Welcome to The Storied Recipe, a podcast about food, culture and love. I'm thrilled to share this special crowdsourced episode, 36 Testimonies to Cultivate the Spirit of Thanksgiving Spirit, with you today!

Thanksgiving is genuinely my favorite holiday. I love preparing for a home full of hungry guests! But in years past, I've often felt a bit of a disconnect when preparing for Thanksgiving celebrations. When expending so much effort cooking, cleaning, and prepping at this time of year, it's easy forget that the true meaning of Thanksgiving is.. well, to be thankful!

So this year, before jumping into the holiday season, I wanted to set aside November as a season of thanksgiving.

In pursuit of this goal, I tried a new thing. I asked The Storied Recipe community one simple question: What are you thankful for?

I learned it can be hard to express a grateful heart in our cynical culture - but ultimately, the response was beautiful and overwhelming. So many took the time to express gratitude for both the simple things and some of the BIG good things that happened in the past year.

The best part is that with each expression of gratitude shared by my community, the more grateful I become.

I'm so excited to share this episode with you today. I genuinely hope that your experience is the same and you finish listening with peace, joy, and thankfulness overflowing in your hearts - so Thanksgiving can be a season beyond Thanksgiving dinner.

Hi there listeners. Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to the gratitude episode where we are celebrating Thanksgiving first and foremost by being thankful. So this episode is a little unusual for the storied recipe, but it is not totally without precedent. This is a crowdsourced episode, and the idea is simply to replicate that tradition, that great time, that many of us observe on Thanksgiving Day, where we gather with friends and family around the table to name our blessings. And to celebrate with each other, the joys come. The things that people have overcome each year and we just take a moment to cultivate gratitude for a lot of the little things. But in this episode you don't have to wait to eat. It is OK if you cheat a little and you grab just something tasty to eat or some hot something hot to drink right now. So you can just sit back and savor. Savor these little these little tidbits from our listeners. Or of course, you might be busy packing and. Cooking and that is OK too, so there's nothing fancy about this episode. All I did is I just took each person contribution exactly as they left it. And I strung them together in a little row with just some music underneath, and so it's not a fancy episode, but I think that's the thing about gratitude. The more we focus on it, the more we do find satisfaction in the simplest of things. So thank you. Thank you everyone who contributed. Thank you. To you who are listening, you have all taught me a lot this Thanksgiving season. Here we go. And yes, I did not let myself off the hook. My 92nd contribution is right in the middle there. Enjoy my friends.

Hi Becky. I cannot believe that I saw your newsletter right now and the timing could not be perfect because I am just strolling around walking my son in the stroller and I entered the park that I usually come to and just two days back. It was full of fall colors and today the leaves have all gone. The trees are bare and I just said to myself that I'm so thankful. I'm so grateful that I I actually got to see all the colors throughout the two weeks because I almost went out every day every other day with my son and we had a beautiful fall and I had missed this long fall season for a while because we were away in the North Canada where the fall can be really short season. And its my favorite season so I'm just so thankful for this beautiful bounty of beautiful colors that I got to see, uh, this year. And in general, I'm very thankful that wherever we have lived, even when we were in Whitehorse, we were blessed with so much beauty of nature. And while the world was tucked away during pandemic we were still able to go outside and I can never never take that for granted.

I am grateful for family and friends. I am grateful to have lived long enough to be a Gigi, a grandmother to three grandchildren. One little girl and two teenage boys. They expand my knowledge and perspectives in life and bring me great joy. I am grateful for friends who are so supportive in good times and bad. And finally, I am grateful for having witnessed and experienced my oldest sister, Nancy's last year of life. I learned so much watching how she handled the end of her life. She had lived for 14 years with stage four cancer. And she. But she lived, she kayaked. She hiked, she knit. She was involved in her church. She took dance. She taught dance. She competed and danced with her husband. And as my physician said, she spent her time living instead of spending her time trying not to die.

My name is Regina Range and the three things that I am thankful for are favor in my second year of my business, the smell of food that I prepare, and encouragement from the new community that I have surrounded my food business.

