Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

Episode 023: Berni

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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Tune in to Episode 023 with Berni Altman. She’s lived 94 years on this planet and has a lot to share. She was a US Naval Reserve WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II. She has had many jobs in her lifetime, is still an active volunteer in her community and continues to take college courses. Listen as we discuss:

• Why she wanted to become a WAVE

• The saucy nickname she was given during her service (which was not based on facts!)

• Her decision to move across the country to live near her first and only granddaughter

• Why she hasn’t stopped taking college courses

• Her simple but sage advice to listeners

Follow up links:

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

US Navy Reserve WAVES

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Matzo Brei
Servings: One

Ingredients:

3 sheets of matzo
1 egg
Kosher salt
Pam (cooking spray)

Break up the matzo and soak it in water for 30-45 seconds, then drain the water. Beat and pour the egg over the matzo and toss in a pan over medium heat. Serve and sprinkle with kosher salt. Enjoy!

 

Episode 022: Julie

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This week we chat with Julie, a Senior Financial Analyst at Gap Inc. Listen as we discuss

• The difference between accounting and financial analysis

• How she overcame feeling like she didn’t belong

• How her analysis impacts the company

• Why she chose to join Gap ASIA (Asians Supporting Inclusion & Awareness)

• How hiking helps her keep a good work/life balance

Follow up links:

@juliemanivong

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Semi-Homemade Carolina BBQ Chicken Sliders

Ingredients:

2 slider buns
1 package of Trader Joes slaw mix
1 tbsp mayo
1/2 lemon (juiced)
salt and pepper to taste
2 frozen chicken strips (or vegan chicken strips)
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Carolina BBQ Sauce

Heat oven according to package instructions. Bake chicken. Place slaw in a bowl and mix in your mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper and let sit to soak in the dressing. Once baked, place chicken strips in a bowl with BBQ sauce and toss. Place a bed of slaw onto each bun, and top with your BBQ chicken strip. Serve with a side of garlic fries (which also comes pre-packaged at Trader Joes!). You then have yourself a delicious weeknight meal in under 30 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Episode 021: Riikka

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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Tune in to Episode 021 with Riikka Pennanen, a Film Festival Publicist and Freelance Journalist & Researcher in Finland! Learn all about how she turned her passion for film into a career and why fat positivity is a very important part of her activism. Listen to learn more about: 

• How her family influenced her love of film at a young age

• How she landed her first job in the industry and her current role at the Helsinki International Film Festival

• Her 10 year stint being the “webmistress” for Rose McGowan's approved fan website

• Her thoughts on fat positivity and how body positivity has been watered down for corporate gain

Follow up links:

Helsinki International Film Festival

21st Century Flapper (Riikka’s Website)

@centuryflapper

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Tatiana’s Incredibly Unique Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread
1 small avocado
1 small handful of grape tomatoes
Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning
Vegan or Regular butter

Toast your bread using your favorite method. Spread a pat of butter onto each slice. Open the avocado and with a fork, mash the avocado in its shell. Scoop onto each bread slice. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and place into the avocado mash. Add a healthy amount of Everything But the Bagel seasoning on top. Enjoy!

 

Episode 020: Mona Leena

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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This week we chat with Mona Leena an Executive Chef/Owner of pop-up restaurant Fallaha Dining. Tune in to learn more about: 

• Why it’s important to have faith in yourself when taking the leap to start your own business
• The complicated relationship between Instagram and food
• Why it’s important to not rely on others when starting a career in food service
• How having full control of the dining experience can be both artistically freeing but a lot of work

Follow up links:

Fallaha Dining

Feastly (Pop Ups)

@chefmonaleena

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Chef Mona Leena’s Traditional Palestinian Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cans garbanzos
1 clove garlic
1/2 seeded jalapeno
1.5 c tahini
Salt and lemon juice to taste
Water to thin out  

Cook garbanzos in water and liquid until they are so soft they are falling apart. Drain them of their liquid and let them cool slightly.  

In the meantime, start with garlic and jalapeno in a food processor, keep processing it until minced. Add garbanzo beans to the food processor and process dry. When the garbanzos starting feeling thick and pasty, add your tahini, salt and lemon juice. (Tip: you will need more salt and lemon than you think you need).

Once you have achieved the flavor you want, add water to thin it out to your desired texture.

