Not A Single Fork

"We're having a heat waveA tropical heat waveThe temperature is risingIt isn't surprisingShe certainly can Can-Can"...So sang Marilyn Monroe and then my personal favorite, Liza Minnelli in a variety show special with Mikael Baryshnikov. Of course, that dates me! Surprise! But really it is SO DAMN HOT!Natalia is sweating and swearing (more than usual for her salty self). I'm just staying indoors in the AC.But that begs the question...what do you cook much less eat when it's 100+ degrees outside without the heat index?That's the topic of this week's episode. We give you indoor and outdoor alternatives for food and cooking because, well, that's what we're all about. Everything from grilling outside and never turning on the oven that heats your entire house to a quick scallop saute on your stovetop.There are no rules for salad so you don't get too sick of it and yes, we both love cottage cheese!So give us a listen wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget our stupidly, unedited version (that's actually a lot more fun) over on YouTube @thegirlcancook.Please subscribe, rate and review!Thanks for listening!!

Canning. It was the darling of the pandemic. Canning was so popular, I couldn't find canning lids. Not sure if the mystique continues but I think it does so we spent this episode talking about how you can start canning.Too many vegetables in your garden? You went crazy buying tomatoes the last time you were at the Farmers Market (they were all so beautiful, right)? You made a boatload of salsa, marinara, jam or (fill in the blank) whatever and you don't want to lose any of it. And there's only so much you can eat in the next week or so.Can it!Natalia has so many questions and I think she asked every single one of them in this episode. Questions that people who don't can would have so I think this is pretty darn informative.If you want to actually SEE the show and tell portion of the show, head on over to our YouTube channel @thegirlcancook and you can see all my canning toys, I mean tools.We don't get into pressure cooker canning. I don't do a lot of that but everything else...you got it.If you enjoy this episode please subscribe, rate and review.Thanks for listening.

Do you love the pasta you get in a restaurant but can't seem to make it the same at home? The difference...pasta water!In today's episode, we break down (with the help of @Serious Eats again) the many sides of serving pasta with and without pasta water. A short but mighty episode with lots of information packed in.If you're always throwing out the pasta water, you will want to listen to this.Please listen subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen to podcasts.You can also watch the unedited, video version on YouTube @thegirlcancook.Thanks!!

Chaos cooking. The name really says it all or does it?We're breaking it down in today's episode and you know we have our opinions. We think it's...well, you'll have to listen to the episode for that. But suffice it to say, we don't hate it, at all.Natalia likens it to "drunk ass" cooking. You know, the stuff that tastes or sounds really great when you're licking the woodwork. I guess that would explain licking the woodwork. After we spend some time deciding exactly what chaos means we end up talking about vegetables and how overcooking them was such a thing. We also think that's why a lot of people say they don't like vegetables. Who would? When overcooked, they're soft, ugly and tasteless. I don't blame you, folks.We share an email from a Super Fan and ask for more!Emails. Not necessarily super fans. That would be great, too but we don't want to overstep.Thanks for listening to today's episode and we would love it if you would subscribe, rate and review.See you next week.

Food fusion, a passe topic for most chefs these days. Like a lot of trends, it has come and gone so of course, we thought it was high time to talk about it.It was also high time to dig into the archives from our past life and look at where we've been. In today's episode, we revive underground supper clubs. No one talks about those either or maybe they just call them "pop ups" now? We had the privilege of cooking with Test Kitchen several times. The food child of Jenny Vergara, @jjvergara, a food journalist and foodie in her own right (foodie is a passe term, too?) gave us and many other chefs the opportunity to flex our creative cooking muscles in Test Kitchen. We talk about in detail in the podcast so no details here...see what I did, you have to listen then.So I found the menu from what I believe was our second seating of Test Kitchen. And it is food fusion at its best. Latin-Asian fusion. We review the entire menu and talk about the thought process.That exercise brings the passion that I frankly, had forgotten. I admit to being dumbed down because of being creative. I recently heard a great analogy that brings this home...The market tells you to be vanilla because it thinks it wants vanilla. Then you give them vanilla and they don't like it or want it.That is often the plight of chefs. We really want to be creative for you but then you want a burger and fries. This is a bittersweet memory of what could have been.Here's today's episode. I hope you like it, subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen to podcasts.