I'm thankful for living in a place that is not at war. I'm thankful for being able to cook and share my skills. I'm so thankful for the community of people worldwide who love food and cooking with the same passion as I do. Of course, my family and friends are so important, but these other things are important too.

Hi Becky, Despina from a little town in South Carolina. I'm most grateful for the opportunity I had back in 2019 to care for my Aunt Polly, my father’s sister, who was transitioning to te next phase of life and I was able to be there to care for her, to attend to her needs and affairs and return a gift that she had given to me to my father and to my sister so many years ago, when we were first in the United States. That's just an opportunity that we don't often have, so I am most grateful for that. On this particular day. Thanks for the opportunity.

The one thing I'm very thankful for is my daughter being cured of bladder cancer. She went through a really tough time during her teenage years during high school. And I am so thankful that she is able to work. And she just got married in January. Thank you for letting me share.

My name is Andreza and I am grateful for my family, my husband and kids. I'm grateful for the adventures that we've been on as a family. Getting to experience nature and to just see mountains and valleys and rivers too. Just the beauty that is all around us and I'm grateful for Jesus. Without him, I do not know where I would be.

Three things I'm thankful for are my family, my friends, and a great meal. I love Thanksgiving, 'cause it gives us time to sit around the dinner table, enjoy tasty food like a brown sugar, roasted. Smoked Turkey, some Mac and cheese, green beans and delicious pies as well as other sides and and drinks to go round. Ah, I'm hungry thinking about this, but it involves a lot of memories and hearty laughs and just a good time enjoying that meal and enjoying each other.

Hi Becky, this is Alyssa. I'm thankful for cultural differences in the tasty food that comes around the world. From Indian Chai tea to Vietnamese Pho to Mediterranean olives, I'm thankful for this podcast, which makes me feel like I'm wearing my favorite sweater when I'm listening to it. It's like home. And I'm definitely thankful for my Japanese futon bed, which I look forward to sleeping in every night.

I'm grateful for the beauty of fall and the changing of the leaves. I'm grateful to still be able to think and walk and enjoy life. I'm grateful for the comfort of good friends. My pets. And humor, the ability to laugh.

Hi, I'm Meredith. I'm a freshman in college. I'm really thankful for the opportunity I have to get an education and also for the friends I've already made this first month.

My name is Claire Marie. I am so grateful for my 3 boys who are becoming more and more confident in nature and for urging. Also very grateful for the amazing banana and walnut bread out of the oven. And very grateful for my friends who come over and train with me to command Spurs.

Well, this is Kimberly from Minneapolis and I am so grateful for my family and friends. I know that sounds cliche, but when you feel like the world is falling apart and there's nothing that you can really do to stop it, you look around and you see who are your pillars of strength, that can continue to lift you. Up when all you want to do is fall down. And for me, that's been my family and my friends, including our beloved Miss Becky here so. I just wanted to encourage you all who are listening that there will be times when you will feel like your world is falling apart at your feet. And I'm here to tell you that it's really not. It feels like it, but it's not. Look around. And let yourself be helped to get through whatever storm you're facing. Because you're worth it and your mental health is worth it. And your family is worth it. And tomorrow needs you.

Sinaitic so gratitude is something that gets us going. Keep us going. I'm very thankful for my friendships, my relationships. And that when my family seem good also, when I see my sons old smile, it's a beautiful day for me. At that day my girls, and also that I can dream and learn so many things. Nature is beautiful and gives us lots of time to reflect and have gratitude. About everything and also a little. Boy that came in my. Life last year, which made life more even more beautiful and I'm thankful for Becky, who provides such unique opportunities for us. Come talk about the things in our lives and share experiences, food. So yeah, I'm thankful for all of you guys.

Good morning from Iceland. I'm very thankful for some wonderful people in my life, including you, Becky and your or your family. We miss you and we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'll talk to.

The Lord Jesus Christ, my savior. My grandchildren. My son. I guess just family.

Good morning, my name is Megan. Here are three things that I am thankful for #1. I am so thankful to live in a place where we have freedom of religion. #2 I love a good book and #3. I just enjoy the changes that come with each season. Right now, crispy leaves, colorful leaves. In the winter, sparkling snow and cold days and a fire. The spring with fresh blossoms and new life. And the summer - You just can't beat a fresh tomato. Have a good day.