Remember: if the beans are still warm the hummus will get thicker when it cools, so make it a little thinner than you like.  

To serve: swirl onto a round plate and coat generously with really good olive oil, sumac, paprika, or pine nuts. ENJOY!

 

Episode 019: Kristel

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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Tune in to Episode 019 with Kristel, a Marketing Director and Publicist in the adult entertainment industry. Listen to learn more about:

• Her humble beginnings in the industry (Please listen and chuckle along with us!)
• Her struggle with being in the public eye for her job
• The first time she was on set and the important culture of consent
• The film her company produced that won 2017 Trans Release of the year!

Follow up links:

Meld x Mend

Ikigai Marketing

Grooby Films (Explicit Content)

Real Fucking Girls (Explicit Content)

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Strawberry & Rosemary Had a Baby in Alaska (Cocktail)
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

2 parts gin
2 parts water (sparkling wine would also work well)
1 juiced lime
1 tsp agave
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
2 dashes of rosemary bitters

Combine ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and serve with a rosemary sprig or lime wedge garnish.

 

Episode 018: Becky

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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Tune in to Episode 18 with Becky, an events marketing manager. She tells us why she took a pay cut to further her career, the importance of self-care and how it can be possible to incorporate your extracurricular passions into your job. Listen to learn more about:

• How taking a step back to get some valuable experience paid off
• How to quantify event ROI
• Working to erase the stigmas around being open about mental health

Follow up links:

ADMEI

Fiercely Female (Facebook Group)

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Mango, Black Bean & Kale Salad
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 package of pre-cut kale
1 mango (diced)
1/2 can black beans
1 lime (juiced)
2 tbsp olive oil
cilantro
1/3 cup feta cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper (to taste)

Place kale in a large bowl and massage in 1/2 tbsp olive oil and a healthy dash of salt and the juice of half a lime. Massage for 20 seconds and let sit for a few minutes. Add the black beans, mango, chopped cilantro and feta cheese.

Dressing: combine the olive oil, remaining lime juice, garlic power, salt and pepper into a small jar. Shake well then pour over the salad. Stir well and serve with a side of tortilla chips!

Episode 017: Elizabeth

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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This week we had the pleasure of chatting with public speaking, leadership and communications trainer, Elizabeth Bachman! Tune in to hear about how her 30 years in opera impacts her work today, how to reinvent yourself when the phone stops ringing, and why she is so passionate about helping people communicate their ideas through speech.  Listen to hear more about:

• Realizing the importance of negotiating your salary
• Some common mistakes people make when trying to make a speech
• How speaking five languages helps her to be an effective communicator to many audiences

Follow up links:

ElizabethBachman.com

Watermark Leadership Conference

Star Maker Secrets, Tips and Tools

Toastmasters

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Empanadas Two Ways
Servings: 3 (plus seconds)

Ingredients:

2 packages of readymade pizza dough
1 egg
1 clamshell of white mushrooms
1 yellow onion
2 tomatoes on the vine
3/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 package of vegan ground "meat"
1 green bell pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp chili flakes
vegan cheese (or regular cheese, to taste)
salt & pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat two pans to medium heat and add olive oil (or water) to each pan. In each pan, add half of your diced onion. In pan #1 add the diced green bell pepper. In pan #2 add the diced mushroom (you want to slice and then chop up the mushrooms into smaller pieces). In pan #1, add your frozen vegan meat. To each pan add seasonings as described above or to taste. Mix frequently, and add a little water if the ingredients start getting dry or sticking to the pan.

Which the fillings are cooking, roll out your dough and cut into 6" rounds and 4". Each bag of pizza dough made about 13 for me (6 large and 7 small). 

Once your filling is done cooking, let it sit until it cools. Then spoon your filling into each piece of dough. Be sure to have a glass of water handy to wet the edges for easier sealing. You can either fork seal the empanadas or press and twist the edges (which makes a pretty pattern).

Once complete, place parchment paper on a baking tray, arrange your empanadas and add the egg wash (whisk your egg and brush onto the top of each empanada). Then bake for 25 minutes. Cool and serve! I served these with a sauce made out of vegan sour cream, Tapatio and lime juice. Enjoy!

