Evolutionaries
LIVE 1:00-1:25pm EST
First Aired - 07/13/2010 06:30PM
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This week on Why We Cook Chef Erica delved into the world of summer stews and slow cooking. Since vegetables are mostly water, slow cooking helps get the water out of veggies and caramelize the sugars inside them. Tune in for an enormous amount of tips and tricks (punch holes in eggs to poach them in the pot, use pomegranate molasses for a sharp sweetener) to making the best summer stew you've ever eaten; patience is key! Ratatouille, Turkish stews, Italian summer stews, and every combination therein is covered--tomato, eggplant, and lentil based stews abound. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods: proud to support independent farmers and small business in our community.
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Why We Cook Introduction: Curriculum Knows No Season (10:54)
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Why We Cook, Erica Wides, Heritage Radio Network, Whole Foods Market, Erica has been teaching for 12 years now, Institute of Culinary Education, curriculum knows no season, stewing braising and steaming in 103 degree weather, Turkish Eggplant Stew, spin off version of summer stew, based on eggplant, you have to cook stew slowly, three stew making techniques, approach it slowly, let the sugars caramelize, add tomatoes, don't rush and boil!, you'll get a big mushy soft wet pot of goop, it has to take its time, people weren't as whiny and temperamental when these dishes were first around, Episode 50 of Why We Cook!, eggplant can transform,Episode 50! Summer Stew: Ratatouille (12:50)
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summer stews seem like an oxymoron, Ratatouille, the dish in the movie wasn't done right, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1, Julia Child, in her technique she makes a hybrid Ratatouille, she says you should saute the eggplant and zucchini first separately, then saute onions garlic and bell peppers, then layer everything back in the pan and cover it with tomato, then bake it, Erica likes to dice all vegetables first, she uses whole plum tomatoes, the Turks love eggplant the most, their flag should be purple!, pomegranate molasses,A Trip to Sicily: Agrodolce (6:37)
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recipes will be posted on the Why We Cook facebook page!, Sicily, they love eggplant in many different ways, agrodolce, Caponata, intense sweet and sour, combining sugar and vinegar, throw in olives and capers, it all pivots on the tomato, leave comments on the HRN website!,To comment on this episode click here. There are currently Comments
First Aired - 08/18/2009 06:30PM
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This week on Why We Cook, Erica continues her exploration into vegetables with Zukes, Cukes & Melons.
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The Death Of Erica's Tomato Plants & Cucumber Musings (10:30)
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Th'Idiot - Bedtime Acid, Tekserve, Erica Wides, tomato blight, Union Square Farmers Market, organic potting soil, planning for tomato crop, deer ate all of Erica's tomatoes, locavore, summer crops, vegetables, zukes, cukes & melons, summer squash, cucumbers, zucchini, cucumbers can also be cooked, kappa maki, cucumber sushi, Kawataro, history and folklore behind the word kappa, the Japanese think Yamakas look like kappas, waxed supermarket cucumber, seeds, industrial, used to pickles, seedless cucumbers cost more, lemon cucumbers, industrialized agriculture has narrowed selection down, heirloom tomato plants, Erica's tomato plants have been destroyed, Kirby cucumbers, there are hundreds of varieties of cucumbers,Cooking with Cucumbers: Riding the Wave of Julia Child Nostalgia (7:25)
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salads, dill, sour cream, buttermilk, salting cucumbers, yogurt, garlic & herbs, squeeze out the juice for use with cocktails, mix it with gin and lime, basil, radicchio, Culinary Institute, Julie & Julia, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, sweet breads, brain, mornay sauce, pickles, brine, celery, blanched carrots, green tomatoes, firm peaches, green beans, mushrooms, cucumber juice gelatin, riding the wave of Julia Child nostalgia, baked cucumbers in cream, sautéed,Attack of the Squash People (6:38)
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Marge Piercy - Attack of the Squash People, poem, zucchini the size of a short mans leg, leave zucchini raw, don't cook them, mandolin on thin slicer setting, shave zucchini length wise thin as possible, make a dressing out of white miso, garnish it with shredded nori, if you cook zucchini let it caramelize, roasting or grilling, cook out the water, let it caramelize, stuffed zucchini with shallots, garlic, breadcrumbs, white wine, olive oil, Provence, smaller zucchini are better, the bigger, the blander, harvesting zucchini is difficult, growing zucchini,Melon Preparations: The Taste Of Summer (3:06)
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melons, salt, feta, prosciutto, South America, Italy, melon is more than a dessert, watermelon with feta, olive oil and mint, culinary alchemy, the taste of summer, cracked black pepper, shave melon with mandolin, hot chili, grilled chicken, grilled fish, vino verde,To comment on this episode click here. There are currently Comments
First Aired - 03/02/2010 06:30PM
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This week on Why We Cook, Erica highlights the cabbage and tells us why we shouldn't throw out our moldy vegetables.
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Why We Cook Introduction: An Old Moldy Head of Cabbage (10:18)
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Erica Wides, Why We Cook, Heritage Radio Network, Edwards Ham, thinking about food in different ways, green cabbage, cabbage has genes of steel and lasts a long time, earth to table cooking, celery root, okra, acorn squash, roasted with grape seed oil and salt, moldy vegetables are still usable,Poor Cabbage! (12:05)
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search Why We Cook on Facebook!, leave comments on the show, cabbage, cut off the moldly parts of old vegetables, Korea, cold weather vegetables, kimchi, kim chee, 29 cents a pound, so cheap it's almost free!, poor people food, sulfur, India, Asia, boiled cabbage, corned beef, crispy brown nutty caramelized cabbage, cole slaw, kale, collard greens, slice your cabbage thin, don't boil it, blanch, the only thing we should boil is water for pasta, use oil and sear and crisp it, fermentation, vitamin C,The Final Word on Cabbage (8:37)
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podcast Why We Cook on iTunes, cabbage deserves its moment in the sun!, Savoy Cabbage, bacon, the key to making good red cabbage is to cook it very slowly, steamed and softened, let the water evaporate, sugars will caramelize, cabbage has a good amount of sugar in it, Brooklyn, farmers market, cabbage slaw, cabbage hats,To comment on this episode click here. There are currently Comments