Hi there, my name is Melissa and one thing that I'm incredibly grateful for is the fact that my children are growing up surrounded by family. Nearby, including both sets of grandparents who they see on a weekly basis. Several sets of Aunts and uncles and cousins, including some that live right down the street. And I think that's amazing, because in America, you know, that's kind of unusual nowadays. And for my kids it's just kind of the norm. And it's a real opportunity. I think they don't even realize how blessed they are in that regard, and I'm just incredibly thankful for all those people in my life and in the life of my children.

My name is Becky. And I love fall. Fall is my favorite time of year. I have a lot of back problems. And so there have been times I haven't been able to enjoy this season. I haven't been able to get out and do things but this year my health is better and I've been able to get out almost every day and go for walks. And just sit outside and just look at all the beautiful colors of the trees and at the sky and I've been on a trip with our family to the mountains and we haven't done that in a long time. And it's just all been such a blessing. And I'm so so thankful. I feel like Thanksgiving is just really great for me right now.

Last week when I received this request, I immediately thought of the relationship that I had with Jesus Christ and how thankful I am for the hope. That it brings me day in and day out. However, I also wanted to share something more, so I immediately started to try to think up some big event or thing that was thankful for that was different from the everyday things that I'm typically thankful for. As I thought and thought I walked out of the office and into the kitchen to get some coffee, where I saw my wife's laptop on the table. It was scrolling through some images of our vacations that we had taken in the past. At that moment it dawned on me how could I not be thankful for the many special vacations that we have been privileged to take as a family? Well, I tried to put together the words for the message I wanted to leave. It was time to walk my 8 year old down to the bus stop.

As I walked to the bus stop, I was struck again at how I so easily downplayed the significance of being thankful for all of the daily things I have because they are their everyday things like: Getting coffee with my wife from Panera, walking my 8 year old to the bus stop, feeding horses with my 12 year old at his job, teaching my 16 year old how to drive, and watching my 17 year old run cross country. Things many people could only ever dream of being able to do, I get to do on a regular basis. I immediately realized this is just the tip of the iceberg. And not being able to be thankful for these big things with a true lack of gratitude. Waking up each day to be able to enjoy these things are the big things.

I am just grateful for all the little things in my life, that are so beautiful, that make up my life. Like the little drops of water that make streams, lakes and oceans. And all these little things in my life that are so good help me get through the bigger things in life. And I'm grateful for people around me that loved me. Support me. That helped me. Thank you.

This is Becky Hadeed and I am popping in here in the middle with as many blessings as I can fit into 90 seconds. I'm grateful for a new school for my son, Joshua, that is truly abundantly more than all I ever could have hoped or imagined a year ago, and I'm thankful for the teachers there that have taken him under their wing and inspired him with confidence and and hope. I'm grateful for Emma McAdam, who is the therapist behind the hugely popular YouTube channel Therapy in a Nutshell, and she's written a course called How to Process Your Emotions, which helped me so so much in both helping my kids and myself reframe just unhealthy and distorted ways of thinking. I'm grateful for the paths and the trails that I walk or jog every morning. I'm thankful for the silence that I enjoy along those trails and equally or even more I'm thankful for the long conversations that I have during those walks with just dear dear friends who let me be vulnerable and who share their vulnerabilities with me. I'm so grateful for the conversations I get to have every single week with people all around the world. They have challenged me so much in my thinking, they've taught me so many things, and they've helped me look outside of myself and my culture to so many universal truths. That's it, my 90 seconds is up even though I had three more things written down.

Hi, my name is Dianne and I am grateful for so many things: my children, my fur babies, my fountain full of neighbor birds, my garden where I grow things that I love to cook, my ability to cook for my friends. My family and sharing a nutritious, lovingly-made meal with friends and family.