It's that grilling time of year so yes, we're grilling and smoking and offering up a series of grilling videos.Yep...all that and a bag of Doritos!We have an Online Recipe Collection (if you haven't heard) where we share for the tiny subscription price of $15 a month. recipe videos galore. Now these are not you're same ol' garden variety recipe videos. They include US! You get our scintillating personalities along with shenanigans while we bring you cooking tips, tricks, hacks and just some great basic cooking advice. There are almost 100 videos available now at thegirlcancook.com (https://www.thegirlcancook.com). Check it out.For your listening (and viewing on YouTube) pleasure today, we not only tell you all about the ORC (Online Recipe Collection, I love shortcuts) but we read a listener/viewer email. She made the Panzanella Salad and the Salisbury Steak which we still think is kind of weird.Natalia talks about gardening and how it's in the blood of the Brits.And I share the secret and not so secret way of making pomegranate molasses without buying it on Amazon.All this and more coming atcha in today's episode.Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch the complete and completely unedited version on YouTube/@thegirlcancook.Thanks for following us and please subscribe, rate and review!

During the pandemic, Natalia and I did several Facebook Live Cook Alongs. They were fun for us and I think they were fun for you. But let's be real...it was totally amateur hour. Now at some level, that's fun. Natalia was taping me while drinking and drinking and trying to answer questions. Then there would be the occasional change in camera position and I would end up on the ceiling for most of the cook along. Again, the pandemic brought on weird times and there was a lot that you guys could tolerate for the comedy if for no other reason. But now, let's get back to reality. We want to give you a professional product (or as close as is possible for the two of us) so we've got our fearless leader and director, Andy, in charge of the production and you get to see both of us. So LIVE Cook Alongs are back!This is all to lead up to our next and really inaugural LIVE virtual cook along coming up next Thursday, June 22 from 6 to 8pm. Natalia and I had quite a discussion about whether it was in two weeks or one week (we're usually in the Twilight Zone so there you go). But it is next week. We'll be showing you how to make Italian Dumplings also known as gnocchi and gnudi along with a delicious green onion (scallion) sauce.Check it out on our website, thegirlcancook.com. The class is $50 per household which means you can have a gnocchi making party! In the meantime, listen to today's episode or watch the unedited version on YouTube and see all the stupid s**t we do.Thanks for listening or watching and please subscribe, rate and review. We appreciate it!

Continuing on our current path of finding all kinds of weird or, in this case, strange sounding foods in the US, off we go!There are a lot of foods that sound strange or off-putting and we found a lot of them but then as usual, there were a lot that seem "normal". Maybe it's because our world is food-centric but not sure about all of these.The foods in this list were tied to particular states and I can say that in Oklahoma, rattlesnake does not reign supreme so for those of you in other states, we are taking those "foods you're known for" with a grain of salt.Natalia was particularly interested in the very first food on the list, geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck and no, I don't know why, I just know that's how it's pronounced). She didn't want to call it that and continued to be in awe of its size and shape pretty much throughout the episode.We touched on things like S-O-S, known as shit on a shingle in the military but my mom called it chipped beef on toast. It actually was one of my favorite dishes as a child. A stick to your ribs with protein kind of meal. There was also chocolate covered grasshoppers, scrapple, cactus fries, mucktuck and the list goes on. I won't spoil it for you so here's where I say...You can listen to the whole episode anywhere you like to get your podcasts.Thanks for listening and we would love it if you would subscribe, rate and review us.Enjoy Episode 255!

We uncover more of Natalia's Serbian roots today. Who knew that ass cheese would be so near and dear but it's all revealed at the end of this episode. It does kind of make sense though, right?So we examine all kinds of ridiculous foods either because of what they look like, sound like, taste like, you name it. Almost seemed that a teenage boy had made up the list but we powered through it and came up with some interesting finds. Things like natto, penis fish and plop just to get you started. But there were also foods like spaghetti, hot dogs and broccoli that we just couldn't get our heads around.Also, we passed on YouTube video today. Natalia (as you may be able to tell) was not feeling great so she vetoed the visuals.We do travel the world to bring you the funniest food finds so hope you enjoy episode 254. Listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Thanks for subscribing, rating and reviewing us!

True to the old adage of beating a dead horse...here you go. Actually, tools in your kitchen are super important. They can not only make your experience easier and efficient but you may even find it fun. And the more you cook at home, well...your food is fresher, healthier, way less processed and let's be honest, a whole lot cheaper.So this episode takes on kitchen tool upgrades as suggested by @Serious Eats. Not going into specifics here because we want you to listen (or watch) this one but as a teaser, instant read thermometers and serrated knives. Does that whet your appetite? Get it? Whet your appetite, kitchen humor, ok, forget it.To get the full effect, check out our YouTube channel, @thegirlcancook or if you're driving or something, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you like to listen.We were also guests on a great podcast Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations this week. Listen in the same places!We appreciate it and if you could subscribe, rate and review...even better!And thanks!!