Made Fresh

Maggie and Leigh share all the ways they try and manage the holiday season, with its added work and emotional labor. Part of their solution is to KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and to embrace the parts they enjoy. We hear from a few friends on how they take care of themselves and others in this demanding time of year, and we share a great potato dish that might be a good addition to your holiday menu. We love our listeners so much - happy holidays everybody.

We had such an interesting conversation with Elizabeth Metraux, the CEO of Women Writers in Medicine, that we wanted to share the whole thing! She tells us all about her work bringing medical clinicians together for meals after tragedies and all the lessons from that experience like how clinicians take home all of their patients issues, not just their medical issues; why clinicians burnout and how medical institutions are trying to lower turnover rates, and more.

It’s party time! This episode is about all things parties - from why we host them, who’s on the guest list, and how we’ve learned to lower our standards over the years, lol. We also talk about what makes Leigh feel awkward at gatherings, how we manage our feelings at family events, and how we bring meaning to our parties. And we have a super-interesting interview with Elizabeth Metraux, the CEO of Women Writers in Medicine, who tells us all about her work bringing medical clinicians together for meals after tragedies. Plus, faux-tortoiseshell earrings and biodegradable flip-flops.

We get a little uncomfortable going in-depth into how we’ve both experienced white privilege in our lives. We talk about how our backgrounds have influenced the way we think about and perceive race, how we’re learning to be more outspokenly anti-rascist, and who we are learning from. We wonder what could change if more people started thinking critically about their own family’s relationship to immigration. Plus Christmas potatoes, beans and rice, and a few good reads.

It’s true, we love cookbooks - from the spiral-bound community cookbooks we encountered as kids to the ones that line our shelves today. We talk about what cookbooks have inspired us, how Maggie manages her collection of 400+ books, and whether we actually cook from them or not. There's talk of new books we’re looking forward to reading, which ones we like to give as gifts, and just a whole lot of geeking out. Plus an interview with Margaret (aka Mei) Li, of the sibling-owned Mei Mei Street Kitchen restaurant and the new cookbook, Double Awesome Chinese Food.

As we gear up for a major year in politics, we talk about it all - from the Democratic candidates running against that guy in the White House (if he's still there! #impeachment), to the issues we’re most fired up about; how politics affects our thinking about where we live, and how we participate in the political process.

When does adulthood actually happen, like, for real? Leigh and Maggie talk about getting older, how we manage our energy, and the tricks our hair is playing on us as the years go by. We discuss feeling our age in the workplace, what we’re no longer afraid of, and how we see our past selves. Plus, a case for anger, Elizabeth Warren, and chunky sneaks.

Sometimes it starts with an intention, sometimes with a vision board. Maggie and Leigh share their perspective and experience on starting new ventures, from service-based businesses to pop-up shops and beyond. What qualities should an entrepreneur possess, what types of support does a person need, what’s the best way to raise money? Plus waffles, skillet pizza, and the joy of unsubscribing.

We both have a penchant for puttering in the kitchen all fall, and we discuss it today - from our favorite fall ingredients, the dishes we return to again and again this time of year, and some cookbooks we’re looking forward to delving into now that the cooking bug is back. Also, Maggie has a new nickname, and Leigh is dabbling in fermentation.

Friends are the bomb, we all know that. We talk about how much we love our friends, and why; how it feels when friendships fade; mom friends, food friends, couple friends, chosen family and everything in between. Plus giving gifts, party food, and thinking about how friendships take shape.