Lisa

Hi, my name is Lisa and the thing that I have to be thankful for is. My gratitude journal! And it might sound silly to be thankful for the place that you're writing down the things that you're thankful for. But in April of 2020, a stressful time for lots of us, I started writing down three things every day that I was grateful for. And incorporating this practice into my life has honestly shifted my perspective, and it's made me more grateful for all the things. It's opened up. My heart and my eyes to see the things that there are to be grateful for. Some days they're the little things like the beautiful fall color that we're experiencing in Maryland this year or unexpected mild weather where I can be outside in short sleeves or getting missed by a frost and having several more weeks of blooms. Sometimes there are big things like good medical news or one of the biggest for me is seeing the improvement in my marriage in over the 2 1/2 years that I've been keeping this gratitude journal. So I'm very grateful.

My name is Sandy and I'm really thankful for the ability to see the beautiful colors in my world. I'm also really thankful for the ability to hear the voices of people I love. And I'm thankful for the ability to touch and feel the hugs of people that love me and that I love. So I'm thankful for all of these wonderful gifts that God has given me.

I am grateful for the women and girls in it on who are bringing about change. I am grateful for the friendships I've made with women like you sharing our food stories. And lastly, I am grateful for the beauty of fall, my favorite season. Crimson leaves, Apple cardamom pies, and yes, pumpkin spice lattes Don't hate me please.

Hi my name is Natasha and I'm really thankful for my family. I'm thankful for being able to stay at home with my baby and I'm thankful that my husband can stay at home with us. And another thing I'm really thankful for is for the peace in our country. Because there's a lot of war happening everywhere around the world and I'm really thankful that we get to live in a place that is so safe and where we can thrive and explore and enjoy our lives and do it all together.

Hi, my name is Ashley and this time of year I'm thankful for so so many things. But if I had to sum it up to one word it would be peace. I'm most grateful for peace in my life. Uhm, you know it can be small things, like when I go outside at night to take a walk right at like sundown and I feel the breeze kind of gently graze my fingerips and, you know, the fall leaves are moving around like there's just this calm that comes over me and just that peace is so beautiful. Uhm, you know I feel peace when I'm surrounded by my friends and family. I feel a sense of peace and comfort when I'm in the embrace of uhm, you know my partner. I just, I'm so so grateful to be in a phase and stage of my life where everything uhm, feels just at ease and peaceful. It's a really really beautiful thing and I'm still grateful for it.

I'm thankful so much that our family of three is together. My husband got his visa to come to US from Haiti a few months ago and we have a little brown baby. She’s so cuddly and full of toothless grins. She loves to stare at the ceiling fan. She gives us so much joy.

Hi Becky, this is Lisa of a menu for you. I love that you're doing it gratitude episode this year. I'm especially grateful for being able to spend Thanksgiving with both my kids as an empty nester. I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my son since before he left for college, and now he's already graduated college and out there in the working world. So I am so extremely grateful to be able to spend Thanksgiving in the first time. That'll be my husband and I and both of our kids for Thanksgiving and. And I am super grateful for that. Wishing everyone a beautiful Thanksgiving. No matter who's seen around your table. I hope that it is extremely special and amazing. And of course, with loads and loads of great food. Happy Thanksgiving.

Hello, I am grateful because of my family who supports me in everything that I do, No matter what. I'm so happy because I have them.

I'm thankful for the relationship that I have with my two sons who are 21 and 22, that I get to speak with them every day and sharing the activities of their lives in college and with friends and girlfriends and the things that they're experiencing in this this time of their life as college students.

Good morning. I'm thankful this morning for the sunshine streaming through the windows and fire blazing in the wood stove as I drink my coffee and eat whole grain sourdough toast. And thankful for my family, my husband and five children. And I'm very, very thankful for the plan of salvation. And that our good God came and sent Jesus, and he came and died for me, so that I can make it to heaven someday. I'm thankful for the Bible to read. I'm thankful for my long walks that I can take some days out in the country roads. The crisp fresh air these winter days. I'm thankful for my home. And plenty to eat. All my house plants. They bring me much joy.

