Let's Get Real
By Erica Wides
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Podcast Description
Tuesdays at 6:30PM EST On Let’s Get Real Chef Erica Wides walks you down the aisles of the surreal world of food, serving up a heaping dose of reality by separating the food from the foodiness so you can forage, hunt, gather, trap and fish for real food anywhere, even in a foodiness-filled mega market. Incisive, pragmatic, sarcastic, and an unrepentant know-it-all when it comes to anything food, on Let’s Get Real Chef Erica Wides does the job for you of sifting out everything that’s fake in the world of food – from “foodiness” marketing and cooking show shams to “health-halo green-washing” and annoying whole-food righteousness – so you never unknowingly chow down on carpeting again. Learn more at: http://www.letsgetrealshow.com Erica Wides has appeared on PBS’s Stress Free Cooking, Martha Stewart Morning Living, the Food Network’s Chopped and Top Five, and HSN TV; is a regular guest on NPR’s All Things Considered; and is a featured culinary expert for About.com. She is also a Chef and Culinary Instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, and a consultant on product, recipe and curriculum development for clients such as Unilever; Fresh Prep Cookware and Tools; and BeFine Food Skin Care. Chef Wides lives in Brooklyn, New York. Heritage Radio Network. All Rights Reserved.
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Let's Get Real - Episode 33 - Super Foods Are Super F*ed Up | In tonight’s episode – Super Foods Are Super F*ed Up – I get real about what foodiness has done to “super foods”; how icons of power foods like olive oil, which is laced with chlorophyll, blueberries, which are toxic with pesticides, soy which give you man-boobs, and sardines which give you mercury poisoning have been knocked off their pedestals by corruption like John Edwards, Lance Armstrong and John Travolta; how finding out that all the foods that separate the soy and sardine-eating “us” from the 7-11 cupcake eating “them” can actually be really bad for you is enough to make you reach for those Omega-3 enhanced Oreos and hope for the best; and how to realistically deal with the knowledge that sometimes there are no right choices when it comes to eating real food – which is to make others feel inferior for not knowing. This program was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. "The more you know [about food] the more paralyzed you feel." "The foods I even I held up as perfect are maybe more like John Edwards and less like Barack Obama." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 29 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 32 - Veggie Puffs are Turning us Into Vegetables | Eat your veggies! Not veggie powder or veggie juice - but actual earth grown vegetables! Our fearless host Erica Wides encourages listeners to address their food fears and put down the fake organic snacks in favor of real produce. Learn about how you can find pre washed vegetables to make life easier for you and why even the packaged produce is better than foodiness junk. Let Erica guide you through Foodiness Conversion Therapy on Let's Get Real. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. "The fewer words involved, the better the chances are that what you're buying is real food." "I would rather see us eating packaged kale from Costco than loaded potato skins from TGI Fridays." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 22 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 31 - Ignorance is Bliss...Until You Get Diabetes | Is knowledge actually power like they used to say in Schoolhouse Rock? This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides is taking on the the burden that comes with food knowledge and education. How can you order food at a restaurant when you know that every item on the menu has been tainted by foodiness? Erica explains that this condition, called orthorexia nervosa, is actually one of the best eating disorders to have! And ultimately, wouldn't you rather know what you're putting into your body? You know what they say, "Ignorance is bliss...until you get diabetes." This episode has been brought to you by Whole Foods. "Is knowledge about the food you're being fed necessarily, actually empowering? I actually think too much knowledge is paralyzing. Knowing too much is making my head hurt and spin and makes me freeze up in a vortex of indecision!" -- Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 8 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 30 - Vitamins Come From Food, Not Gummies | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides is talking about multivitamins. Remember those Flintstone vitamins you used to take as a child, or that you give to your child? Erica is here to tell you that there is no proof that these vitamins improve your health in any way! Vitamin supplements are ultimate foodiness; taking the nutrients from food and marketing them as something you need separately from food! Tune in to hear about vitamin overdoses, the origin of vitamin supplements after World War II, and how vitamins are branded like candy to today's youth. This program has been brought to you by Edwards. "There is no actual proof that taking vitamins does any good at all, and there's a growing body of evidence that they may actually do some harm since you're taking synthetic versions of the actual nutrients out of their natural context." "We don't have thousands of years of culture to base our food lives on." -- Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 1 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 29 - You Are What Your Fish Ate | Everyone knows that fish are a healthy alternative to meat, right? This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides talks about some of the common misconceptions about our favorite oily fish, salmon and tuna. Do you know the differences between omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids? And did you know that ALL tuna contains mercury? Tune in to hear some of the healthier fish to eat instead of farmed salmon and tuna, the dangers of escaped farmed fish, and why smaller fish are inevitably better for you. Tune in to Erica and escape from "foodiness." This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch. "The Eastern or the Atlantic Salmon hasn't been eaten in any great amounts in 100 years." "Tuna aren't like potato chips, you can't make more of them. Once they're gone, they're gone!" -- Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 24 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 28 - Eat Pizza for Breakfast, Not Pop-Tarts | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides talks about "the most important meal of the day" - breakfast. Specifically, Erica gets real about breakfast cereals, and the expanding waist line of the average American. Erica discusses the origins of "foodiness" and the anti-carnal propaganda of Kellogg's cereals. Ever wonder how your grandparents stayed so fit eating eggs, bacon, and "fatty" foods for breakfast? Or why you crash after eating sugary cereals? All this and more in this week's Let's Get Real. This episode has been brought to you by Edwards. "We expend so few calories a day because everything is done for us!" "During the industrial revolution, people stopped physically working and started physically expanding." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 17 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 27 - If You Want to Be Thin & Not Get Cancer, Eat Real Food | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides takes on artificial sweetener addiction. Erica goes back in time and talks about the diet sodas of her youth- Tab and Diet Sprite, and how they made her feel outright unhealthy. She also talks about aspartame's ugly history amongst the likes of Monsanto and Donald Rumsfeld, and why you should NOT believe it's safe. Do you want to see what it's like in artificial sweetener-infused foodiness hell? Erica urges you to quit your sweetness habit! This program is brought to you by Hearst Ranch. "We assume because [artificial sweeteners] are allowed in our food, and that the FDA says they're safe, that they ARE safe." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 10 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 126 - There's No Glory in Your Whole Grain | You think you know bread, but think again. Tune in to this week's episode of Let's Eat In and hear how foodiness has hi-jacked the symbol and fabric of life. How did Wonder Bread ruin everything? What was bread like in the days of Moses? How did Julia Child's matzah recipe help shape our fearless hostess's life? Listen in and find out! This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. "How has the ultimate symbol of life been hijacked by foodiness?" "Wonder Bread is the least wonderful bread imaginable" "The industrialization of wheat flour along with the loss of thousands of diverse species of wheat in our quest for a super species of wheat brought terrible change and loss to our bread lives." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 3 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 25 - You're Being Infantilized by Fiber Bars | In this episode of Let's Get Real, our hostess Erica Wides discusses how 'foodiness' is infantilizing our society. Tune in to hear about how processed food is removing decision-making from adults and creating a cycle of dependency. Erica touches on a range of subjects such as factory farming, technology and social media, and contemporary politics. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch. "There's so much that infantilizes us, from devices that tell us where we are, to social media that tells us who our friends are, to screens everywhere blaring corporate progaganda at us non-stop. And it's also comfortable and convenient and we're buying it- hook, line, and sinker." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 27 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 24 - Performance Doesn't Come in a Bottle | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides gets pumped up about "sports nutrition" foodiness. Hear a horrifying story about protein powder shakes turned kidney stones and learn more about why Superman wasn't all cut up. Real food will make you "real" strong! What is industrial surplus milk whey? How does it factor into fitness food? Find out more about the muscle craved foodiness industry rabbithole on a scary episode of Let's Get Real. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. | 20 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 23 - They Don't Sell Food at 7-11 | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides reminds listeners that 7-11 does NOT sell food. What do they sell? Foodiness of course! Learn more about how bad our food options are on the road or at convenience stores like 7-11 and gas stations. How can you avoid the packaged trash at these stores and find real food wherever you are? Tune in and find out! This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. "We lose basically one third of our taste buds at [30,000 feet] in the air." "Eating in the air on the road isn't your typical trip down the rabbit hole, it's like getting your legs caught in a rabbit trap and then falling down the hole. Eating while traveling has never been easy." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 13 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 22 - Big Foodiness Gets Occupied | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica "Occupies" Big Food with special guest, food journalist and nutritionist Kristin Wartman. Tune in as they discuss everything from the problems with corporations that control our food supply to Rush Limbaugh's recent attack on food justice fighter and author Tracie McMillan. Learn more about the problems we face as a nation when it comes to what we're eating and find out what Erica and Kristin think we can do to reverse the tide. This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. "A healthy food system is at the root of a healthy democracy. When we have a handful of corporations controlling what we eat, it's a real threat to our democracy. 1/4th of all groceries bought in this country are bought at Walmart." --Kristin Wartman on Let's Get Real | 6 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 21 - Food is Already Smart | Let's Get Real is back after a short 2-week hiatus and Erica Wides is here to tell you why real food is already "smart" and only foodiness advertises itself as smart. Find out about the origins of engineered foods and why we always assume that food can be improved upon. From science fiction dreams to realistic let downs, learn about the differences between what's real, what's fake and what's just plain stupid. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. "Corn was completely engineered by humans to become what it was - an ancient power empire building food staple - to its current incarnation as a vehicle of our human demise." "The more 'smart' food you eat, the dumber you get!" "Smart food is to real food as a Real Housewife is to Meryl Streep" --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 28 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 20 - Feed Your Kids Cheese, Not String | This week on Let's Get Real it's time to break out our children that have been born in the matrix of foodiness and that's just what Erica Wides is here to do. From chicken nuggets and Pediasure, kids foodiness is now present from birth and it put us into a perpetual cycle of bad eating which leads to bad health-- from food dye causing ADHD to 'organic' foodiness making bad food seem real. Learn how you can break out of this food blockade and free your mind and body. This episode is sponsored by Whole Foods Market "Human children have existed and lived and thrived for at least a million years . . and haven't needed foodiness until 100 years ago." --Erica Wides on Let's Get a Real | 1 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 18 - The Replacements | This week on Let's Get Real it's time to take the replacement out of meal replacements. From purees to shakes to powders we are assaulted every day by the promise of easy and convenient 'food' from Special K bars to Pediasure for kids. Tune in to find out what you're really ingesting with those body building mixes (answer: it's a lot of lead) and single serving Trader Joe's meals and learn the simple things you can do to pull yourself out of this rabbit-whole of whole-meal replacement. This episode is sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. "The idea that people use meal replacement powders and shakes for nutrition . . . it's ridiculous! Food is nutrition." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 24 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 18 - Garden Burgers Don't Come From Gardens | This week on Let's Get Real host Erica Wides dissects the mythology behind vegetarian/veganism and the people, like Oprah, who say that it is a "greener" and healthier living style. It's time to break down the barriers behind the vegan-foodiness paradox: we like meat but we don't want to eat it so we eat food that is so heavily processed to taste like meat it ends up being just as bad. So tune in and wake up as to how you can still be healthy and avoid this foodiness rabbithole that our decadent, choice-indulged society has created--it just may take a little extra work. This episode is sponsored by The Hearst Ranch. "It's a processed experience . . vegan foodiness is like methadone. . it approximates the heroin or meat eating experience but it does not fulfill . . .so you keep going back." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 17 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 17 - Bacon Doesn't Come From Turkeys | If there's one thing Erica Wides wants you to know this week it's that bacon doesn't come from birds. It can't. This week Let's Get Real breaks down the food simulacra of 'turkey bacon'. Not only is the "Franken-Foodiness" of turkey bacon and other products (see: Egg Whackers) not making you healthier, it's probably going to make you more sick or kill you in the end. Tune in and find out why eating real is just better, if not tastier! This episode is sponsored by Hearst Ranch. "People forget that bacon isn't a product. It's part of a pig . . . and bacon was traditionally a survival cut for poor people." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 10 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 16 - Vodka Doesn't Taste Like Cupcakes | Why do so many people insist on mixing their alcohol with sugar? Erica Wides addresses the growing epidemic of dessert flavored booze and asks why grown ups are drinking like toddlers. Is this a marketing ploy to get young people addicted to alcohol, or are we just that addicted to sweets? Find out on a boozy edition of Let's Get Real. This episode was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. "We're turning into overgrown overweight drunken toddlers." "Nobody needs to drink chocolate vodka. Chocolate and vodka should never meet. There is nowhere they can intersect successfully." --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 3 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 15 - If It's As Sweet As Candy, It Is | We are programmed to enjoy sweets from birth, but how far do we have to go before crossing the line of sugar sanity? In today's world of foodiness, white lines of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners surround us and the only way to escape is by getting clean. Eat grapes not grape fruit snacks! Drink seltzer and juice, not soda! Kick the habit and reclaim your health - most people lose weight after cutting sugar from their diets! This program was brought to you by Jones Family Farms. "Per-capita consumption of caloric sweeteners increased 43 pounds (39%) between 1959 and 2000" --Erica Wides on Let's Get Real | 20 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 14 - Marion Nestle | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica is joined by legendary real food fighter, educator, writer and activist Marion Nestle. Listen in and hear Marion's thoughts on foodiness, corporate marketing and the dopplegangers we see on shelves imitating REAL food. Hear why she thinks Americans need to learn how to cook and what the future of the real food movement holds. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. "All you can do if you want to help America eat better is get the word out and help people figure it out for themselves" - Marion Nestle on Let's Get Real "Pets eat as much calories as 32 million people in this country" - Marion Nestle on Let's Get Real | 14 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 13 - Soup Doesn't Come From Cans | This week on Let's Get Real get ready to take the pre- out of pre-prepared and pre-packaged because it's time to get real. This week Erica Wides goes behind the scenes on the can-ification of America, from soup to nuts. From recent studies finding BPA in can liners to the real ingredients in condensed soup, find out why it's worth it to go DIY with your soup. This episode is sponsored by Jones Family Farms. | 6 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 12 - Food Is Supposed to Go Bad | Have we become spoiled by the idea that food that isn't supposed to go bad and that leftovers are to be immediately thrown out? This week Erica Wides tells us it's time to get real about expiration dates. And here's the thing, if it's something that doesn't go bad, it's probably bad for you. Tune in and find our why. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. | 29 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 11 - If It Comes In Bottle Don't Drink It | How can Erica Wides afford two places to live? She doesn't drink bottled water, or any other bottled beverages for that matter. Let's Get Real is here to pull you out of that rabbit hole of foodiness, or in this case, drinkiness, that has been perpetuated by beverages that claim to make you smarter, faster, or are 'enhanced' with electrolytes and exotic flavors like 'dragonfruit'. All of this, says Wides, is BS. Tune in for a debunking of drinks such as Gatorade, Neuro, Arizona Green Tea and bottled water like Dasani (it's actually just tap water from Atlanta!), all of which waste your body's resources as well as the environment's. So before reach for that next Vitamin Water at the gas station fridge, listen up and get real about hydration. This episode is sponsored by Fairway Market. | 22 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 10 - We're Meant To Eat Meat | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica sinks her teeth into some meaty discussion. Tune in and find out why humans are SUPPOSED to eat meat, not avoid it! Learn why vegetarians are guilty of the ultimate foodiness and why all healthy people should have at least some protein consumption in their diets! From the dark side of boca burgers and tofu to coming to terms with the fact that human's are truly omnivores this episode will have you thinking about your eating habits, vegetarian and carnivore alike. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market | 15 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 9 - Eat Fruit, Not 'Fruit' Bars | This week on Let's Get Real Erica Wides takes you behind the wrapper on fake fruit and the fruit bar empire. Learn about some of the scams that foodiness may be pulling on you, dear consumer, from fake farm displays to the facade of 'healthy' fruit bars. Take a tour of the 6 Degrees of Foodiness from real apples to toaster pastries and tune in as Erica dispels the myth behind the modern panaceas of "superfruit fusions". This episode was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA. | 8 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 8 - Veggie Packing Peanuts | This week on Let's Get Real, Chef Erica Wides exposes the foodiness behind "green" snack food. Why has our country become one giant evil vending machine? What can we do to find real food, as inconvenient as that can be? What drove our faithful good food fighting hero to eat (gasp) Chipotle?!?!? Find out the answers to these questions and hear what Erica's ideal snack food would be on a very relevant and useful episode of Let's Get Real. This episode was sponsored by Savorian Wines. | 1 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 7 - There's No Such Thing As Whole Grain Cap'n Crunch | On a nostalgic breakfast themed edition of Let's Get Real, Chef Erica Wides dismisses the notion that there could ever be such a thing as "whole grain Cap'n Crunch". Tune in to learn why most conventional supermarket breakfast items are full of "foodiness" and hear how companies "enrich" their products with supplements such as Omega 3's to trick consumers into thinking they are eating healthy food. Whether your memories of cereal as a child are good or bad, this episode is for you. This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA's No Goat Left Behind Initiative. | 26 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 6 - Non Organic Milk = Gonads Gone Wild | Milk... it does a body good! Or does it? Tune in to an especially informative episode of Let's Get Real with Chef Erica Wides. Why is Mongolian milk healthier than American milk? How do hormones get into our milk? Find out why hormone laced milk is so problematic and how you can avoid "foodiness" when it comes to milk. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market. | 18 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 5 - Cage Free, Schmage Free | This week on Let's Get Real, Erica Wides focuses on one of the most elemental food items of all time: eggs. Tune in and find out how to tell the difference between real and fake eggs. They may be advertised as cage free, but does that make them any better? Learn how to make the right decision when it comes to eggs and find out why NO chickens are allowed to be given hormones. This episode was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA. | 12 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 4 - Meet Your Meat | This week on Let's Get Real, Chef Erica Wides helps listeners virtually meet their meat. Hear about how she worked on a grass-fed lamb farm and learned the in and outs of natural animal processing and how much different the pasture raised animals are treated than the typical grain and corn fed industrial stuff. Find out why corn fed meat products don't have the right balance of Omega3 and Omega6 and how things like paste soy and ammoniated beef product find their way into the commodity product. Today's episode was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA's No Goat Left Behind Project. | 4 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 61 - Insipid Puffballs | This week on Why We Cook Erica talks about how a swimming class lead to the realization that cooking is simply subtracting water from food. She also recounts a recent interaction with a Giant Puffball mushroom, and thoughts as to why it wasn't the delicious Porcine-like treat she'd had hoped. This episode was brought to you by The Barterhouse: importers of fine wine. | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 68 - Sucrose Fructose Galactose Dextrose | This week on Why We Cook, on a semi-holiday themed episode, Erica explores the magical world of sugar. She tells the story of wanting to become a pastry chef and craving sugar in a sugar deprived household growing up to then later not being able to stomach sweet desserts. Tune in and learn more about the miraculous scientific properties of sugar, including some fun recipes for home for making marshmallows and ginger cookies! This episode was sponsored by Tekserve & The Lower East Side Ecology Center's "E-Waste Events". Find out everything you need to know about recycling your old electronics by clicking here! | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 76 - The Wildest of Yeasts | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides (aka Chefsmartypants) is joined in studio by guest, colleague and friend Sim Cass. Sim is a bread and baking expert. He currently teaches at the Institute of Culinary Eduaction and was a founding baker at Balthazar. Tune in to learn about the history of baking, from its prehistoric roots to it's unfortunate Wonder Bread phase. Learn more about temperature as it relates to baking bread and why America is currently second to none when it comes to high quality bread. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. For more information visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 56 - The Fabulous Niblets | This week on Why We Cook Erica celebrates the last moments of summer with that sweet yellow star of the summer harvets: corn. Learn about the surprisingly racy names for the myriad types of corn and why the husk is a handy package to be removed at your peril. Tune in for a sneak peek at Erica's upcoming NPR appearance, plus a terrifying description of one of the worst, most starch-laden meals Chef Erica has ever been served by a student. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. Photo: Sweet Corn | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 84 - Your Own Private Exodus | This week on Why We Cook, Chef Smartypants Erica Wides shares her personal approach to Passover, judges a kids' cooking competition, and investigates the most universal of springtime symbols, the egg. This episode is brought to you by Hearst Ranch. For more information visit www.hearstranch.com. | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 89 - The Lost Weekend | This week Erica traces her path to vegetarianism and her recent meat bender. From her duties as teacher at a culinary school to a whiskey bars to the Big Apple Barbecue, follow her meat escapades on Why We Cook. This episode is sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, Inc. . | 30 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 98 - Hello, Goodbye | Why We Cook takes a final bow in this special goodbye episode. A program that was initially billed to be virtual cooking school for, in over 99 episodes Erica has expounded week after week on plethora of subjects about cooking, an action in itself that makes our species unique in the world. But the time for change has come and it arrives in the form of her new show on Heritage Radio Network: Lets Get Real. Get ready to look back and look forward on a very special episode of Why We Cook sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. | 29 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 3 - Strawberries In Winter: The Taste of Disappointment | This week Let's Get Real goes ripe for seasonality as Chef Erica Wides expounds on the disillusionment that foodiness has created: that seasonal items like strawberries are good and available all year round. Fighting this notion of faux-seasonality Erica will guide you to making smarter choices that that you don't need to be an elite Brooklyn foodie to follow that allows you to fight foodiness at the same price for fast food. As the seasons change maybe it's a good time to think about doing the same with your eating habits, so Let's Get Real. This episode is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. | 27 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 2 - An Inconvenient Food | This week Let's Get Real takes on the convenience of food, such as the redesign of the new ketchup packets for drive-thrus, and how that has resulted in the rise of 'foodiness'. No longer having to forage, hunt, process, cook, smoke, etc. our own food has lead to our increased reliance on unhealthy "convenience food" argues Erica, but there are simple and easy ways to make the move to healthier options and there's no need to do it cold turkey. So tune in to Let's Get Real to find out how you can start making real, informed decision about what you eat. This episode is sponsored Wholefoods Market . | 20 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Let's Get Real - Episode 1 - Let's Get Real Premiere | This week brings the exciting inaugural episode of Erica Wides's new show Let's Get Real so turn on your AC because the kitchen is about to get real hot. Back in the day you knew the difference between junk food (candy) and food (vegetables); between food that we knew what it was (apples) and food that we didn’t want to know (Twinkies). This is where Erica comes in each week to walks you down the aisles of the surreal world of food, serving up a heaping dose of reality by separating the food from the foodiness so you can forage, hunt, gather, trap and fish for real food anywhere, even in a foodiness-filled mega market. This special first episode is brought to you by The Hearst Ranch. | 13 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 97 - Sweet Survival | It's been quite a week here in New York and New England expounds Erica on this week's Why We Cook but her survivalist mentality gives us insight to the plethora of uses of honey as one of the ultimate survivalist sundry. From antibacterial to embalming agent to humectant, honey gets many of its benefits from the fact that it doesn't spoil-- edible honey has even been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. But beware! Tune in to learn how Chinese exporters have been selling fake honey and to make sure you're getting the real deal. This episode is sponsored by Fairway Market. | 30 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 96 - Plain Old Plain | This week on Why We Cook Erica comes to realize that sometimes being vanilla isn't all that bad, especially if your a vanilla bean. Learn about vanilla and the truth behind what 'natural flavoring' really means (Hint: It has something to do with beavers). Ever wonder why you can't use vanilla extract in the United Arab Emirates? Tune in and find our on this weeks Why We Cook. This episode is sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. | 17 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 95 - All Used Up | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides continues familiar themes of wings and thrift as she aims to teach listeners how to be more economic with food waste and leftovers. Learn how to get value and profit out of things you'd normally throw out and find out more about everything from slaw to honey. Later in the show, the ladies from We Dig Plants call-in and give some gardening advice. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. | 9 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 94 - Cold, Raw, Thrift | This week on Why We Cook the heat in the kitchen (of culinary school) almost gets to be too much. Tune in for a hi-temp discussion about food thrift, carpaccio, total utilization and salmonoids! This episode is sponsored by Hearst Ranch. | 2 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 93 - Eating In the Dark | This week on Why We Cook Erica runs into an old friend: peanut butter. Learn how to make you're own, all natural peanut butter and peanut sauce at home. Later on tune in for Erica's recounting of surviving the recent heat wave and views on succotash. This episode is sponsored by The Barterhouse. | 26 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 92 - My Friend Cal | Erica returns from a break to talk about her trip to Arizona and her recent taco bender. Tune in to learn about what makes the best kinds of taco's and what the secret ingredient is in cooking cornmeal to avoid pellagra. This episode is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. | 19 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 91 - The Berry and The Blue | It's berry season and in this installment of Why We Cook the focus is all on blueberries. From picking wild blueberries in Maine to the making of pemmican to the native berry species of North America, Erica covers it all. This episode is sponsored by Zingerman's Camp Bacon. | 28 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 90 - Transgressional Gleaning | This week on Why We Cook it's all about adaptability and flexibility. Erica talks about about the advantages of planning your meals and getting the most out of your leftovers-- from venison burgers,to a breakfast of cabbage and eggs to the seasonal offerings of cabbage and rhubarb. Later on in the show, learn what she and painter Jean-Francois Millet have in common. