Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

Thirty-two episodes ago, we began this podcast with one goal: to spend more time with one another. Our conversations celebrate the beauty of home cooking through our friendship, and we both feel a deep sense of pride in the content we’ve shared. Through our weekly collaboration on this podcast, we’ve learned more about each other and home cooking, and feel a deeper connection with one another despite the distance between our cities. This podcast has inspired new ways of cooking, shopping, and eating for us and our listeners. We’re grateful for each and every text/email/comment we receive when one of our FOOD FRIENDS says “Oh yes, me too!,” or “I’ve never cooked xyz that way before,” or when a listener poses a question that challenges us to think deeper. We’ve learned that our listeners tune in from all over the world, including Iran, India, and Ethiopia, and that our largest community of listeners is from Seattle. We see all of you, and we’re so glad you’ve joined us! A heartfelt thanks to the special guests who shared their stories with us this season: Lauren & Seth Rogen, Shannon Sarna, Grace Chon, and Danielle Bell.Part 2 of our finale celebrates the sweetness of being together at long last in Portland, OR. We reveal the many gifts that our FOOD FRIENDSHIP offers from cooking together, to eating out in the world, to foraging for local fruit, to just spending time in the company of each other. Thanks for tuning in this season! We’re excited to take a break and spend time with our families and travel, and to collect new ideas and momentum for next season! See you soon! xoxo, Kari & Sonya  ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Keep in touch with Sonya on her site or IGKeep in touch with Kari on her site or IG De Porres Catering in Los Angeles Exilior coffeeMoney Bowl for the best rice balls Hat Yai Thai foodWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

This week we’re planning a FOOD FRIENDS adventure… Kari is headed to Portland to visit Sonya! We’re celebrating the finale of our first season with two special episodes. This week’s part one and it’s a very real conversation we decided to record on the fly as we made plans for Kari’s visit. We talk about all the ways we hope to spend our time together. Will we cook together? Will we dine at Portland’s best restaurants? Will we make a trip to the farmers’ market together? (Of course, we will!) This episode is all about how you plan a visit with your best food-loving friend… all the anticipation and dreaming, without any of the weather, traffic, or other unforeseen elements that can come up during the actual visit. We reminisce about previous episodes to seek out inspiration: will Sonya make her incredible chocolate chip cookies? Will there be roast chicken? How about beets? Tune in to hear all the ways we’re dreaming of spending our time together. And then, don’t forget to tune in next week to find out what actually happened! Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Rice balls at Money BowlSonya’s favorite coffee in Portland: Exilior CoffeeFind out all about the Portland Farmers MarketSonya’s noodles and cottage cheese A favorite Portland restaurant, Han OakWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

What are our favorite handheld meals? Empanadas! Samosas! Piroshki! Borekas! Burritos! (to name a few!)This week we’re talking all about our favorite portable foods. We start with piroshki, the handheld pastry that Sonya recommended to Kari when she visited Seattle a few years back, then cross cultures to explore empanadas, samosas, onigiri, and borekas. We also explore the world of burritos, both the simple bean and cheese, and the overly stuffed breakfast burrito. As always, we’ll share our favorite spots, as well as tips on how to make our favorite dishes at home. Perfect handheld foods come in many forms, and this episode explores the ones we can’t stop cooking and eating. Tune in to hear more! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:How to make homemade OnigiriPiroshky Piroshky Seattle Sonya’s recipe for cabbage piroshki Liz Alpern, of The Gefilteria, knish recipeZongzi rice ball recipe  You can find Sonya’s favorite rice balls at Money Bowl in PortlandOur favorite burritos in LA: Yuca’s, Escuela, Tacos Villa Carona, and El CoyoteHow to make flour tortillas at home via King ArthurYewande Komolafe’s breakfast burritos for the NY TimesWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