Hi, my name is Scott from Montana. Our group has a tradition called thankful and blessing, something we're thankful or grateful for and something we hope for you as we go into the future. So, my wife is a mental health therapist and she counsels people from all walks of life. And she's confronted a lot of days with people that didn't want their children or struggle to get along with their family. And in this economy we know that it's harder to buy groceries or to afford a place to live. So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for just a loving family, awarm place to sleep, and food on the table. I think my blessing to you is that I hope you get to enjoy the holiday and warm meal with your birth family or the family that you choose. And in this spirit of thankfulness and gratitude that Becky is facilitating, I hope you find an opportunity to extend your light, your gifts, your talents, your blessings to someone that needs it in this dark, dark World. Happy Thanksgiving.

I actually thought a lot about this before I decided to answer, but I think the thing I'm most grateful and thankful for is my community. I feel really lucky and super thankful to have such a great community surrounding us. In the good times and really in the bad times when we needed the support the most. I can't imagine. Having more generous and kind people surrounding me.

This year I'm so thankful that we finally can be reunited again with my family. We can travel again and meet them across the world to just spend time Christmas with them and have a good time. So I'm super thankful for that. I'm thankful that we we are in good health that. We are safe and. Sound and I'm thankful and hopeful for many things that will transpire in the next year. I'm I'm grateful that despite many bad things and upsetting news that happens in the world, that we're still hopeful that goodness. And kindness will still come around. So yeah, I'm thankful for that.

So gratitude is something that gets us going, keeps us going. I'm very thankful for my friendships, my relationships, and and that when my family is doing good. Also, when I see my son's old smile, it's a beautiful day for me. At that day my girls and also. But I can dream and learn so many things. Nature is beautiful and gives us lots of time. To reflect and have gratitude about everything and also a little boy that came in my life last year which made life more even more beautiful and I'm thankful for Becky who provides such unique opportunities for us to talk about the things in our lives. And share experiences food. So yeah, I'm thankful for all of you guys.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed and thank you for listening. If you would like to go on and continue to cultivate this spirit of gratitude, I have some prints available for digital download and they are just Autumn prints, autumn backgrounds with some inspiring or famous Thanksgiving quotes on top. And again, you can download those digitally. You can print them on your own. I always recommend mpix.com Because they're super fast. And their consumer printers are the exact same as their commercial printers, so that you'll get a really high quality print. I have those available. The link is right there in the show notes. It is a great way to support the podcast while decorating your home for Thanksgiving.

Also, if you are now in the Thanksgiving spirit, I have links to two. Awesome episodes right there in the show notes. The first is well, I titled it the Best Thanksgiving podcast ever because it is another crowdsourced episode where listeners to the storied recipe shared their favorite Thanksgiving memories. And a lot of them center around pie and then the second one that I have linked is an episode titled A Turkey Fit for the Queen and this is a wonderful multigenerational rags to riches story of a family in the United Kingdom that took. Risk and bought up all of the original free range turkeys that were left in England, and they established a business that now sells turkeys all around the. World and the well, the Queen has sadly passed, but the royal family enjoys the Kelly bronze Turkey every year. The guest Paul Kelly is super funny. Very, very interesting and you will learn more than you ever realized. You didn't know about turkeys and Turkey farming. It's just a great fun, fun, cheerful and inspiring episode. All right. That is it. Thank you again for listening and. Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.

Most of us have heard that the current revolution in Iran began with the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten to death for not wearing the hijab in accordance with the regime’s morality laws.

But did you know her name was Jina?

When Jina was born, her parents were required to seek permission to name her Jina. The name was not allowed. So, they chose Mahsa as her official name and called her Jina at home.

This little nugget of truth, shared by Saeid, one of today’s guests, tells us that it’s simplistic to say this revolution is to overthrow laws about hijab. The discontent, the anger, the struggle is far greater, deeper, wider.

Today’s guests are Swarnika and Saeid, a married couple.

Swarnika, who happens to be one of the most talented food photographers I know, shooting for major brands in the margins of her job with a leading technology company, was born and raised in India. She describes her university as a “mini-Iran” where women were obligated to keep curfews as early as 4pm during exams while men studied together as late as they pleased. Once she was once sent back to her dorm to change because her socks showed. Swarnika did choose to speak up on these issues and her experiences doing so gave her great empathy for the courageous people of Iran. Later, Swarnika married an Iranian man who she met in graduate school here in the US. Saied is our other guest today.