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard and Winery. | 21 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 88 - Wunderskins | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides aka Chefsmartypants talks about skin as it applies to everything from bread to tight bathing suits. Tune in to learn why "tightness" is such an important concept when it comes to spring rolls and why bread dough should always be kept damp. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch - the nations largest single-source supplier of grassfed and grass finished beef. | 7 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 87 - Red Hot Lumps | This week on Why We Cook, Erica talks radishes! From Easter Egg radishes to horseradish, Erica explores the cultural views on the many types of radishes as well as their varied use in different styles of cooking. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. | 31 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 86 - Bringing Food Back to Life | What happens to food the food in your refrigerator after you die? It may be a weird thought, but Chefsmartypants aka Erica Wides is here to ease your mind. Tune in to hear more about food & decay as it relates to expiration dates, ripeness and scavenging. Also hear Erica's Duck Platinum recipe. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch. | 17 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 85 - Dirt & Leaves | Erica Wides, aka Chefsmartypants, gets dirty on a leafy themed episode of Why We Cook. Tune in to hear about her adventures making her bungalow gardens animal proof and find out valuable advice on how to properly clean produce. Also, here a hilarious story that ends with a chocolate covered mouse in the kitchen! This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery | 10 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 83 - Past Your Prime | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides (aka Chefsmartypants) urges listeners to drop their American habits and let fruit ripen on it's own! Learn why refrigerators can ruin perfectly good fruit on it's way to ripening perfection and find out how to hunt for bargain produce in your local supermarket. Finally, hear why Erica thinks we could all use a little more dirt in our lives. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. For more information visit www.CainFive.com. | 12 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 82 - Late Adapter | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides (aka Chefsmartypants) finally gives in to some culinary techniques and trends she has resisted for years. She may have never watched the Sopranos, but she is coming around on The Modernist Cuisine book. Tune in and join her in this revelation and also find out why she thinks male goats are the protein of the future! This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods market celebrates Earth Month with the “Do Something Reel” Film Festival, a collection of six provocative, character-driven films focused on food, environmental issues and everyday people with a greater vision. Come see one of the six features at City Cinemas Village East from Saturday, April 16th through Thursday April 21st, every night at 6pm. Learn more about the films and special events at www.DoSomethingReel.com | 6 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 81 - Turnip Torpor | If you live in New York, you're definitely craving spring. How can you cure the extended winter blues? Chefsmartypants is here to help you survive! Tune in to the latest episode of Why We Cook as Erica Wides recommends you take a dive into some health soup (warning: this recipe breaks the Sicilian law of mixing cheese and seafood). This episode was sponsored by www.TheBarterhouse.com | 29 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 80 - Good Smell, Bad Smell | What's that smell? Erica Wides, aka Chefsmarypants, goes behind the stench and foul odors we all fear and loathe on a stinky episode of Why We Cook. Tune in to learn about scent and how it relates to our cultural and culinary experience as humans. Find out why the French have a thing for a slight fecal smell, why the horrid odor of fish sauce is misleading and why Erica would rather lose her sight than her sense of smell. This episode was sponsored by The Museum of Food & Drink. | 22 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 79 - Bag O'Badness | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides aka Chefsmartypants shares a story of her experience making "dirty money" being on a focus group for children's packaged food items. Thankfully she kept her morals intact and let "the man" know why he's wrong. Tune in to hear this hilarious story and to find out more about the other side of packaging as Erica explains how bamboo chutes and banana leaves can be used to serve food. This episode was sponsored by The Museum of Food & Drink | 15 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 78 - See Me, Peel Me | This week on Why We Cook, Chefsmartypants shows some skin! Well, not really, but she cleverly uses skin as a theme to connect everything from spending time in the sun to the cleanliness of citrus "zest". Tune in to learn about pomelo peel and the strange gastronomic history surrounding it and find out more about the history of oranges and the deliciousness of fish skin. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market - like no other market. | 1 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 77 - Brick Chick House | Have you ever cooked chicken with a brick? Erica has - and she's here to tell you why it's a much better method of cooking chicken than roasting. Tune in and learn how to do it yourself at home and why you should think twice before clamoring for all that white meat - it's the dark meat that you should really be after! This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market - like no other market. For more information visit www.fairwaymarket.com. | 22 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 75 - Red Flavor, Black Favor | On this 75th(!!!) episode of Why We Cook, Erica Wides brings her distaste for black jellybeans to the front of the conversation as she defends other licorice-tinged foods such as fennel and anise. Tune in and learn where licorice actually comes from and why no matter how old you get, some foods will never do it for you. Also learn about The Trigeminal Affect, or what makes food give you flavor and feeling (ie: mint). This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. For more information visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com | 8 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 74 - The Wee Tasty Clam | This week Erica's mind is in the water. After a few swimming class mishaps, Chefsmartypants decides to make this week's Why We Cook about Manilla clams. Tune in to hear Erica's perfect winter Manilla clam recipe, easy enough to try at home! Also find out the truth behind the "Tuna - The Wonder Fish" campaign. While the commercials might be awesome, the message and agencies behind them are not! This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch - the nations largest single-source supplier of grassfed and grass finished beef. Learn more at www.hearstranch.com. | 2 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 73 - I'm Melting | Melted American Chesse on Why We Cook? Yes! Tune in this week for an indulgently melty episode of the Chefsmartypants Radio Show and hear Erica share her memories of grilled cheese sandwiches and her thoughts on the Croque-monsieur. Learn why Americans crave globs of cheese and how Ashkenazi Jews have an advantage when it comes to dairy! This episode was sponsored by Tabard Inn. For more information visit www.tabardinn.com | 26 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 72 - Embrace the Darkness | This week on Why We Cook, Erica examines our fear of the dark and offers a unique and slightly Asian chicken adobo recipe! Tune in and hear all about adobo, a process in which you brine meat in vinegar. Learn how you can make your own version of Erica's chicken adobo in 30 minutes or less! Also listen in as Chefsmartypants laments on the state of American Industrial Food and it's lack of darkness. