Seasoned

Next time you swat at a fly, think of this: certain flies, and other insects, make the food you love possible: chocolate, apples, almonds, and berries. Insects play a role in the production of ice cream! This hour on Seasoned, we talk with journalist and author Oliver Milman about his book, The Insect Crisis. It’s a fascinating look at our interconnected fates and how the decline in the insect population should be a wake-up call to all of us who hold chocolate—and life itself—dear. Plus, what happened when one reporter tried to eat 100% local for a week? It didn’t go so well. We talk with WBUR’s Andrea Shea about her hardcore locavore experiment. Finally, we’re highlighting the voices and experiences of five local BIPOC farmers. It’s part of a summer series on Connecticut Public.

Guests:

• Oliver Milman: Science writer and the environmental correspondent for The Guardian. He’s the author of The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World.
• Andrea Shea: Award-winning public radio journalist. She is currently a Senior Arts Reporter at WBUR in Boston. Andrea is author of the essay, “I tried to eat like a hardcore locavore in New England for a week. Here’s what I learned.”

Farmers profiled in the story, “BIPOC farmers in Conn. may be small in number, but they have plenty of stories to tell:”

• Sarah Rose Kareem and Azeem Zakir Kareem: Co-founders of the Samad Gardens Initiative in Windsor Locks, Conn.
• Xóchitl Garcia: Urban farmer at the Ferry Street Community Garden in New Haven, Conn.
• Liz Guerra and Héctor Gerardo: co-owners of Seamarron Farmstead in Danbury, Conn.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash and Katrice Claudio. Our interns are Anya Grondalski and Mira Raju.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bridget Lancaster, co-host of America’s Test Kitchen on PBS joins us live to answer your cooking questions and share lots of tips from the last 22 seasons of the show. Bridget is a master at talking about what makes a recipe work. Together, we’ll tackle your grilling questions and we’ll help you troubleshoot your baking. We'll find out what Bridget has in her gadget drawer and her pantry. Plus, get tips for cooking burgers, artichokes, and bok choy. You're going to be a better home cook after this hour of Seasoned.

Guest:

• Bridget Lancaster: Executive Editorial Director for America’s Test Kitchen and the co-host of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country on PBS.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash and Katrice Claudio.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We start this hour of Seasoned talking with journalist and author, John Holl, about the evolution of craft beer and the joys of pairing beer with food. His book is The Craft Brewery Cookbook. And, change is in the air! We also speak with Jamal Robinson and Judi Young. Jamal is the co-founder of the Change In the Air Festival, happening Saturday, June 18 at Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ in New Haven. It’s a celebration of craft beer and Black culture. The fest is, in part, a fund raiser for The CT Brewers Guild African American Brewing Scholarship. Judi Young is a past recipient of that scholarship and a graduate of Sacred Heart University’s Brewing Science Certificate program. Judi talks with us about what participating in the program meant to her. Finally, we listen back to our conversation with Alisa Bowens-Mercado, founder of Rhythm Brewing Co. and the first Black woman brewer in Connecticut.

Guests:

• John Holl: Journalist covering the beer industry. He hosts the “Drink Beer, Think Beer” podcast and he’s the editor of All About Beer magazine. John is a contributing editor at Wine Enthusiast magazine and the author of The Craft Brewery Cookbook: Recipes to Pair with Your Favorite Beers.
• Jamal Robinson: Director of Sales and Marketing at New England Brewing Company in Woodbridge, Conn. and he’s the Founder of the Change In the Air Festival–which is a celebration of beer and Black culture.
• Judi Young: Past recipient of the CT Brewers Guild African American Brewing Scholarship and graduate of Sacred Heart University's Brewing Science Program.
• Alisa Bowens-Mercado: founder of Rhythm Brewing Co, New Haven, Conn.

Featured Recipes:
Grilled Pumpkin Flatbread with Homemade Ricotta and Hot Honey
Mango and Beet Salad
Air-Fried Chicken Wings with Honey Barbecue Sauce

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash and Katrice Claudio.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ali Slagle is a home cook’s home cook. Her recipes call for simple ingredients, no special kitchen equipment, one or two pots, and can be made in under an hour. We talk with Ali about the philosophy behind her first cookbook, I Dream of Dinner So You Don’t Have To: Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes. If you’re a busy cook, or you just value efficiency and creativity in the kitchen, you’ll appreciate this hour.

GUEST:

• Ali Slagle: Recipe developer, food writer, and author of the book, I Dream of Dinner So You Don’t Have To: Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes.

FEATURED RECIPES:
Lemon Pepper Chicken & Potatoes
Skillet Broccoli Spaghetti
Sizzled Pork & Pineapple

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk with recipe developer and cookbook author Jake Cohen about how practicing the ritual of Shabbat affirms his connection to both the gay and Jewish communities he’s passionate about celebrating. Jake is famous for his challah braiding videos; he shares his challah recipe with us, as well as expert tips for making the bread. He also shares recipes for the always-comforting Roast Chicken Matzo Ball Soup and a very modern Everything Bagel Galette.

Food-lovers the world over know the name Zabar’s. We talk with David and Willie Zabar about Zabar family history and get a tour of the iconic New York City market.

We also spoke with the local bagel maker whose pandemic hobby got the attention of the New York Times and die-hard bagel lovers in New York City. Plus, Chef Plum talks with Eunice Laverty, a beloved bagel maker in Newtown who knows all her customers by name.