Like Jina,  Saeid has only known life in Iran under the current regime. Only by listening to people like Saeid, who speaks with truth and passion, can we really understand the struggle and the incredible, awesome courage of Iranians who are truly risking death by protesting against a regime that has weaponized religion to justify their power, bankrupt the country, rule by terror, and rob each citizen of their joy.

Although Saeid is realistic and sober-minded about the exceptional threats against protestors, he also speaks eloquently about why he believes this time, Iran may emerge free.

Thank you so much for being here, Swarnika and Saeid, and thank you, listener, for listening in. It’s a long interview, but it only gets better.

And p.s. We also talk about that famous Persian Walnut Pomegranate Stew I’ve been hoping someone would share with me for a long time.

Instagram: @swarnika_

Website: www.swarnikaprakash.com

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Hi listeners! So glad to have you join me today to learn all about Sfouf, the recipe contributed by today’s guest, Amale Chamseddine of Habibi What’s Cooking!

Now, sfouf is a gorgeous golden Lebanese cake that’s very easy and quick to make. In Lebanon, Amale and her family would just buy Sfouf from the famous Lebanese bakeries, where it is made daily.

When Amale was still a child, however, the prime minister of Lebanon was assassinated. Her family immediately understood the fortunes of Lebanon had reversed in that one act and Lebanon would not be the same for a very long time.

Within weeks, Amale and her family, who were also US citizens, were evacuated away from their beautiful home on the coast of Lebanon to the Northeastern US. So to Amale, Sfouf now represents the extra effort they’ve had to go to preserve their culture and live as ambassadors of it to their American friends.

In today’s episode, Amale talks about her years in Lebanon, the current situation there, and how art and baking were her dreams as a child and have now helped her through some of the toughest times of her life. She also shares tips on making that famously delicious Lebanese chicken (Check out the show notes for her chicken recipe, by the way) and shares freely about wearing the hijab and so many other topics. I’m thrilled to welcome her to the podcast and also so thrilled that you’re here today. Thanks for tuning in!

Instagram: @habibi_whatscooking

Website: habibiwhatscooking.com

Read the details of how to make Amale's Shish Tawook recipe listed on her site and mentioned in the podcast episode

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Over 6 million Venezuelan refugees are currently seeking asylum around the world. In September, between 1400 and 1600 fled PER DAY. Today we’ll hear the story of an anonymous guest, who gained asylum in the US 4 years ago. She is speaking anonymously because the government there is so repressive - so controlling (you’ll hear how she was threatened to lose all access to food if she didn’t vote for the incumbent) - that her family could be punished as retaliation for her words. 

But why is she choosing to speak at all? First, because we have a very fundamental need to share our stories. And second, because our guest today wants to give a voice to these millions of refugees - to remind all of us where they came from, why they left, and what they’ve risked (everything) to leave. There are lessons for us in all of my guest’s story: political lessons in the way the current government came to power, then consolidated that power; lessons of compassion and empathy for individuals within a massive migration; lessons of courage, bravery, and sacrifice when we consider what so many risk for their families to have a better life, lessons of gratitude when we are reminded to savor the little moments (like sorting beans for her Storied Recipe) that we would miss if suddenly forced to leave our homes, and finally - lessons of friendship and kindness that we can learn from 3 immigrants that came together - one Venezuelan, one Nepalese, and one Iranian Jew - in a NYC apartment to help one another launch new lives. 

This is one of the most important episodes I’ve ever released and today I’m asking you - specifically, you, anyone listening - to share this story. I think all of us believe that we should be a voice for the voiceless and today, as this guest literally cannot risk her family’s stability by sharing her story with a name attached, we can share it for her. Would you please think of someone right now and send this along to them? Thank you so much!!!

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The Storied Recipe is a community that believes food is a universal love language. Join for episode & recipe updates every Friday mornings. (And occasional free gifts!)

I’ve never celebrated Diwali in my life but when I think of Diwali, I smile. Why? - because for years now, I’ve seen friends in the food world celebrate Diwali and their celebrations just exude excitement. When I planned out episodes way back in the beginning of 2022, I was adamant that in October, I would learn more about the origins and traditions of Diwali. 

