Good Food

• Julia Child Foundation fellow Janek Schaller demystifies composting in LA, as he follows the green bins to the processing facility and back to the farm.
• Jeff Chu meditates on life's biggest questions while tilling the soil.
• In the award-winning documentary Finding Edna Lewis, Deb Freeman traces the life of the famed Southern chef who wrote The Taste of Country Cooking.
• Chef Andrew Ponce uses cactus from Cabral Farms in creative ways.

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• Domenica Marchetti bakes the regional cookies of Italy. 
• Giulia Scarpaleggia moves beyond pasta as she cooks vegetables the Italian way. 
• Mariana Velásquez assembles a deconstructed pie bar worthy of a long weekend. 
• At farmers markets, an unusually warm spring means melons in May.

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• Tortilla Española, gambas al ajillo, and Basque cheesecake — José Andrés looks to classic recipes in his new cookbook, Spain My Way. 
• For more than 40 years, Simply Wholesome, a Black-owned health food store and cafe, has been selling everything from ayurvedic supplements to Jamaican patties. Founder Percell Keeling and his daughters, Ayanna and Mia, join us for "In The Weeds."

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• Ham El-Waylly, who began his career at Michelin-starred restaurants, rethinks home cooked meals with all their comfort and nostalgia.
• When his mother died suddenly in 2023, comedian Gus Constantellis revisited her recipes while grieving her loss.
• Long before the sun is up, Roxana Jullapat flips on the lights at Friends & Family, where the baked goods glow with the colors and textures of whole grains.
• Farmers market favorite Peads & Barnetts opens a store in West LA.

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• Kelly A. Spring peels back the tin on SPAM, the divisive meat that's been crucial to American diplomacy and multiple war efforts.
• Alana Kysar shifts the focus from seafood and pork to produce in her Hawaiian dishes.
• Khushbu Shah weighs in on LA's bagel boom.
• The Hollywood Farmers Market celebrates 35 years. 

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• Javier Cabral and Memo Torres hunt down the best tacos in Los Angeles for Taco Madness.
• Tostadas, tetelas, tamales —  Jorge Gaviria shares a dose of Vitamina T, Mexico's unofficial food group.
• Crystal Wahpepah weaves together stories and intertribal recipes from Oakland's Native American communities.
• Peaches aren't yet in season but you can get a taste with peach leaves, which chef Harry Posner is using in a dessert.

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• Helen Zoe Veit unpacks how American children became so fussy about their food. 
• Butter makes everything better so Anna Stockwell slices into its history and utility. 
• Trini Iniguez of Arroyo Grande Berry Farm has a berry good time at the farmers market while chef Steve Samson of Rossoblu makes stinging nettle pasta.

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• Sana Javeri Kadri and Asha Loupy of Diaspora Spice Co. find inspiration in spices from regenerative farms in Southeast Asia.
• Writer John Seabrook chronicles the tumultuous life of his grandfather, Spinach King Charles Franklin Seabrook, a tyrant who grew the family farm to more than 50,000 acres and pioneered flash-frozen produce.
• Liz Carlisle and Aubrey Streit Krug brought together a passionate group of experts from wide-ranging backgrounds and lived experience to explore the promise of perennial agriculture.
• Chef Brian Bornemann of Crudo e Nudo shops for spring alliums at the farmers market.

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• Good Food contributor Khushbu Shah chases down the best plates of pasta al limone.
• Joshua McFadden uses pasta as a canvas for seasonal ingredients and shares his pomodoro recipe.
• Karima Moyer-Nocchi reveals the cultural, political, and religious history behind macaroni and cheese.
• Leah Koenig prepares for Passover by making coconut macaroons.
• Poncho Martinez and Odilia Romero expand from tlayudas to more regional Oaxacan fare at Lugya'h, which is named in the Michelin Guide.

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• Alec Opperman of More Perfect Union investigates who's behind the steep price of stadium concessions
• Anissa Helou goes deep into the regional kitchens of Lebanon, revealing a cuisine that's far more diverse and nuanced than most realize
• Naoko Takei Moore had a hand in introducing donabe to the U.S. 25 years ago when it was virtually unknown and she continues to champion the hand-thrown clay pots
• Chris Newens explores the arrondissements of Paris in twenty meals
• The weekly market report features Heather Wong of Flouring and the pavlova she has on the menu

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• Jashmine Corpuz takes Best in Show at this year's PieFest with her ube blueberry pie.
• Trevor Warmedahl became a self-described "cheese trekker," living a pastoral life alongside animals and guiding the cheeses that come from their milk. 
• Tami Parr chronicles the history and importance of goats in America.
• An obsessed mushroom hunter, chef Chad Hyatt is beloved by the mycological world for his culinary prowess.
• At the farmers market, artichokes are on offer.

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• Nite Yun aims to make Khmer American food accessible to everyone.
• Kate Brown argues that the most fertile agriculture is in small garden beds often on the edges of mainstream society.
• Hans Fama breeds unique tomato varieties with a surprising shelf life.
• Casey Lane shops for English peas at the farmers market.

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• Nicola Twilley explores the problem of smoke taint, the latest challenge in the wine industry.
• Khushbu Shah makes a meal of Nepali dumplings.
• The secret to an award-winning pie is in the flour, say bakers extraordinaire Roxana Jullapat and Clemence DeLutz.
• Ifrah F. Ahmed looks to preserve Somali dishes of the diaspora.

