Episode 175: Nigella’s Noodles, Avocado Oil, and Costco

Blood oranges photo from Marisa’s blog, Food in Jars

In food news this week–Did Taco Bell become a health food spot when we weren’t paying attention? Business Insider thinks so.

Marisa has a recipe recommendation for us–Nigella Lawson’s Cold Soba Noodle Salad.

We present the next segment in our ongoing series of cooking fats: Avocado oil.

Have you ever wondered if a Costco membership is worth it? So has Joy. She asks Marisa to give her some pointers before she goes to the store to find out for herself.

Finally, at the market this week, we are buying oranges.

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Episode 174: Cooking Resolutions and Challenges for 2017

Two loves of Marisa’s life: Her husband, Scott, and kale.

In food news this week, we talked about the potential bursting of America’s restaurant bubble.

Since it’s January we also talked challenges.

Marisa is running the Master Challenge over at Food in Jars. (Check it out.) And epicurious.com doing a month-long home cooking challenge they are calling #Cook90.

We shared our 2017 cooking goals with you in this episode. (Please let us yours!)

And finally we went to the market for the ultimate January ingredient: Kale.

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171: Pierogi, Gifts for the Kitchen, and Dessert

parsnipcake
Parsnip cake!

A recent segment on NPR discussed an interesting statistical correlation between the days of the month when food stamps/EBT were distributed and the reduction of drunk driving accidents. Read or listen here

What’s for dinner this week? Homemade Pierogi! Marisa made the terrific recipe from the cookbook Good and Cheap.

The season of gift giving is upon us. We talked about some of our favorite homemade edible gifts last year (episode 117), but wanted to hit on some of our favorite gifts for the kitchen. (Here’s a link to that wooden tool write up in Bon Appetit Joy couldn’t remember in the moment.)

We also talked about our dessert eating habits, and wrapped things up by going to market for persimmons.

Speaking of dessert: Last week, a lot of you asked for Joy’s parsnip cake recipe.

Here it is:

Parsnip Cake with Maple and Toasted Pecans

makes one 8-inch cake

Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups peeled and shredded parsnips (about 3 medium parsnips)

Frosting:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan.

2. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and maple syrup and beat on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds more.

3. Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds. Add half of the sour cream and mix until just blended, about 5 seconds. Alternate adding half of the remaining flour mixture, the remaining sour cream, and the remaining flour, mixing just long enough to combine after each addition. Using a spatula, gently fold in the parsnips. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan, and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Make the frosting: In bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners sugar, butter and salt. Beat on medium until the butter is incorporated into the sugar with no large lumps remaining, about one minute. With the mixer running on low, slowly stream in the maple syrup one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

5. When the cake has cooled completely, frost just the top, leaving a half-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the frosting with the pecans.

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Episode 169: Choosing Sides, Dish Drainers, and Holiday Food Traditions

choosing-sides

We just didn’t feel like talking about the news this time, so we talked about one of our favorite cookbooks by Tara Mataraza Desmond, Choosing Sides.

Then we discussed those ever-more-frequent times when we eat dinner for breakfast.

We talked about the role of a dish drainer in the kitchen. (Or not, Joy doesn’t have one; Marisa is devoted to hers.)

We did a segment on holiday food traditions, including Joy’s mom’s intergenerational nut bread. (Recipe follows)

At the market, we are buying celery.

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Nut Bread

Recipe courtesy of Joy’s mom, Judy Manning

Makes five 3-by-5 inch mini-loaves

1¼ cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2½ cups all-purpose flour

3½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat five 3-by-5 inch loaf pans with oil or nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, sugar, egg, and vegetable oil. Stir well to blend. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the nuts, and then divide evenly among the prepared baking pans.

Transfer to the oven and bake until the loaves are light golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, about 20 to 30 minutes.

168: Barbecue Styles, Impulse Buys, Emotional Eating

screen-shot-2016-11-22-at-9-23-59-am

In food news this week, we talk about a piece that Joy wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer on the intersection of food and science.

In our what’s for dinner segment, we talked about regional barbecue styles and sauces and some tips for making barbecue inside during the winter months.

Do you succumb to impulse buys at the supermarket? Do you diverge from your list? Do use a list? We talk about why we pick up unplanned items and how to combat it.