Today, thanks to Lopa, I finally get to learn so much more, beginning the fact - Diwali is not one holiday, it’s a 5 day festival. Each day has different meanings and celebrations and the significance of each day varies widely across the 28 states and 1.6 billion people in India. 

Lopa’s joy and enthusiasm for Diwali radiates throughout this entire interview and it’s such a fun, fun listen whether you have your own precious memories of Diwali or if your previous understanding was as superficial and limited as my own. Welcome Lopa and thank you all for being here!!

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Alison of Ancestral Kitchen speaks to us today from a tiny little flat outside Florence, Italy, that overlooks the land that grows and sustains her food. From there, she cooks for her family and develops resources for the rest of us on how to eat ancestrally.

For Alison, food has been the catalyst for just about everything in her life. As a child, she turned to food when she felt, deep in her soul, that she was not home. In her very early years as an adult, she lost half her body weight in a bid to take charge of her own life and prove to herself that she could do hard things. With that proof in hand, she made one massive change in her life after another - changes that defied expectations, aligned with her convictions, and have given her a life that feels meaningful, abundant, and joyful. She made choices like leaving a successful job for a lifestyle that she imagined, moving her family from England to Italy, and curing herself of PCOS, at least to the extent that she could resume cycles and have a child.

In this episode, we dive deep into what ancestral eating means, the benefits of eating this way, and how busy people can eat in an intentional & healthful way. Alison is a calm and intentional person, and this conversation will bring the same to your life - oh, it will also bring you the most delicious Spelt Sourdough Pizza recipe and lots of solid, practical tips on cooking with sourdough. For a comforting, cozy listen in the middle of your busy life, I bring you Alison - thank you so much to her and to all of you for being here!

Instagram: @ancestral_kitchen

Apple Podcasts: Ancestral Kitchen

Website: ancestralkitchen.com

Read the details of how to make Alison's Spelt Sourdough Pizza on her website

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Where every print tells a story.

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Today's guest, Elizabeth is mother to 4 very young children. Her oldest, Louie, was born with a genetic condition so rare that he was only the 12th person in the world diagnosed with it. Not only that, but the mutation was "De Novo" - Latin for "in the beginning", meaning that this genetic disorder did not come from Elizabeth and her husband’s genes; it was a mutation that sprang up in Louie, out of nothing, it would seem.

When Louie was 5, just as Elizabeth was hitting her stride as a special needs mom, an added difficulty arrived also seemingly "de novo", from nowhere, literally overnight. One evening, they all went to bed and woke up at midnight because Louie was having a seizure. Then he had another, and another, and another, all in the space of just a few hours. Since then, Louie has had dozens - sometimes even 40 or 50 seizures daily. Every day, until, surprisingly doctors suggested the Keto diet, which has given Louie some (although not complete) relief, at least temporarily.

But in the midst of all this talk about De Novo, out of nowhere, and overnight - Elizabeth does not believe that there was anything De Novo about the turns her life has taken. She believes, quite strongly, as you'll hear, that God actually chose her for this and gave her everything she needed - from her Puerto Rican heritage, the words of her wise Abuela, strong family support from both sides - Puerto Rican and German - and the faith to do everything she can to make life for not only Louie, but also many others like him, better. She has started a non-profit called Louie's HUWE with the goal of connecting, serving, and supporting other families like hers and raising money to fund research into ways to improve the quality of life for kids like Louie.

Today, Elizabeth is sharing so many personal & really intimate stories with us, from memories of her Abuela's Pollo Frito to the moment of Louie's birth. I’m so glad to have her on and so glad you’re here to join us.

Instagram: @louies_huwe

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/LouiesHUWE

Instagram: @unbreakablelouiecoulter

Branches and Batches on Facebook

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High end prints for your kitchen walls: Download and print immediately.

The Storied Recipe is a community that believes food is a universal love language. Join for episode & recipe updates every Friday mornings. (And occasional free gifts!)