Summer is the time to take your meals outside! Whether you’re heading to your local park, the beach, an outdoor concert, or any other warm-weather gathering, this episode will guide and inspire you to cook and eat deliciously.Family reunion at the park? We love fried chicken and all the classic sides like potato salad, with a few twists. If you prefer pasta salad (or are a skeptic, like Sonya), we share our favs plus an updated version that leans into tahini and parmesan. Headed to the beach? Sonya shares an unexpected takeout approach for the perfect beach picnic. And Kari reminisces about a summer fruit salad that her mom used to make that is served in an unusual but clever way. This conversation builds on our “Deli Salads” episode from a few weeks ago and offers seasonal ideas that will carry you through a delicious summer. What’s your favorite picnic food?? ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Hawaiian mac salad from Onolicious HawaiiTahini parmesan pasta salad by Ali Slagle via the NY Times Alison Roman’s pasta salad with jammy tomatoes Turns out Melissa Clark developed a Green Goddess pasta salad for the NY TimesIna Garten’s legendary pesto pasta salad with peasRich Rosendale’s Elote salad Potato and green bean salad by Minimalist Baker The Spruce Eats shows how to make a watermelon basket Vonbee passionfruit honey puree can be found at Costco or online, or check out your local H-Mart!JJ’s Lone Daughter Ranch has Kari’s favorite juices at the farmers’ market in LAWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “veggie sandwich?” Sprouts? Avocado? Grilled asparagus??? If you’ve never had a great veggie sandwich, you’re missing out! Not to worry, we are here to recount the many veggie sandwiches we’ve loved, including ones we create in our home kitchens. In fact, we shared a veggie sandwich on our very first friend date — it was a perfectly crispy panini filled with greens, artichoke hearts, and melty cheese. We dedicate this episode to delicious sandwiches where veggies are the main event and are treated with the love and care they deserve. We explore unexpected ingredients like roasted harissa-honey carrots, beet spread, and garlicky-grilled broccoli rabe. By the end, we arrive at a shared truth: we love ALL the veggie sandwiches! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Our favorite LA spots for veggie sandwiches: Uncle Paulie’s Deli, Dune, Lodge Bread, and All TimeCreole Me Up Beet Spread can be found around Portland, ORAnnie’s Goddess dressing Check out Adrian Hale’s site – she’s a baker, educator, writer, and the best pita maker!We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

Juicy, sweet, dark & jammy…we’re talking about the arrival of summer berry season!There are so many ways to enjoy summer berries, and in this week’s episode, we try to recount all the ways we love to eat them. Juicy strawberries piled on top of a rich poundcake? Yes, please! Classic strawberry shortcake with flaky biscuits and freshly whipped cream? Count us in! We reminisce about the berry dishes of our childhoods, like the brilliant combination of sour cream and summer strawberries that Sonya’s grandmother used to make for her, and Kari’s family’s favorite Midwestern icebox cakes.What’s your favorite berry? And what dish are you most excited to eat with summer berries? ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Sonya’s labneh cheesecake with strawberry sauce and her mocha raspberry icebox cakeAngel food cake with three berry compote by Hugo Matheson via Food & Wine Roasted strawberries by Stella Parks for Serious EatsSmitten Kitchen’s perfect strawberry summer cake Edna Lewis’ blackberry cobblerOlia Hercules Summer Kitchens cookbook, and her recipe for tomato blackberry/mulberry salad Midwestern strawberry pretzel icebox cakeWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