Emotional eating. In the wake of the election, some people can’t eat because of the stress. Others turn to food for comfort. We talk about the role of emotional eating and how we try to keep it in check.

At the market this week, we’re buying sweet potatoes.

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Episode 167: Thanksgiving’s coming, Ireland, Homemade Chili

 

Note from Joy: Hey, LM listeners. I need you all to know this episode was recorded before the election. (Next week we’ll talk about emotional eating/comfort food.) So I’m trying to get this thing posted at its regular time even though we are feeling seriously unproductive. So forgive us (and do not blame Marisa) if something we said we’d linked to isn’t linked here. I’m not at my most detail oriented. Leave us a comment if you want a link, I’ll link it immediate. I promise. And no photo for this episode, forgive me. Like all of us, or I guess I should say a lot of us, I’m doing the best I can in this difficult time.   

In food news, this week we talk about how the dollar amount most people rack up in food waste could make for a better retirement.

What’s for dinner in our places lately? Chili. Whether or not she referred to this particular recipe, Joy thinks this is a good one.

We tackle Thanksgiving prep. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is not canceled. A few pointers.

Marisa tells us all about her trip Ireland. Ah, the potatoes.

Episode 164: Michael Pollan, Halloween Candy, and Geno’s Cheesesteaks

As usual, Michael Pollan explains it all.
As usual, Michael Pollan explains it all.

This week, we allocated more time than usual to our “Food News” segment because we wanted to really get into Michael Pollan’s recent story for the New York Times magazine Why Did the Obamas Fail to Take on Corporate Agriculture?”

On a decidedly lighter topic, we talked about meatballs in our “What’s for Dinner” segment. Specifically, how to break meatballs out of the meatballs-and-spaghetti mold.

Halloween is on Monday. We talked candy.

Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia recently made a big change. And we like it.

Finally, at the market we’re buying up all the broccoli right now.

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Episode 163: Breaded Chicken, Restaurants, Garlic

Quince!
Quince!

A story on the website New Food Economy covered “big food’s” incursion into plant-based foods. Tyson Foods–a major player of the factory farming game–has invested in alt-meat maker Beyond Meat (whose product we talked about back in episode 149

In our what’s for dinner segment, we talk about an all time classic: breaded chicken cutlets.

Dining out–reports from Talula’s Daily, Charlie Was a Sinner, Double Knot, and Mission Taqueria.

We dive deep into the stinking rose–garlic.

At the market this week, we’re buying quince.

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Episode 162: How to Define Healthy, Sheet-pan Meals, and Doing the Dishes

Marisa's sheet pan dinner
Marisa’s sheet pan dinner

In food news this week, we talked about the FDA’s plan to redefine the word “healthy” on food labels.

Marisa is the master of the quick and easy sheet pan supper, and she shares some ideas and tips.

Washing the dishes–do you love it or hate it? We discuss methods and philosophies about this everyday chore.

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Episode 161: No-noodle Lasagna, Nutrition Upgrade Challenge, Cooking with Chickpea Flour

no-noodle-lasagna
No-noodles here. Just celery root, mushrooms ragu, and cheese!

This week in food news, we learned that stress overrides the benefits of healthful eating on NPR’s The Salt blog. Not cool, stress. Not cool.

Joy sings the praises of a recipe from Modern Potluck, whose author Kristin Donnelly we had on a short while back. (It’s the No-noodle Lasagna made with celery root instead of pasta!)

If 30 day challenges like “The Whole 30” are not your speed (and they are certainly not ours) but you are into improving your nutrition, try the Nutrition Diva’s 30 Day Nutrition Upgrade Challenge. You will definitely eat more vegetables and you don’t have to eliminate anything. It’s a food-positive, weight neutral approach to nutrition.

Joy and Marisa trade tips on cooking with chickpea flour and talk socca and crepe making.

We hope we aren’t bad feminists but we pack our husband’s lunches. We think our tips and strategies could help you pack your own, your kids’, your husband’s too.

At the market we scored some honeynut squash–reported to be more than 10 times sweeter than butternut!

Here’s that link to Joy’s lentil and chicken soup recipe.

If you like what you hear, make sure to subscribe! Bonus points if you rate us or leave a review. Follow us on twitter @localmouthful and help us spread the word about the show.