Today’s episode is all about how one food writer shaped her career by writing a letter to her then hero, Julia Child. And guess what? Julia Child wrote her back. And a friendship followed.
I’m talking about the award winning writer Cookbook Author Nina Simonds. We’ll also hear from her editor, Judith Jones. 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Letter Writing with Nina Simonds

The Food Podcast is a show where personal stories are shared through the lens of food. Join host Lindsay Cameron Wilson, a best-selling cookbook author and journalist, as she takes you on an adventure through sound, story, music and memory. Food is the launching point, the portal. Human stories, however, are at the heart of each episode. It's a food and story podcast, if you will, released monthly, after a long simmer, when the flavour it just right. 

lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Welcome to the final episode of Season four. If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that ‘season’ is a loose word. Season one lasted about 5 years… Since then we’ve tidied things up around here with eight episodes per season. And here we are, at number eight.   There’s never been a theme to the seasons, but looking back over season four, I see a thru-line connecting the episodes. The theme is Nova Scotia - the place where I produce these episodes, the place where I live. Above is an image of the Halifax Central Library where I record The Food Podcast. It’s a bright, white space with stairs, bridges and atriums connecting the five stories. On the second floor is a sound studio that’s open to the public. It has become my room of one’s own, my quiet space, uninterrupted and sound proofed from the outside world, just two blocks from my house. In episode one of the season - Balancing in the Middle-  I promised to look back at where we began, where we’ve ended, and what we’ve learned in between. So here I am at the library, in a red room, feet on the floor, headphones on, balancing in the middle, looking back over the season.  Thanks for exploring life through the lens of food with me. It means so much. I’ll back back with Season 5. Take care in the meantime, x Lindsay PS - here’s a taste of the season -  Credits: Hosted by Lindsay Cameron Wilson Edited by Abigail Cerquitella Theme song is One More Night by Jenn Grant  Follow: @thefoodpodcast and @lindsaycameronwilson 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Everything We Need Is Here

Cake, Pudding and the Space In Between with Colleen Thompson -  is officially live! Yes we are back to regular programming after a little pause in the season. I haven’t been toes up and eating cake - I mean pudding - this whole time. I’ve been sorting out the semantics of dessert. It can be confusing, so the episode begins with a short primer on the sweet and savoury world of cakes and puddings, and how their names vary from place to place. The cake above, a Malva Pudding, is where a pudding and a cake intersect. It is also where the magic of science comes into play. The sponginess of this pudding happens when baking soda and vinegar meet-  sweet bubbles and growth, that’s what this pudding/cake is all about.  And the space in between? That’s the story that lives in this cake - its journey from South Africa to a little restaurant in Canada, and the story of writer and photographer Colleen Thompson who wrote a cookbook capturing the flavours of these places. And woven through the in between is music, because as Colleen writes, “music, like food, has an incredible ability to shape us. Songs describe the longings, the passions, the small details we might otherwise miss.” And like recipes, when we record these songs, we remember who we were when we loved them. I hope you enjoy this story of life, through the lens of a sweet, spongy, storied pudding.  x Lindsay Links: * Dark Angel - featured in this episode with permission from Jill Barber, Rose Cousins and Jenn Grant * Colleen Thomspon - writer, photographer and raconteur  Instagram @monkeyweddings * Monkey Weddings & Summer Sapphires - South Africa to Nova Scotia: Stories, Recipes and Memories (General Public Inc, 2020)  * 32 Songs to Live and Cook By - Colleen Thompson * Field Guide, Halifax - Malva pudding is still on the menu! * Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery Book  Malva Pudding - from Monkey Weddings & Summer Sapphires, reprinted with permission. Yield: 4-6 servings INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon smooth apricot jam 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt 1 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 cup milk Syrup ½ cup sugar ½ cup heavy cream  3 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup hot water (this is where some might add a splash of booze - Cognac if you have it!) * Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a square 9” baking dish. * In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter, apricot jam and vinegar together. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  * In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  * In a separate bowl, mix the egg and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow - about 4 minutes. Add the butter, apricot jam and vinegar mixture to the eggs and sugar together with the milk and mix.  * Add the flour mixture bit by bit and mix well.  * Pour mixture into the baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes until the pudding is golden and baked through (a skewer inserted should come out clean).  * In a small saucepan, over medium heat combine all of the syrup ingredients and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the syrup over the cooked pudding and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve with heavy cream, custard or vanilla ice cream.  Credits Hosted by Lindsay Cameron Wilson Edited by Abigail Cerquitella Theme song is One More Night by Jenn Grant  Follow: @thefoodpodcast and @lindsaycameronwilson 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Puddings, Cakes and the Space In between