GUESTS:

• Jake Cohen: Author of Jew-ish: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mench
• David Zabar: Grandson of Louis and Lilly Zabar, the original founders of Zabar’s in New York City. Currently Zabar's executive director.
• Willie Zabar: Great-grandson of the original founders of Zabar’s. Currently Zabar’s social media manager.
• Adam Goldberg: Owner of PopUp Bagels, based in Redding, Conn.
• Eunice Laverty: Owner of Bagel Delight in Newtown, Conn.

FEATURED RECIPES:
Jake’s Perfect Challah
Roasted Chicken Matzo Ball Soup
Everything Bagel Galette

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio, with help from Michayla Savitt.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re exploring the food of Puerto Rico with chef María Mercedes Grubb joining from San Juan and writer and professor of food studies, Von Diaz. Von’s cookbook, Coconuts & Collards, is a beautiful expression of the island. Maria and Von help us understand the context behind a cuisine that endures despite a legacy of colonialism and a very complex food system. Also this hour, listeners share their connections to the food of the island.

GUESTS:

• Chef María Mercedes Grubb: Executive chef at Taberna Medalla and Bar Catedral at the Decanter Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Von Diaz: Writer, documentarian, and professor of Food Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Von is the author of Coconuts & Collards: Recipes from Puerto Rico to the Deep South.

FEATURED RECIPES:
Costillas de Cerde con Salsa BBQ de Guayaba (Pork Ribs with Guava BBQ Sauce)
Mami’s Bizcocho de Ron (Mami’s Rum Cake)
Rosé Sangria

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: [email protected].

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk with Liz Wluka, Director of Sports Nutrition at UConn, about how athletes fuel their performance—both on the field and in the classroom—with food. She also dispels several nutrition myths bound to help us all make better informed food choices. Plus, former NFL safety-turned-personal trainer Stevie Brown describes his diet as a professional athlete vs. how he eats today. His advice for non-athletes is liberating and encouraging (i.e. “Do the mirror test. . .don’t look at the scale.”) And, Bianca Belair peels back the curtain and shares what it’s like to be an athlete and a WWE superstar.

Guests:

• Liz Wluka: Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Connecticut (@FuelingHuskies)
• Stevie Brown: Former NFL Player, Certified Personal Trainer
• Bianca Belair: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) SmackDown Champion

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at [email protected].

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski. 

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you watch PBS cooking shows, you likely know–and love–Pati Jinich. This hour on Seasoned, we talk with Pati about her latest cookbook and what she considers the double blessing and responsibility of being Mexican-American. Pati is the host of Pati’s Mexican Table on PBS and the PBS primetime docuseries La Frontera. She’s also the resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., and a three-time James Beard Award-winner. Pati deepens our appreciation of the food of Mexico and describes what she's learned about her culinary heritage through her television work and the years spent crafting her cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets. Plus, we’ll listen back to our conversation with local chef Carlos Baez. He’s known for his inspired takes on street food at his restaurants in Fairfield county.

GUESTS:

• Pati Jinich: Three-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and PBS host. Her latest book is Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets.
• Carlos Baez: Executive chef and co-owner of The Spread in South Norwalk, El Segundo in South Norwalk and New Haven, and Magic 5 Pizza Co., in Norwalk, Conn.

Featured Recipes:
Mexican-Style Pasta with Tomato and Three-Chili Sauce (Fideo Seco a Los Tres Chiles) 
Smoky Guacamole (Guacamole Ahumado)
Three-Cheese Chicken Enchiladas (Enchiladas De Pollo Con Tres Quesos)

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio.

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, the EPA estimated that more food made its way to landfills and incinerators than any other type of trash. This hour, we’re talking with people who help us understand food waste and its impacts. How much food are we wasting and how might we turn food waste into opportunities to reduce food insecurity and generate energy? We talk with Katy Hart, an expert from ReFED, a national non-profit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the U.S. food system. We also talk with CT Public’s Patrick Skahill about his reporting on where our trash goes and how Connecticut and neighboring states are viewing food waste as a resource to reclaim. Plus, Matt Joswiack is a New York chef who turns restaurant food waste into meals that nourish his community.

For more information about food waste in Connecticut and New England, read or listen to Patrick’s story “Out of the trash, saving cash: How food waste could transform New England’s garbage,” and watch the video featuring Domingo Medina’s subscription composting company, Peels & Wheels in New Haven.

GUESTS:

• Katy Hart: Operations Director of ReFED.
• Patrick Skahill: Senior reporter at Connecticut Public.
• Matt Jozwiack: Founder and CEO of Rethink Food, based in New York.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio. Our interns are Sara Gasparotto and Michayla Savitt.

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ll need a glass of water and lots of extra napkins for our hour dedicated to chicken wings—classic Buffalo and beyond. From mild to wild, we talk sauce flavors and more with chicken wing expert and festival judge, Matthew Kourie. Plus, we feature two local restaurants known for their wings. Rino Ouellet, manager at J. Timothy’s in Plainville joins to talk about the tavern's famous wings, and Rita Barham of B&B Wings and Things in Middletown shares the secret to great vegan chicken wings.

GUESTS:

• Matthew Kourie: Founder of the New York Best Wings Festival and LI Wing Hunt. He’s judged the National Buffalo Wing Festival, as well as many other chicken wing contests.
• Rino Ouellet: Manager and Beverage Director at J. Timothy’s Tavern in Plainville, Conn.
• Rita Barham: Co-owner of B&B Wings and Things in Middletown, Conn.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Emily Charash, and Katrice Claudio. Gene Amatruda was our tech producer. Our interns are Sara Gasparotto and Michayla Savitt.

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.