Episode 144: Intentional Leftovers, Picnics, and Cookbook Club Changes

A dish of leftover roasted cauliflower with yogurt and toasted cashews.
Repurposed cauliflower leftovers.

For our food news segment, we talked about this piece that ran in the LA Times recently, about recipe testing, test kitchens, and all those recipes floating out there on the internet.

We talked about the art of intentional leftovers. This can be as simple as a pot of soup designed to last a couple of nights, or those nights when you cook some elements that will get transformed in future meals.

With summer nearly here, we shared our picnic tips and confessed that we fantasize about picnicking more often than we actually picnic.

At the start of the year we launched a Cookbook Club and after nearly six months in, we’ve discovered that one book a month is too much for us. From here on out, we’re going to feature one book every two months. This leaves us with just three books left for 2016, which will be My Kitchen in Rome (summer), Vegetable Literacy (fall), Choosing Sides (holidays).

Finally, we talked about strawberries (which are finally in season) and shared some of our favorite things to do with the sweet berries.

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3 thoughts on “Episode 144: Intentional Leftovers, Picnics, and Cookbook Club Changes”

  1. I just love planning for leftovers. I love doing it both ways – planning the same meal to be eaten as is later or taking components and creating something different.

    I like the idea of the change to the cookbook club! I like that timeline. And absolutely not every book will appeal to everyone. I am THRILLED you are doing Vegetable Literacy. I adore that book and basically all of Deborah Madison’s! However, I can’t say that I will be attempting anything from the Rome cookbook as that doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m intrigued by the Choosing Sides book; that one is unfamiliar to me. Great timing with the holidays!

    Oh, yum strawberries. We just went strawberry picking and they are just the freshest! I made a strawberry rhubarb pie with a crumble topping and it was so yummy! But I usually just eat them straight up.

  2. Instead of trying to perfectly hull strawberries or get all the fruit off of pits, I quickly square everything off (a habit I picked up in restaurant kitchens where they want everything squared off for visual appeal), and collect the tops and/or pits and make a flavored simple syrup. I find it a great way to get two products for the price of one. Last week, I made peach-strawberry jam, and syrup, delicious.

  3. I just found this podcast. I took a class with Melissa here in Columbus, Ohio a few years ago and loved it. I’m excited to join your “cookbook club”. Thanks for a great podcast!

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