 Here I am, on a sunny day back in October, savouring a Shore Lunch sushi bowl in the sun. I am sitting on a red adirondack on the wharf in Lunenburg, NS. A few tourists are milling around. A ship is tied up in front of me. Water is lapping against its sides. I take this picture then put my phone away. This food takes all my focus. Yellofin tuna. peppery greens. Chickpeas. Seaweed salad. Nori Flakes. Sesame Chickpeas. Miso Whip. Later I will see Amy Funk’s art exhibition at the Lunenburg School of the Arts. Amy is also the chef behind the Shore Lunch food truck. She made this bowl.  This episode is the story of how Amy Funk, and artist and chef who has lived far and wide, has landed here, on the south shore of Nova Scotia. Cooking, painting, and feeding me in the sun.  We discuss life. Hardships. Ingredients. Wanting the big time, and finding it in Nova Scotia. Here in this bowl. Thanks for listening,  x Lindsay Links: * Shore Lunch Food Truck * Tipping is a Legacy of Slavery by Michelle Alexander * Lincoln Street Food * Lunenburg School for the Arts   Credits Hosted by Lindsay Cameron Wilson Edited by Abigail Cerquitella Theme song is One More Night by Jenn Grant  Follow: @thefoodpodcast and @lindsaycameronwilson 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Eat My Joy

 This episode began with a prompt in my writing class - to explore a threshold moment. It could be an ending, a beginning, leaving something behind or entering into something new. It could be a boundary, a tipping point, the edge of an experience. I began by making lists, but like all good prompts, I found myself transported to a place I hadn’t expected - my grandmother’s apartment overlooking the Bedford Basin. And as I walked through the memory, images, flavours, aromas and textures emerged. And a recipe too.  So here is it, an episode through the lens of my grandmother Vivian. I hope it transports you into your own threshold memories. Feel free to share a taste of them with me in the comments below. I’d love that. Thanks for listening,  x Lindsay  Credits Hosted by Lindsay Cameron Wilson Edited by Abigail Cerquitella Theme song is One More Night by Jenn Grant  Follow: @thefoodpodcast and @lindsaycameronwilson 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Crossing the Threshold

A Measure of My Dreams is a lyric from A Rainy Night in Soho by the Irish band The Pogues. The lyric speaks to love and loss, but it also touches on the transient nature of life, and the fleeting beauty of moments, and the profound impact brief encounters can have.  Liz Chute has made a life from profound encounters. For 25 years Liz has owned and run The Pebble Bed and Breakfast in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Liz is from Listowel, Ireland, and her family, her home, her business and her kitchen is full of Irish love and passion.  This episode is Liz’s story, told through the lens of music, food, family, dancing, running, pressed sheets and a passion for authentic hospitality. It’s a special one. I hope you enjoy it! X Lindsay Links: * The Pebble B&B;  * That review on Tripadvisor  * The Food Podcast - A Field Guide to Christmas * The Pogues - A Rainy Night in Soho * Simon Pearce Glassware * Frette Linens * Molton Brown  * qualifying for the Boston Marathon  Credits Hosted by Lindsay Cameron Wilson Edited by Abigail Cerquitella Theme song is One More Night by Jenn Grant  Follow: @thefoodpodcast and @lindsaycameronwilson 

Get full access to Food Stories at lindsaycameronwilson.substack.com/subscribe

Letter Writing with Nina Simonds

Download our free app to listen on your phone