 

Episode 016: Traci

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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Tune in to Episode 16 with Traci, a marriage & family therapist whose work focuses on LGBTQ, Kink, Non-Monogamous, Sex Worker and Adult Industry communities in Orange County, California. Listen as we discuss:

• The impact and purpose of feminist therapy
• How to communicate with your partner about your kink
• The importance of sex positivity
• Her love of vegan food!

Follow up links:

An Everday Feminism Webinar: Dating and Sex After Trauma

Compassionate Revolt

Meld x Mend

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Jenna's Magical Corn & Farro Salad
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn
1 cup of farro
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 chopped basil
1 shallot
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon or brown mustard
salt & pepper

Cook the farro using your favorite method. Shuck the 2 ears of corn and slice off the corn. In a shallow pan, heat to medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the diced shallot and cook until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the corn and cook for about 5 minutes (until cooked through but not mushy). Then let cool.

In a small container combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, brown mustard and salt & pepper to taste. Shake or mix well.

Add the farro to a bowl to cool. Toss in the cooled, cooked shallot and corn. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, chopped basil and combine. Pour the dressing over and mix.

For non-vegans, you can add feta to this for an extra creamy & salty kick!

 

Episode 015: Shannon

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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This week we chat with Shannon, a behavioral health clinician, who recently received her Masters in Social Work and is very passionate about advocating for those in need. Listen as we discuss the following:

• How she decided a Masters in Social Work was the right career move
• Her thoughts on the misconceptions about mental illness
• The importance of social workers advocating for their clients, especially when they can’t advocate for themselves
• The difficulties of working within the “system” and how that can impact a client’s progress.
• What she learned from her thesis research regarding the correlation between support and eating pathologies in high school students

Follow up links:

Interim, Inc.

National Eating Disorders Association (1-800-931-2237)

National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255)

Shine Theory was referenced during this podcast and is a term coined by two brilliant babes, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. To learn more about their work, please see resources below:

• http://shine-theory.tumblr.com/post/62529326380/shine-the

• https://www.annfriedman.com/shine-theory/

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Chick fil A Inspired Superfood Salad
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

2 bunches of kale (I used curly and lacinto) 
1 large avocado
2 small containers of blueberries
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup pear vinaigrette (I used this one)

Remove the kale leaves from the stems. Bunch together and slice thinly (about 1/4" pieces). Add to a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt and olive oil. Massage through for about a minute.

Next, dice and spoon your avocado into the bowl as well as the blueberries, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. Pour over the dressing and mix through. (Add more dressing if necessary.)

Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes, and then serve and enjoy! This salad lasts in the fridge for about 24 hours (due to how sturdy the kale is). I haven't tested it longer because it's never lasted that long when I'm around! ;) Enjoy!

 

Episode 014: Eric

Breaking Bread with Brilliant Babes

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This week we chat with Eric Garcia, a co-founder of his own dance company, drag performer, and all around lover of the arts. Listen as we discuss:

• How he didn’t start dancing until college and the hit TV show that inspired him
• Bringing people together and fostering community through performance art
• The pros and cons of committing to being an artist in the Bay Area
• Why his dance company hosts a short film festival every year
• How he got started in drag and what you can learn about yourself when exploring other personas

Follow up links:

www.detourdance.com

http://freshmeatproductions.org/

http://dancersgroup.org/

Music Credits:
Theme song - Jazz from the Kitchen by Nikitaka

RECIPE: Red Thai Curry with Chicken
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

1 cup of tri-colored quinoa (or grain of your choice)
1 can of coconut milk
2 tbsp thai red curry paste
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
1 tsp coconut oil
2 chicken thighs
1 yellow onion
1/2 carton of mushrooms
1 bell pepper
1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro

Cook the quinoa using your favorite method (I used a rice cooker). Roast the chicken thighs at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Be sure to season them with salt and pepper.

In a medium-sized pot, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until slightly translucent (about 4 mins). Add the curry paste and stir. Let cook for about 30 seconds then add the rest of the chopped veggies. Stir to coat in the paste, then add coconut milk. Cover and let cook on medium for about 15 minutes. 

Remove chicken from oven when cooked. Remove bones and skin and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add to the curry. Add coconut palm sugar and squeeze lime to taste.

Add the quinoa to your plate, and add the curry. Garnish with cilantro and lime.