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch, the nations largest single source supplier of grassfed and grass finished beef. | 18 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 71 - Chicken Soup for the Snow | Snowed in? Don't know what to eat? Erica Wides, aka Chefsmartypants, has you covered! Tune into to a seasonal and informative episode of Why We Cook and learn how to make some good old fashioned chicken soup. Listen in and learn how stock can be made from raw bones and/or cooked carcass. Erica teaches you how to make your own stock and gives some very useful tips for deciding which style of soup you feel like making (hint: it's all in the herbs). Also find out which cereal has more sugar - Raisin Bran or Cocoa Puffs. This episode was sponsored by Tekserve and their E-Waste events. For more information visit www.tekserve.com/recycling. | 11 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 70 - The Year of The Vegetable | On the 70th episode of Why We Cook, Erica Wides, aka Chefsmartypants, declares that 2011 is the year of the vegetable! Listen in as Erica laments the lack of produce in the daily lives of Americans and tries to encourage listeners to add a little green to their breakfast routine. Find out why pork is played out and how you can make smarter decisions to lead a healthier life! This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. | 4 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 69 - Seasonal Solstice Suffering | Today, which happens to be the longest day of the year, Erica Wides reflects on some Seasonal Solstice Suffering on the latest episode of Why We Cook. Listen in as Erica reflects on her winter citrus tendencies and questions the inclusion of asparagus on winter restaurant menus. How far can seasonality be taken without getting out of hand? Tune in and find out how to survive this cold season while still eating produce you love. This episode was sponsored by 360 Cookware. For more information on their product line and vapor technology visit www.360cookware.com | 21 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 67 - Protein Play Doh | This week on Why We Cook, Erica defends ground meat. Not only is ground meat one of the more profitable ventures for small farmers, it can also be some of the most delicious and affordable meat. Tune in and re-live Erica's experiences working on a lamb farm, learn about Actomyosin and find out why you should never ever throw away that leftover crust after coking. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market - like no other market. | 7 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 66 - Big Fish, Little Fish | This week on Why We Cook, Erica Wides aka Chefsmartypants teaches us a lesson about the fish we eat. Tune in and find out why you should avoid tuna sashimi at all costs, what the word "natural" really means in regards to food and why you should trend towards the little fish! This episode was brought to you by our friends at Cain Five Vineyard & Winerey: promoting sustainability and healthy living. | 30 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 65 - Big Bird, Little Bird | This week on Why We Cook Erica takes a look at that timeless Turkey Day tradition: eating a bird. She recounts a recent visit to Vietnam to point out some differences between US and Vietnamese food, including the expense of a chicken egg relative to other birds eggs and the relative cheapness of quails in Vietnam. She also discusses the myriad of birds we consider OK to eat, including guinea hens and squaws (aka pigeons). Whole Free-Range Poussin | 23 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 64 - To Chill, Or Not To Chill? | This week on Why We Cook Chef Erica returns from Vietnam and recounts a history as private chef, a freelance caterer, and a sordid affair with a refrigerator. Learn what habit might be the root of all US obesity evil, and how badly-designed kitchen equipment can be a status symbol and major impediment to deliciousness. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. | 16 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 63 - Soured | This week on Why We Cook Chef Smarty Pants laments America's obsession with soda, and fears for a close friend with a diet soda addiction. When a search for a soda with maximum flavor and minimum sweetness ends without a clear winner, she ponders the potential for creating her own soda replacement beverage. By taking stock of some of the most soda-worthy fruits from around the world (heavily favoring the citrusy, sour, tart fare), Chef Erica is able to recommend some potential concoctions that might satiate even the hardest soda devotee. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. | 7 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 62 - The Sugar-Coated Sniper | This week on Why We Cook, Erica has a special guest in the studio - Pastry Chef and Culinary Instructor Chad Pagano. Erica and Chad talk about all things related to baking, including sugar varieties, the shelf life of flour and how egg quality really DOES matter. This episode was sponsored by Egglands Best, in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Fresh Fruit Tart using Pastry Cream (recipe based on one from a class by chef Chad Pagano) via Pretty Tasty Cakes | 13 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 60 - Klapperschwam | This week on Why We Cook ChefSmartyPants recounts her adventures joining a mycology club: hitting the forests, foraging an armful of fungus, then going at it with microscopes, magnifying glasses, Mycology tomes, and other research tools. Chef Erica eventually becomes frustrated at the pace of the mycologist's crew, ponders a potential dabble in hunting, and finally finds a giant delicious mushroom on a stroll through the wilderness. This episode was sponsored by Fairway: like no other market. Hen of the woods mushrooms | 29 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 59 - Bitter Me Up | This week on Why We Cook Erica explores the world of the bitter. From cocktails of tonic, gin and Campari to Rogue IPAs to broccoli rabe and raddichio, Chef Erica tells a tale of a weekend filled with bitter experiences, both culinary and otherwise (the summer IS ending, after all). Plus we get an update on Erica's bees, who are anything but bitter and working dilligently. This episode was sponsored by Fairway: like no other market. Photo 1: Bitter broccoli rabe, Photo 2: Erica's favorite beer - Brutal Bitter by Rogue Brewery | 22 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 58 - Urban Scavenging | This week on Why We Cook Erica talks urban foraging and flavored honeys. A recent trip out to the northwest found Chef Erica in a wonderland of wild blackberries. These "Queens of the Berry World" grow like weeds out there, literally--many residents of Portland consider them to be thorny pests rather than a bounty of free wild treats, and they can often be found for sale at green markets a stones throw away from areas where they're growing wild. This episode also looks at carrot honey and Whole Foods's impressive new effort to spread awareness about conserving seafood. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. New York City’s Craft Beer Week is just around the corner, beginning Friday, September 24th and running through Sunday, October 3rd. To kickoff the annual series, Whole Foods Market Bowery is hosting a beer and food pairing event in their Beer Room. Oskar Blues is on tap and Chef Jacques Gautier of Park Slope’s Palo Santo is cooking up one of his South American delights to accompany. Food tasting goes from 5 to 7 and beer will continue til 9. With a Craft Beer Week passport get $3 off a 64 ounce growler fill. Meet Chef Gautier Friday, September 24th and enjoy some special tastes, on tap and from the kitchen. Photo 1: Green Figs, Photo 2: Blackberries | 14 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 57 - Honey Coated Corruption | This week on Why We Cook Chef Erica explores the link between illegal honey and the high holidays. Follow the trail of nasty secret Chinese honey as anti-biotics (meant to stop the spread of fungicide, which may also be in the Chinese honey) makes its way into honey, which is then repackaged and sent to other countries to avoid detection, or simply thinned out with corn syrup to become honey-flavored syrup. Then learn about honey's connection to the Jewish High Holidays, and why Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, means stuffed fish, tongue, and honey for everyone! This episode was sponsored by The Barterhouse. | 7 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 55 - Know Your Fruit | This week on Why We Cook its Back to School week! Join Chef Erica for a quiz on all things fruit. Learn how to find the best watermelons, the difference between ripening and maturing, and what the single most sold item at Wal-Mart is. Tune in for this extremely helpful fruit-picking-primer. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods. Photo: How did you do on the quiz? | 24 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 54 - Fig Out | This week on Why We Cook Erica goes on a quest for local peaches that do not suck, and ponders the morality and practicality of returning fruit from the store whence it came. This week is also a look at figs, and the figs' delicious step-sister, apricots. Tune in to get a firm grasp on the last few weeks of summer and the juicy ripe fruit therein. This episode was sponsored by Edwards of Surry Virginia. Photo 1: "showing the fig", Photo 2: a good(?) apricot | 17 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 53 - Peachy Keenwa | This week, Erica pays homage to all foods yellow. Specifically, we learn about the mind body benefits of the under-appreciated turmeric plant and the rich cultural and personal history of Cheese Doodles. This show was brought to you by Hearst Ranch, purveyors of fine grass-fed beef. Photo 1: Morrie Yohai, inventor of the Cheez Doodle, Photo 2: turmeric powder | 3 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 49 - Tales From the Clay Oven | This week on Why We Cook Erica covers the delicious summertime treat that is Vietnamese iced coffee, and delves into the wonderful warm world of clay ovens. Find out what the traditional sod houses of Scandanavia have to do with eating and baking in New Hampshire, and how domes once ideal for bee-hives are now used to make the most delicious of all foods: pizza. This episode was sponsored by Tekserve: your one-stop Mac superstore and support center. | 3 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 52 - Friends and Wasters | This week on Why We Cook Chef Erica delves into the world of thrift: wasting food, preserving food, and why the outlook of younger kids is less thrift-focused than those who grew up with parents who survived the Holocaust or the Great Depression. Plus we get a primer on one of the oldest forms of cooking around: the clay oven. This episode was sponsored by Fairway: like no other market. | 3 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 51 - Slicin' Bison | This week on Why We Cook Erica talks Banh Mi, plus the stress of shipping foie gras butter to Ohio, the difficulty of finding bread small enough for tiny Banh Mi(s) in the US, the headache of marinating Bison interstate, and the ultimate magic of having a freezer full of foie gras. Tune in to hear what Erica does when a farm allows her to cook with whatever "fixins" grow on their farm for a cooking event. This episode was sponsored by Tekserve: your one-stop Mac superstore and support center. Chef Erica's final plating at the Food & Wine event at Chef's Garden in Ohio | 20 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 50 - Stew You | 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. | 13 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 48 - Chilled | This week on Why We Cook Erica explored the world of iced, caffeinated beverages, the perfect treat for a sweltering summer day. Learn why Thai iced tea is the perfect "heat killer" versus beer, coffee, or normal tea, and how iced-tea became a favored summer treat at the turn of the last century. Tune in, brew it up, and cool it down! This episode was sponsored by Tekserve: your one-stop Mac superstore and support center. | 1 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 47 - To Stir Or Not To Stir? | This week on Why We Cook Erica engages the listener with an exploration of one of the kitchen's oldest, most mysterious, subtle, nerve-racking and glorious processes: cooking rice. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 46 - Peas Out | Hear about the not-so illustrious reputation of Waldbaum's canned peas and their sulfurous opening scent, and where you can get the best fresh peas as a delicious alternative to the can. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 45 - Cut Off Your Face | Erica reminisces about the "dark, clubby, upholstered, fish-and-cocktail-sauce smelling, Mad Men-esque" Elk Hotel and Restaurant and begins a journey into the world of Soft Shell Crabs. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 44 - Bubble Bubble | This week Erica spoke to Chef Mike Schwartz of BAO Kombucha. Mike spoke on the mystical and symbiotic relationship between bacteria and yeast (or, as they refer to it, SCOBY) to make this delicious fermented treat. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 43 - Stick It | This week on Why We Cook Erica delves into skewered bits of meat! Tune to hear Erica break down Sate and Yakitori; all of the delicious street foods that are the result of a host of compressed influences and cultures. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 42 - The Cheeseweavers | This week's Why We Cook was a doosy. Whey should you listen? Why for a breakdown on the "young fresh cheeses" available everywhere from the most boutique hole-in-the-wall cheese shops to major retailers all over New York City...thats why! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 41 - Impatiently Waiting | Tune in to hear how Erica maximizes her rhubarb-consumption during its brief growing season, and how she's tricked out her upstate bungalow's garden space. Plus get the scoop on Erica's new bee hive! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 40 - Arms, Legs, Wings | This week, Erica asks "why chicken wings?" and offers alternatives in the form of frogs legs and rabbit "arms". | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 39 - Yogurt! | This week focuses on the history, properties & benefits of yogurt. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 38 - The Bittersweetness | Erica highlights the benefits of caramelizing sugar, and talks about why she loves Easter candy so much. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 37 - Spring Rools! Especially if it's Fried | Erica talks about spring "rools" and Passover food traditions, specifically home made matzo. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 36 - The Dead Season | sponsored by Hearst Ranch - This week Erica talks about "The Dead Season" of Spring. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 35 - I Just Don't Like It | On a confessional episode of Why We Cook, Erica dishes on her least favorite foods; foods that chefs are supposed to love! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 34 - That Sweet, Sweet Head | This week on Why We Cook, Erica highlights the cabbage and tells us why we shouldn't throw out our moldy vegetables. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 33 - Bake It Easy | This week's show, in spirit of the late Ronald Howes, is dedicated to the Easy-Bake oven. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 32 - Tet Un-offensive | This week is all about Asian food traditions for new year celebrations, both lunar and Gregorian. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 31 - The Miracle Of Fermentation | Erica is back from Vietnam! This week is all about kimchi and fermentation. Find out why northern cuisine can sometimes get spicy. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 30 - The Aughts: The Good, The Bad and The Muddly | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica takes a look back at the decade to reflect on what she sees as the ten best things to happen to American food in the 00's. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 29 - The Orphans of Winter; Celery Roots and Rutabagas | On this week's installment of Why We Cook, Erica urges you to give the root vegetables and tubers a second chance with prep tips and dish offerings. Don't just let these overlooked veggies sit on your supermarket shelves all winter! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 28 - Worst.Plate.Ever | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica rehashes her worst meal ever, presented to her by a student at ICE, who shall remain unnamed. How does one make the worst meal ever? Find out here. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 27 - Let Us Now Braise Famous Meats | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica breaks down the basics of braising: from choosing a worthy if obscure cut, to creating a master stock, to letting the flavors develop after cooking. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 26 - Completion Issues | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica moves through Part II of her series on oils. Some history and prep tips for lesser-used oils and a primer on the endless culinary and dermatological benefits of coconut oil. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 25 - Magical Oil | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica casts a lens on exotic oil varieties, explaining their origins, their extraction methods, and how to best use them in your dishes. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 24 - Thanks, giving! | On a special Thanksgiving edition of Why We Cook, Erica Wides gives us some things to be thankful for. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 23 - Holy Madre Cacao | This week's episode of Why We Cook is all about cacao with special guest Jeff Pzena, owner of The Cotton Tree Lodge in Belize. Why might cacao be the next superfood and how is this bitter plant transformed into what we know as chocolate? | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 22 - Don't Wince, It's a Quince | Autumn has arrived which means it's the perfect time to become reacquainted with fesitval fall fruits. This week on Why We Cook, Erica tells us all you need to know about pears & quince. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 21 - Pound The Paste | This week's Why We Cook covers the gamut of raw, crushed, mortar and pestle sauces. You may not know that picada, pesto and muhammara are all variations on a basic culinary theme: each sauce is built on a foundation of nuts, garlic and olive oil. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 20 - Suck Onfit | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica travels through time to reveal the origins of preserved dishes like duck confit, suggesting preparation methods and unexpected pairings (hint: couple birds with the same veggies they eat). | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 19 - Good Foods Gone Bad | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica covers good foods gone bad; healthy foods hijacked by food industry and turned bad. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 18 - Holy Flavor Trinity Batman! | On this week's Why We Cook: Our most information-packed episode ever. Erica spans the globe to distill the most basic flavors of international cuisines, breaking each region or tradition into a "Flavor Trinity". An episode not to be missed! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 17 - The Quiet Little Bean | On today's Why We Cook: a bean primer. Erica gives a brief history of beans, offers some preparation techniques, and reveals the secrets behind a first-class black bean soup. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 16 - Funny Little Salty Cured Things | The title of this week's Why We Cook: "Those Funny Salty Cured Things". Erica Wides sheds some light on the anchovy, the caper, and the olive. Listen in to learn how to incorporate these flavor-packed ingredients into your dishes. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 15 - The Homely, Humble Forgotten Roots | On this week's Why We Cook, chef Erica Wides shows the root vegetables some love! Learn about preparations, techniques and obscure vegetables hidden in your produce section. Also, very special guest Claire Handleman, blogger and chef at Del Posto. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 14 - The Big Breakfast Show, Or, What Soph Ate | On this week's installment of Why We Cook, Erica turns your ideas of breakfast on their heads. Forget what you think you know about the first meal of the day! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why We Cook - Episode 13 - Anchovies, Mackerel and Sardines Oh My! With A Shout Out To Herring Too | This week on Why We Cook: Erica talks slimy, oily fish, trying to cast a brighter light on anchovies, sardines, and mackerel with some brainy histories and quick prep tips. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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120 |
Why We Cook - Episode 12 - The Veggies We Love To Think We Hate | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica celebrates a handful of outcast veggies and shares preparations to curry your favor towards the beet, cauliflower and lima bean. Don't sleep on these nutritious delights! | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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121 |
Why We Cook - Episode 11 - Attack Of The Squash People | This week on Why We Cook, Erica continues her exploration into vegetables with Zukes, Cukes & Melons. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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122 |
Why We Cook - Episode 10 - Chowing The Green | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica covers the gamut of greens, from soft, leafy greens to sturdier collard greens. Included in her talk are histories of each variety and preparation suggestions with recipes and professional tips. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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123 |
Why We Cook - Episode 9 - The Much Maligned Eggplant | This week on Why We Cook, Erica turns her attention to Eggplant and the history of the much maligned vegetable. Also on the show, farmer Lee Jones. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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124 |
Why We Cook - Episode 8 - Chillin With Gazpacho And His Cousins | On this week's Why We Cook, Erica shares a brief history of Ratatouille, Panzanella and Gazpacho with a step by step guide to perfecting the three dishes. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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125 |
Why We Cook - Episode 7 - Summer On The Half-Shell | This week on Why We Cook Erica presents a primer on cooking shellfish on the grill and interviews Bernie Wides of the New York Estuary Oyster Project. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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126 |
Why We Cook - Episode 6 - Hoi An, Vietnam | This week on Why We Cook: Erica's triumphant return from Vietnam! Wides plucks tales from her travels, reflects on her work for Streets International, and breaks-down some of Vietnam's all-star dishes. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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127 |
Why We Cook - Episode 5 - Shaking Up Spring Drinks | Erica sits down with head mixologist of Back Forty, Michael Cecconi, to cover top shelf drink concepts and seasonal concoctions. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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128 |
Why We Cook - Episode 4 - From Farm to Table? No, From Chef To Farmer! | Erica talks veggie preparations and techniques with chef and farmer David Ramirez. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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129 |
Why We Cook - Episode 3 - Salt Talks II: Make Salt Work For You | Salt Part II: Erica talks more about how to use salt in vegetable and meat preparations with guest Clayton Lank of Quoddy Mist Sea Salt. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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130 |
Why We Cook - Episode 2 - Salt Talks I: The Tasty Rock | A show worth it's salt: Erica talks salt and salumi with Alexis Pisciotta, Chef de Cuisine at Salumeria Rosi. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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131 |
Why We Cook - Episode 1 - Why Do We Cook? | In her premiere episode, Erica takes us back to the first family meals, offers a brief how-to on cooking various meat cuts, and interviews the Executive Editor of Art Culinaire magazine. | 20 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 131 Episodes |
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