On this episode of Talk to Me About Food I share top line findings from "The Menu Trends That Define Dining Right Now," by Priya Krishna, writing in The New York Times. I also muse specifically on Caesar salad which is one of items that's hot across the country from the survey of 121 menus that underpins Ms. Krishna's article ..read more

This episode is one in a mini-series about a range of soups and simple foods from different food traditions that are suggested, prescribed, maybe sometimes even foisted on someone feeling under the weather. I consider a basic udon soup. Where it’s the bounty of the land that nourishes a chicken, it’s the bounty of the ocean and sea washing up on every millimeter of Japan’s coastline that infuses udon noodle soup with its curative power. Marc Matsumoto talks me through how to make dashi; the basic fish stock at the heart of a good bowl of udon noodle soup and okayu, a rice porridge. Marc is ..read more

How much, if at all, does the food you eat define who you are and where you come from? Do the choices around what food you buy, where you buy it, how you prepare it and even how you dispose of it subscribe you to a specific community (willingly or unwittingly)? In this episode I muse about "gastronativism" -  a word coined in a book titled Gastronativism, Food, Identity, Politics by Fabio Parasecoli. The author, a professor of food studies at NYU, defines gastronativism as the use of food as a political tool to specify and then galvanize a community into action ..read more

Brief musings around discovering overnight oats. Beats regular old hot oatmeal any day of the week ..read more

Sandor Katz, a self-described fermentation revivalist and author of three books on the topic helps me unpack fermentation. What it is and why it’s so engrained in all food cultures. He talks about the role of fermentation in preserving food then explains how fermentation plays a vital role in helping us get the most of the nutritional content of food by breaking food down into easier-to-digest elements, like amino acids. Apparently, we don’t benefit from the full nutritional potency of manufactured, fermented foods. The better to make your own yogurt or sauerkraut. We also talk through how fer ..read more

We’re in the middle of a pandemic that’s made us put extra layers of protection between us and everything we come in contact with. That means a lot more plastic overall, and a lot more plastic food and beverage packaging for all the take-out and delivery. We’re starting to drown in plastic just as momentum was starting to build around alternatives to single use plastic packaging. It’s just a pause, I hope. Pioneers are still forging ahead on the main strategies to reduce our reliance on producing millions of tons of fresh plastic every year; REDUCE, REPLACE, RECYCLE, AND REUSE. I focus on REUS ..read more

America's Grow-A-Row began as a weekend daddy daughter project to get a four year-old to want to eat fresh, healthy food by planting and harvesting herself. In the process Chip too has adopted healthier eating habits. And the more he gave away of the overabundance of produce from his oversized plot, first to co-workers and neighbors, then to those who really need much more fresh food in their diet but who don't have access to fresh produce, the clearer it became to him that he had stumbled on a calling to serve in this way.  What also became clear to Chip is that many people want to be mo ..read more

Meat is at the heart of the unprecedented growth in supermarket food sales these days. It’s one of the core foods we are turning to as we shelter in place. It’s at the center of the plate, and will likely be there for generations to come.  The rising challenge to this attachment to meat, according to many experts, is that we will not be able to sustainably produce enough meat to meet the demands of a fast-growing population around the world.  Plant-based meat alternatives have been available for decades but the urgency of the challenge has brought them to the fore, and spurred the ex ..read more

On this episode I consider healing meals; traditional dishes believed to help cure what ails you, physically, emotionally, even spiritually.  First, I reflect on my conversation with Ashley Thuthao Keng Dam, a PhD candidate in Eco-gastronomy, Education, and Society at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. I recently came across their blog post entitled Curative Cuisines of Cambodia. The article reflects on ethnographic research done in rural Cambodia, looking at the impact of seasonal changes on how plant-based traditional medicine complements maternity diets. This i ..read more

In this audio blog post I consider Squareat; a start-up meal delivery company that delivers a box of brownie-sized pieces of animal protein (like chicken breast) and same-size, same-shape squares of veggie and grain side dishes. 21st century food to ponder while you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal ..read more