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• Journalist Lisa Held digs into the controversy around Donald Trump's executive order encouraging the production of glyphosate, the key ingredient in the herbicide Round Up.
• Benjamin Delwiche aka Benjamin the Baker has tips for bakers entering the fruit and cooked custard categories in this year's PieFest.
• Culinary anthropologist Ozoz Sokoh explores the cuisine of Nigeria.
• Julia Child Foundation Fellow Janek Schaller dives into California's purple urchin explosion.
• Ilhan Mohamed Abdi weaves together flavors and techniques to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan.
• At the farmers market, chef Josiah Citrin cheers for cherimoyas. 

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• Vivian Howard's love of the freezer has never thawed and she uses it as a secret weapon for meal prep.
• Sophie Sadler proves that German home cooking is more than pretzels and brats.
• Natasha Pickowicz prepares for a communal Lunar New Year over a bubbling hot pot.
• Kate McDermott shares a recipe and tips for the quintessential apple pie.
• How the founders of Granada Coffee turned their Echo Park home into a bustling business.

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• Looking toward Mardi Gras, historian Ashley Rose Young explores the vibrant street food culture of New Orleans, with roots stretching back to the city's origins.
• Food writer Adrian Miller enlists the help of Deborah Chang to share the story of Asian heritage chefs cooking in the White House.
• Molecular biologist and PieFest judge Nik Sharma reveals the secrets behind thickening agents in pies.
• For the last 30 years, attorney Bill Marler has represented victims of deadly foodborne illnesses. His latest cause is tainted baby formula.
• At the farmers market, mandarins are in season.

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• KCRW's PieFest & Contest is back! We talk to Iowan Beth Howard about her documentary Pieowa, which brings together church ladies, state fair contestants, farm wives, and historians to explore the power of a flaky crust.
• Mia Castro transports herself to Puerto Rico with inspired dishes for Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny.
• Psychotherapist and Ottolenghi Test Kitchen recipe developer Helen Goh incorporates baking into a meaningful life.
• L.A. Taco's Memo Torres finds time to help compile the city's best Mexican restaurants.
• At her Highland Park gastropub, chef Debbie Lee incorporates farmers market produce into creative bar snacks.

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• Marion Nestle reconsiders her seminal book What to Eat Now, two decades later.
• Polina Chesnakova sneaks in a few comforting, cool weather recipes from the Caucuses.
• Pyet DeSpain drew on her Native American and Mexican heritage to find a deeper purpose.
• Cha McCoy shines a light on underrepresented wine regions and pairings for foods of the diaspora.
• At the farmers market, Erika Chan of Kato shops for parsnips for dessert.

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• René Redzepi explains how he's orchestrating Noma's LA residency and why it comes with such a hefty price tag. 
• Anna Ansari follows flavor down the Silk Roads. 
• Khushbu Shah knows where to get the best veggie burgers. 
• At the farmers market, Walter Manzke finds fun uses for chanterelles.

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• Reporter Eric Gardner explains how grocery stores are exploring "dynamic pricing," charging different people different prices for the same items. 
• Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef, links the natural environments, traditions, and histories of Indigenous peoples across North America in his latest cookbook. 
• Krystle Hickman journeys through the world of California bees, one letter at a time. 
• Jason Cheng explains why his farm, Yao Cheng Farm in Camarillo, is dropping its organic certification.

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• We remember our friend Christine Moore, owner of Little Flower, who unexpectedly passed away this week.
• Leah Ferrazzani of Ferrazzani's Pasta & Market tells the tale of multiple fires, pointing out the disparities in how Altadena residents were affected.
• Teddy and Andy Leonard weigh in on the challenges of rebuilding the Reel Inn, their cherished coastline seafood shack, which was lost in the Palisades Fire.
• Elina Shatkin hangs out with the Altadena Dining Club, the brainchild of Brooke Iva Lohman, who gathers locals at struggling eateries for a weekly meal.
• Janek Schaller visits the Altadena Community Garden, where scientists and volunteers use bioremediation practices to clean up contaminated soil.
• LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews two Altadena restaurants — Miya, a Thai spot, and Betsy, a venture from Tyler Wells.

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• We revisit a conversation with Austin Frerick who shares the stories of seven agricultural titans, their rise to power, and the consequences for the rest of us. 

• Nancy Matsumoto celebrates the women who are fighting Big Food by building sustainable food systems.

• At Alma Backyard Farms in Compton, co-founder Erika Cuellar feeds the soil and the soul with programs targeting youth and people who were once incarcerated.

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• Michael Shaikh tells the stories of people preserving their culinary traditions amid war and violence.

• Ted Genoways considers José Cuervo's colorful history, from eluding Pancho Villa's death threats to bringing tequila north of the Mexican border.

• Sarah Ahn's viral food videos of her mom have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational life.

• Humberto Raygoza aka the Chori-Man links four generations using one chorizo recipe.

• Olivia Haver loves cheese so much, she has devoted her career to babysitting it.

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• Kathy Fang spent her childhood shaped by 24 square blocks of San Francisco, where her father manned a wok, feeding hungry customers at the House of Nanking.

• Forager Pascal Baudar hunts down wild seeds and grains.

• Jess Shadbolt helms the kitchen at King, the ingredient-focused New York City restaurant with an aesthetic of eating simply but lavishly.

• One of the world's foremost authorities on libations, former Shakespeare professor David Wondrich delivers the history of the cocktail in comic book form.

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• Food & Wine contributing editor Khushbu Shah shares where to grab the best stack of pancakes in Los Angeles.
•  Hetty Lui McKinnon puts salad at the center of the table for intimate gatherings. 
• Molecular biologist Nik Sharma tests taste buds with Sichuan peppercorns.
• Golden Delicious apples come to the Mar Vista Farmers Market.

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