ve often proclaimed, “I could go full vegetarian.” after eating at my in-laws for a weekend. As a pretty serious carnivore, that says a lot about her book and the deliciousness potential. Point is, there’s something for everyone in this book. Vegan, vegetarians, paleo or carnivore the flavors and simplicity will swoon you. We promise.

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Culture | Video

Good Humor X RZA Ice Cream Truck Jingle

Good Humor and RZA ice cream truck jingle just dropped with the goal of ending the racist roots the current song subliminally drives into our brains. Here in Queens, this oppression is monotonous most afternoons. The song is derived from “Turkey in the Straw”, an old mistral song. If that doesn’t mean much to you take a listen to this NYTimes podcast. Now that you understand why that connection is horrific, watch and listen to the new tune here. Leave it to a Staten Island rapper and a 100 year old ice cream company to bring some equality-based joy into our lives amidst one of the darkest times in our country’s history. I always said, “You can count on ice cream to always bring a smile.” I never thought it would simultaneously help deconstruct generations of systemic racism. If you are so moved by this to obtain a music box of your own to perhaps gift your local ice cream truck proprietor, Nicholes Electronics specializes in pre-programmed, looping, music boxes for just such an application.

Culture | Entertainment

Foodie Dice

Play culinary casino with your next meal and let fate decide your flavor. We’ll say it over and over again at FTHQ, playing with your food makes it taste better. Lady luck adds a bit of mystery and mayhem to that fun. Last time we rolled ‘em we wound up with a baked lemon, dandelion green salad. Double down on that.

Culture | Books

A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook

We left New Orleans with a copy of John Kennedy Toole’s a Confederacy of Dunces in our digital back pocket. We were inspired to read the comedic, novel depicting Ignatius J. Reilly’s exploits because of Cynthia LeJeune Nobles’ cookbook of the same name. The Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook is a series of dishes inspired by 1960’s New Orleans and Ignatius’ favorite foods. The research that went into this book is incredible. I’m not sure which one I suggest you read first. Maybe read them both and cook simultaneously for a real immersive trip.

Culture | Books

You don’t have to be Ryan Seacrest to Close 2020 with the Perfect Classy AF Cocktails.

Tonight most celebrate the beginning of a new year. Oddly, I always thought we were celebrating the closing of the previous year. To that end, the close of the notorious 2020 seems like an appropriate moment for my type of celebration. For such a monumental celebration you need to summon the classy AF in all aspects of your evening. That walk from your bedroom to your living room party will be your own personal red carpet tonight. Make sure those sweatpants are bedazzled AF. Hell maybe even throw on that tiara. In addition prepare your imbibe plan appropriately with a Kindle download of the Classy AF Cocktails book. Special attention to the author Calligraphuck. Great name and secret designer/comedian persona. Inside you will find the classics done classy (as the name implies) but the real win is the snarky setups to each drink. Said to celebrate the fine arts of drinking and swearing, the intro paragraphs to each cocktail set the mood with phrases like “When the day hands you your ass” OR “Sure the Cosmo may have fallen out of fashion but it definitely doesn’t have a stick up it’s ass.” This is language we can get behind especially as we bid ado to our the evils of 2020. This falls in line with my 2020 daily rituals of foul mouthed mundane moments like my use of the equally abrasive Carrot weather app. We’re starting with the classiest take out pizza and a Sbagliato, quickly moving on to Negronis and will most likely wake up still holding the remnants of an old fashioned. We hope you have as much revelry as possible shutting down the year that shut us ALL down. See you in 2021 hopefully in a effectively vaccinated, eradicate COVID world.

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