What’s your favorite kind of pie… Fruity and jammy? Cool and creamy? Savory? Kari and Sonya start the show off by talking about their favorite classic summer pies from peach to berry and explore delicious variations like crostatas, galettes, hand pies, and even a simple ice cream pie. Then, we invite Danielle Bell to join us and share her extensive pie-baking expertise with our listeners. Danielle is an LA-based chef, a fellow FOOD FRIEND, and is part of the culinary duo “de Porres” with her partner Pablo Osorio. We hear all about Danielle’s culinary story, including her secret to her incredibly flaky, burnished crusts, and her iconic savory greens pie filling.  Tune in this week for a heavy dose of summer pie inspiration! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Get in touch with Danielle and find out more about de Porres here, and make sure to follow Danielle and Pablo’s Instagram Puff pastry hand-pies via Sally’s Baking Addiction Sonya’s galette recipe Skillet pie from America’s Test Kitchen Alison Roman’s double-crust peach pie Smitten Kitchen’s sour cherry slab pie10-minute ice cream pie from Gimme Some OvenEdna Lewis’ lemon chess pie via The Butter LabDerby Pie via The New York TimesWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

This week we’re talking about deli salads: egg salad, chicken salad, coleslaw, broccoli crunch salad…and more!At Sonya’s restaurant, Beetroot, the deli case was the focal point of the kitchen, churning out classics like egg salad and tuna salad in addition to personal favorites like beet salad. In her home kitchen, Sonya likes to keep at least one type of deli salad on hand for a quick snack or on-the-go lunch. After years of catering, Kari has formed a few strong deli salad opinions of her own, especially when it comes to egg salad. The FOOD FRIENDS discuss and debate the use of mustard and pickle juice in classics like chicken salad, but also divulge their favorite veggie-centric salads that store well in the fridge for days.This episode goes beyond the usual mayo-dominant offerings to inspire you to stock your fridge with salads you and your FOOD FRIENDS will love! Tune in for a giant spoonful of deli salad inspiration! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Ina Garten’s chicken salad via Food Network Sonya’s “health salad” Broccoli crunch salad via The Pretty BeeUkrainian beet saladCucumber salad via Food & Wine (modify by adding lots of dill)Cowboy caviar with lots of taco seasoning, via TikTok and Taste of Home Scrunched cabbage salad by Cybelle Tondu via the NY Times Jones on 3rd in Los AngelesMama Lil’s hot peppers We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

A good sheet pan is an essential piece of equipment. In this episode, we talk about what we mean by sheet pans, where to buy a good sheet pan (we’ve had ours for 10+ years), what we cook on our sheet pans (spoiler: you can cook ANYTHING on a sheet pan), and even how to clean a sheet pan (those dark edges are a badge of honor!). As usual, we share (and debate) all the different recipes and meals we make with our sheet pans, learning from each other in the process, like when does it make sense to use parchment paper? How do you best cook fish? Can you serve a meal on a sheet pan? (ABSOLUTELY!) As usual, you can expect all our tips for cooking veggies, chicken, sausage, meatballs, tofu, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and more.We love our sheet pans and we think you’ll feel the same after you listen! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:We recommend local restaurant supply stores for sheet pans, or these excellent Nordicware pansSonya’s sheet pan Seattle-Style chicken teriyaki The Meatball Shop’s cookbookSheet pan sausage supper via Food NetworkSheet pan chicken parm via Rich RosendaleSheet pan haloumi via The KitchnSheet pan eggplant parm via Food & WineSheet pan harissa salmon by Colu Henry for the NY TimesWe love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!

Strawberries! Rhubarb! Peas! Cherries! Turnips! Artichokes! Melons! OH MY!!Prime farmers market season has arrived! All over the country, local markets are opening up as we march into spring and summer, creating an opportunity for us to connect with and learn from the folks who grow our food. This week we’re sharing our tips on how we approach our weekly farmers market ritual. Where do we park, do we make lists, what do we buy? And, how do we store all the produce that we bring home? We’ll answer these questions and many more! Get your tote bag ready! ***Links to recipes and favorites from this week’s show:Sonya’s Rhubarb and Strawberry GaletteHollywood Farmers’ market and Santa Monica FMPortland Farmers’ marketWeiser Family Farm in LAFarm D’Ici in PortlandWhat Fruits Shouldn’t be Stored Next To Each Other? And What to Store in the Fridge?We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!