Episode 210: The Field Roast Cookbook, A Health Happy Medium, Preground Coffee

The best cup of coffee? The convenient kind.

 

In food news this week, more issues in the seafood section. A troubling AP investigation reveals that salmon from China is being processed by North Korean slave laborers.

At her sister’s urging, Joy found herself cooking from the pages of O Magazine … and everyone really liked the mushroom po’ boy sandwiches that resulted.

Field Roast, the grain meat purveyor known for its delicious faux sausages, has a new cookbook. We read it, but we haven’t cooked from it — yet.

It has now been six month since Joy was diagnosed with high cholesterol. And sometimes she gets so angry at healthy food she wants to throw it against the wall. Is there a happy medium that can be heart-healthy?

What are we loving this week? Marisa is all about pre-ground coffee–for some very persuasive reasons.

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Episode 208: Risotto, Smitten Kitchen Everyday, and Our JoC Potluck

A few of the delicious treats listeners brought to the potuck

Bad news for conscientious home cooking. Hey, Whole Foods shoppers: That free range chicken may be anything but. Ugh, we have bought so much of this chicken. Perhaps it’s time to buy more of our birds from Primal Supply.

In our What’s for Dinner segment, we sing the praises of homemade risottos. This is Marisa’s favorite recipe. Joy loves Cook’s Illustrated’s butternut squash risotto recipe but it’s behind the paywall. Also recommended: The risotto method/recipe described in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

We’re totally smitten with a new cookbook: Deb Pearlman’s Smitten Kitchen Everyday. It has us running to the kitchen. Joy has already cooked this recipe twice with plans to make it a third time this week. It’s true that there are hundreds of terrific recipes on the Smitten Kitchen blog, but we are just fools for beautiful cookbooks and this one is pleasure to read for entertainment and info as well as to just plain cook straight out of.

So, we held our second Joy of Cooking potluck and guess what? It was even more fun than our first. A group of you listeners joined us to dig into so many delicious recipes from the book we probably wouldn’t have found on our on. Dishes included chicken cacciatore, savory leek pie, lentils with sausage, roasted cauliflower with golden raisins, curried rice with fruit and nuts, hacked tempeh, and kale with roasted delicata and pomegranate seeds.

We’re doing it again in January, and if you want in, tell us in the comments below to get on the invite list.

This week, we sing a love song to the soda stream. This one tool makes a big difference when it comes to have delicious nonalcoholic drinks at your finger tips.

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Episode 198: Summer Chicken Stew, Salad-y Slaws, and Our Joy of Cooking Potluck

A few of the delicious dishes from our recent Joy of Cooking potluck dinner

In food news this week, we discuss The New York Time’s recent decision to put most of its Cooking section content behind a pay wall.

In our What’s for Dinner segment, Joy dishes on a new favorite recipe: Summer Italian Chicken. (Note: Joy de-paleofies this by adding a can of rinsed chick peas and serving it over polenta.)

Marisa is loving a hearty slaw-type salad for this summer’s meals, either as a side or a base for an entree style salad.

Earlier this month, we held a Joy of Cooking themed, Local Mouthful hosted pot luck in Philadelphia for listeners. We had so much fun. And we definitely plan to hold another one again soon. Keep listening for details on how to sign up 🙂

This week in our What We’re Digging segment, we talk about salad chain Sweetgreen.

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Episode 197: Things on Toast, Canned Beans, and Emily Paster

In food news recently, it was widely reported that Amazon bought Whole Foods. We speculate about what this will mean to us and grocery shoppers in general.

In the dog days of summer, not even we food enthusiasts want to crank up the oven or stand over the stove. This is when we return to our old love: stuff on toast. Avocado is just one of the many lovely things you can enjoy on top of toasted slice of bread. We share our faves.

We have told you many times that beans cooked from dried are best, and that’s still true. But we’ve been letting ourselves loose in the canned bean aisle lately and enjoying the convenience. Canned beans taste great, too.

We’ve got an interview with Emily Paster, food blogger and cookbook author based in Chicago. Her new book, The Joys of Jewish Preserving, will be hitting bookstores any day now.

New segment alert: We’re going to try wrapping up the show by telling you about something in our kitchens that we are just loving right now. Our first pick? Spindrift beverages.

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Episode 196: Burmese Curry, Diet and Cholesterol, and The Joy of Cooking

Now that Joy is a teetotaler, she is eagle eyed for stories about the health consequences of alcohol. Some new research suggests that moderate drinking  may not be healthy after all.

