Don’t you just love a good secret? Here’s one: baking isn’t any harder than cooking. You don’t have to stress about preciseness, food science or perfection. Samantha Seneviratne is a baker, a contributor to the New York Times, and the host of Everyday Cooking on Magnolia Network. She’s also a James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author and her latest book is Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours. We talk with Sam about her book and get her to spill those secrets so you can bake with confidence. Plus, producer Tagan Engel talks with Shamu Fenyvesi Sadeh about the work being done at the Adamah campus of the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT. Programs, immersive retreats, and fellowships at the center aim to help people better understand and experience the connection between Judaism, agriculture and the Earth. GUESTS: Samantha Seneviratne: Author of Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours. Get info about the book/baking event at Byrd's Books happening on December 10. (@samanthaseneviratne) Shamu Fenyvesi Sadeh: Managing Director of Education Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, an Adamah campus in Falls Village, Conn. (@adamah) Jaimie Sadeh: Art therapist. Jaimie joined to talk about cooking latkes and other traditional foods to celebrate Hanukkah FEATURED RECIPES: Chewy Chocolate Chip CookiesTagan Engel's Ultimate Latkes This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald, and Sabrina Herrera. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, chef Raquel Rivera, a cooking teacher and owner of A Pinch of Salt, and Jason Sobocinski, a local food entrepreneur, share tips for cooking a Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixins’. And intern Lateshia Peters talks with her mom Nicole Lewis about why their Thanksgiving meal is centered around the food of her Grenadian heritage. Think: Caribbean-spiced salmon, fry-bakes, and cocoa tea. Plus, producer Tagan Engel speaks with Hi’ilei Hobart, a professor of Native and Indigenous Studies at Yale, and Rebecca Salazar, a student seed keeper with the Yale Native American Cultural Center and the Yale Sustainable Food Project. They spoke at the Yale farm about their adventure this year - growing and saving seeds of the special Haudenosaunee Buffalo Creek squash. These two indigenous women also speak to the importance they feel in connecting with indigenous and ancestral foods such as the three sisters: beans, corn and squash - to counter the challenges of colonization. GUESTS: Raquel Rivera: Chef/owner of A Pinch of Salt Jason Sobocinski: Co-owner/partner of Caseus Provisions in Wallingford, Crispy Melty by Caseus, Olmo Bagels, Ordinary and Haven Hot Chicken in New Haven, Mystic Cheese Company in Groton and Black Hog Brewing Company in Oxford. Lateshia Peters and Nicole Lewis: Lateshia is a CT Public Intern and Nicole is her mom. Hi’ilei Hobart: Assistant Professor of Native and Indigenous Studies in the program of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration at Yale University. Also author of Cooling the Tropics and editor of Food Ways Hawaii. Rebecca Salazar: Undergrad studying Ethnicity, Race, and Migration at Yale. Rebecca is a Seed Keeper and Programs Liaison between the Native American Cultural Center - (NACC) and the Yale Sustainable Food Program (YSFP). This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald, and Sabrina Herrera. Special thanks to the Yale Sustainable Food Program and to Fafa Van Ha, Lazarus Fellow at the Yale Sustainable Food Program for contributing to the Buffalo Creek squash segment. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stacey Mei Yan Fong dreamed up the most delicious way to learn more about the United States, her chosen home. We talk with Stacey about her first cookbook, 50 Pies, 50 States; the immigration story that inspired it; and the pure joy that pie brings. Stacey created the 50 Pies, 50 States project while applying for permanent residency in the United States. She researched each state, developed a pie recipe inspired by the state, and dedicated the pie to a friend or special person connected to that state. Some pies are wild and wonderful—Nevada’s “All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Pie” and Minnesota’s “Corn Dog-Hotdish Pie with Savory Funnel-Cake Topping” are examples (there are a few state-fair-inspired pies as well). And some pies highlight a state’s fun facts. Did you know that the snickerdoodle is Connecticut's state cookie? Stacey details the backstories behind her unique pies and gives home bakers tips for baking great pies, whether they’re dedicated to someone or just made to share and spread joy. Plus, we spotlight a story Where We Live explored about the surprising connection between baking powder and our state. Patrick Skahill hosts a conversation with food historian Linda Civitello. GUESTS: Stacey Mei Yan Fong: Home baker and the author of 50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States Through Pie. (@50pies50States) From the Where We Live Feature:Linda Civitello: Food Historian; Author, Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking FEATURED RECIPES: Connecticut: Snickerdoodle PieMassachusetts: Boston Cream Pie PieNew Hampshire: Maple Pumpkin Pie with Painted Birch Tree Crust This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Stephanie Stender, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald and Sabrina Herrera. Special thanks to Patrick Skahill and Katie Pellico. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this hour of Seasoned, you’ll get to know Brooklyn-based writer, recipe developer, and food stylist Yewande Komolafe. In her work for The New York Times and elsewhere, she’s a champion for West African cuisine. Producer Tagan Engel talks with Yewande about her first book, My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora. Then Tagan brings us a story from Reservoir Community Farm in Bridgeport — where Green Village Initiative is feeding its community and empowering the next generation of urban gardeners and farmers. GUESTS: Yewande Komolafe: Author of My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora. (@yewande_komolafe) Green Village Initiative: Special thanks to Ellie Angerame, Jessica Rosario, chef Raquel Rivera, Lucrecia Barraza, and teens DJ Waugh, Chris Hayes, Shemaya Joseph, and Zayne Murphy. More info about Harvest Fest (@greenvillageinitiative) FEATURED RECIPES:SinasirSwallows – Pounded MethodÈgúsí Soup This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald and Sabrina Herrera. Our interns are Lateshia Peters and Joey Morgan. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rahanna Bisseret Martinez was a contestant on Top Chef Junior, and she’s cooked at some of the best restaurants in the world, including Dominique Ansel Bakery, Chez Panisse, Broken Spanish, Emeril's and Tartine Bakery. Rahanna is the author of the cookbook, Flavor + Us. And she’s still in college! Producers Katrice Claudio and Tagan Engel talk with Rahanna about her book, her busy life and her love of food from all over the world. And, we meet a New Britain family who turned their lawn into a pick-what-you-need garden for their community. GUESTS: Rahanna Bisseret Martinez: Chef and author of Flavor + Us: Cooking for Everyone (@rahanna.bisseret.martinez) Kristianna Smith and Mike Saraceno: Curators and cultivators of a take-what-you-need garden in New Britain, Conn. (@ourgardennb) You can donate books to the garden's book box through Possible Futures. FEATURED RECIPES: Concha SconesDry-Fried Green BeansTie-Dye Berry Paletas LEARN MORE: Listen to Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm talk with Khalilah Brown-Dean about how Black Americans are reclaiming their relationship with nature on an episode of Disrupted. This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Seasoned, we’re thinking about ways coffee spurs connection and builds community. You’ll hear stories about two very different coffee experiences. Producer Katrice Claudio talks with Elijah Hilliman, the co-founder of Semilla Cafe + Studio in Hartford. Semilla is a coffee shop, but it’s also a neighborhood living room serving as a creative space “rooted in intention and reclamation” for Connecticut’s BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities. Plus, Producer Tagan Engel attends an Eritrean coffee ceremony hosted by her dear friend Farha Abubaker. We get to know Farha and the traditions behind each part of the ceremony. And, listeners shout-out J. René Coffee Roasters for both the excellent coffee and the mission behind its sister coffee bar, Victus Coffee. Listen to our interview with owner and coffee expert, J. René Martinez. GUESTS: Elijah Hilliman: Co-owner of Semilla Cafe + Studio Farha Abubaker: Formerly a chef and journalist, currently a teacher in New Haven, Conn. LEARN MORE:Read Ayannah Brown's story, MAROON Series by Semilla Café + Studio in Hartford is generating a new scene of CT music artists. The song at the close of our first segment was "Real Small Change" by local jazz and R&B quartet, Mixed Company. This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald and Sabrina Herrera. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we get the scoop on some of the state’s best ice cream shops from two people devoted to local ice cream. We talk with Craig Behun, the ice cream lover behind the Instagram @cticecreamtour and Shahan Kukreja of Micro Creamery. For years, Craig’s been posting about his adventures trying ice cream shops all over the state. And Shahan takes the micro brewery concept and applies it to ice cream. You’ll find more than 70 local ice creams in the shop. Plus, Sweet Claude’s in Cheshire is an ice cream shop we love; get to know its owner Kelly Anne Pearce. And finally, Dr. Steve Zinn, UConn professor in the Department of Animal Science talks about the cows we have to thank for the milk used in the excellent ice cream served at the UConn Dairy Bar (@uconndairybar). GUESTS: Craig Behun: Ice cream lover, creator of @cticecreamtour Shahan Kukreja: Co-owner of Micro Creamery in Woodbridge and Milford, Conn. (@microcreameryofct) Kelly Anne Pearce: Owner and ice cream maker, Sweet Claude’s in Cheshire, Conn. (@sweet_claudes) Dr. Steve Zinn: UConn professor in the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR); previously department head of Dept of Animal Science Learn More: Watch UConn's cows step up to the Voluntary Milking System to be milked.This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, and Meg Fitzgerald, with help from Sabrina Herrera on Social. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Myers and Shawn Joseph are on a mission. This hour of Seasoned, get to know the farmers behind Park City Harvest in Bridgeport. Aside from keeping their farm productive and making candles, teas, and pikliz from their crops, the entrepreneurs are authors, too. Seasoned producer Tagan Engel tours the farm with "Farmer Rich" and "Farmer Shawn" and cooks a recipe from their book, Grow to Eat: A Vegetable Growing Guide/Cookbook. Plus, we’re sharing some highlights from Where We Live’s recent episode Exploring Connecticut Wine Country. GUESTS: Richard Myers: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of Park City Harvest in Bridgeport, Conn. (@park.city.harvest.llc) (@park_harvest) Shawn Joseph: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of Park City Harvest From the Where We Live feature: Alice Feiring: Journalist and Writer; Author, The Feiring Line Leeanne Griffin: Food and Consumer Reporter, Hearst Connecticut Ryan Winiarski: Owner, Priam Vineyards Patty Rowan: Winery Manager, Hopkins Vineyard BONUS LISTENS: Shawn Joseph mentioned Huneebee Project in New Haven. Listen to the episode where we talked with its founder and two teenage beekeepers. Leeanne Griffin talks with the owners of restaurants that have stood the test of time on an episode of Seasoned. This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, and Meg Fitzgerald, with help from Sabrina Herrera on Social. The wine segment was produced by Katie Pellico for Where We Live. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org. Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.