Today, I'm welcoming Mai of Almond & Fig to the podcast so that, together, we can all honor Mai's grandmother, her beloved Teta.

Mai’s grandmother was born in Palestine long before 1948, when the international community took it upon themselves to declare parts of her Palestine as the new nation of Israel. She was a young woman when she saw the suffering of 1967, and already a grandmother many times over by the first Intifada of 1987, when both of her sons were arrested. One of those sons, Mai's father, was imprisoned for a year, without charges or evidence of those charges in the Negev desert. At night, he and fellow prisoners took shifts watching for dangerous wild animals. Later, Teta Um Hanna's grandsons, Mai's brothers, were arrested in the second Intifada. Although they were juveniles, they were tried and imprisoned as adults. Victimized by the occupation until the very end, Teta Um Hanna's ambulance was stopped and searched by Israeli soldiers as she was rushed, dying, into Jerusalem. This is a difficult thing for any family to accept.  

However, we do not join Mai in honoring Teta Um Hanna because she suffered these things. Rather, we honor Teta Um Hanna because of the things she did with her life: She raised her siblings, her children, and her grandchildren with love and patience. She joined countless other Palestinian women in preserving their culture & recipes, becoming breadwinners, nurturing children made fatherless through resistance, and feeding their entire worlds. How did she manage to do these things? She did them all through her garden, her cooking, and the joy she took in both. 

Regardless of our politics (which may or may not be influenced by Mai's powerful story), today, Listener, you and I are coming together to honor this small but mighty woman, [name], and the many other women she represents. Here is Mai.

Mai is on the board of the non-profit Seraj Libraries, which aims to provide a community library for every child. 

Seraj libraries just opened a storytelling center in Palestine. The Center gives Palestinians the opportunity to tell, write and record their own stories with their own narrative.

Instagram: @almondandfig

Website: almondandfig.com

See Mai’s Teta making Musalwa’a on Instagram

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Where every print tells a story.

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Have you ever thought about the stories right there in your own neighborhood, on your own street, in the homes up and down the block where you live? Where Marina was raised, there were Koreans, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Persians, and the indigenous people as well - not Native Americans, because Marina wasn’t raised in America. Instead, she was raised in Kazakhstan, a huge Asian country where the native Kazakhs lived as nomads (even, in fact, live now as Nomads) until communist nations - like the Soviet Union and Korea - began to send people there in the 1920s and ’30s. Unlike the United States, where many immigrants over the last 400 years came by choice (obviously, with very notable and shameful exceptions), very few arrived in Kazakhstan by choice. 

But… what is choice, really? This is a question Marina had me pondering for days after this interview. In America, we value choice - move to where we want, choose the schools we want to go to, pursue the career we want, make as much money as we want, marry the person we want, etc. Choice, in our minds, is essential to that constitutional right - “the pursuit of happiness”. But Marina talks about choice in a different way. Her grandmother, for instance, believed that freedom to choose these forks in the road was overrated, that commitment to community was the higher value, and that the real choice was in choosing to accept what was given, the choice to be happy, content, and hopeful. I’m left wondering - is it really true that “we always have a choice?” - and also, again, what stories were held within the houses on Marina’s street, where nearly every family was moved to Kazakhstan by a government?

And finally, what stories would the Kazakh’s themselves tell of the people who showed up on their land, what happened to their way of life? Marina shares a powerful story about the compassion of native Kazakhs towards prisoners in a gulag… You’ll definitely want to hear this one. 

But Marina didn’t know much about these stories as a child and choice wasn’t anything on her mind. What she knew was that her neighbors were her friends, they played happily, and everyone in the neighborhood shared their own cherished recipes, which the parents prepared and ate together, unity among diversity. In fact, Marina’s storied recipe doesn’t come from her own heritage - it’s a Polish cookie called Mazurka, just like the dance. So excited to welcome you into this conversation with Marina, where we dive deep into all of this - and so much more - today. Thanks for joining us. 

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Where every print tells a story.

High end prints for your kitchen walls: Download and print immediately.

The Storied Recipe is a community that believes food is a universal love language. Join for episode & recipe updates every Friday mornings. (And occasional free gifts!)