In our What’s for Dinner segment this week, we talk about the Burmese Curry with Okra and Egg recipe from Burma Superstar.

Joy recently got a physical and the cholesterol news is not good. We talk about the mysterious relationship between diet and heart health.

Marisa interviews John Becker and Meghan Scott, part of the team working on the newest edition of The Joy of Cooking.

At the market this week, we are snapping up the summer squash.

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194: Dinner Derailed, Better without Booze, Joan Nathan

In food news this week, we talked about the recent scandal over horse meat that went down in Pittsburgh.

You know how much we love home cooking, but sometimes dinner gets derailed for us, too. We talked a little about why and how this happens and how to get back on track.

Regular listeners might remember that Joy took the month of January off from drinking alcohol. Well, she never went back. Feeling secure in her new identity as a nondrinker, she launched a new project: Better without Booze.

Cookbook maven extraordinaire Joan Nathan has a new release: King Solomon’s Table. This is an ambitious cookbook that anyone who loves food will want to get their hands on. Marisa and Joy had the chance to meet Joan and to taste some of the recipes in the book at a recent dinner to celebrate the book at Abe Fisher and we tell you all about it.

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193: Vegan Tacos, Grain Bowls, New Cookbooks

Vegan tacos are just as good as meaty tacos.

In Food News this week, NPR’s The Salt blog asks: How organic is your milk? (Hint: Probably not as organic as you think.)

Joy is on a vegan taco kick. She likes to fold beans, greens, avocado, asparagus and all kinds of other vegetables into her tortillas.

We recap our recent grain bowl class at the Philadelphia Free Library. It was so much fun and everyone feasted on grain bowls. Sound like a good night? Come to our salad class on June 20. Mark your calendar.

We talked about some of the season’s new cookbooks that are calling out to us.

And finally, at the market we’re buying spinach. The big kind, not the baby kind.

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Taco photo by Stephanie via flickr CC

Episode 192: Miso-glazed Salmon, Smoothie Season, Corn Tortillas

A terrific new cookbook by Melissa Clark. Try the miso-glazed salmon!

In food news this week, we discuss a recent study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology that found people who frequently take a turn at small, creative projects (like cooking and baking!) report feeling more relaxed and happier in their everyday lives.

In our What’s for Dinner segment, we talk about a dynamite recipe for Miso-Glazed Salmon from the new cookbook, Dinner: Changing the Game.

It’s smoothie time! We talk about our favorite combos for this warm-weather staple.

Joy took at class about tortillas from South Philly Barbarco chefs, and she fills Marisa in on how they make their amazing tortillas from local corn.

At the market this week, we’re buying hot house tomatoes!

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Episode 188: Freezer Bankruptcy, Easter Treats, and Bowls!

Molly Watson’s new cookbook

A new study from the University of Washington finds that cooking at home is healthier and cheaper than the away-from-home alternatives. (Surprise!)

Joy and Marisa swap ideas about “Freezer Bankruptcy.” Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on your situation.

Easter is this Sunday. Joy tells you about a few favorite local treats for your Easter basket or table.

We have a conversation with food writer Molly Watson, author of the wonderful new cookbook, Bowls!.

Finally, at the market we are exploring fresh cheeses.

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Episode 178: Faux Meat, A Soup-Making Session, and author Stephanie Weaver

Our guest’s new book about healing headaches

This week, the news we discuss is about our podcast. Local Mouthful is now also an FM radio show. In Philadelphia and Camden, you can hear us every Wednesday at 6:30 pm on WPPM 106.5 FM. It’s Philly CAM’s radio station. Philly CAM is a wonderful community access media center with a radio studio, a TV studio and tons of affordable classes to learn how to make your own media. (Joy learned a lot about radio making and audio editing in a class there last winter.) Check it out!

We talked about “plant based burgers” including one hot new product that Joy and Marisa taste-tested.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to cook without a recipe? We’re teaching an improvisation Soup Class at the Philadelphia Free Library’s Center for Culinary Literacy on February 22 at 6 pm. In this hands-on session, we’ll teach you a few adaptable formulas so you can make soup with whatever you have on hand. And we’ll enjoy the fruits our labor together! Tickets are $15 and you can get them here.

We have an interview with Stephanie Weaver, author of The Migraine Relief Plan: An 8-Week Transition to Better Eating, Fewer Headaches, and Optimal Health

And finally, at the market, we are stocking up on apples.

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.