Hey everyone,
It’s my favorite time of year: spring! So many delicious things to eat (fava beans, artichokes, strawberries) and so many ways to prepare them. That’s why I’ve invited two notable food writers on to the podcast to talk about their favorite spring cooking strategies.
First, L.A. Times cooking columnist Ben Mims swings by to tell us about his newfound love for radishes, his savory approach with rhubarb (peppercorns and olive oil!), and how he turns spring flowers into syrups that he can stir into sodas.
Then, NYT contributor and author of the new cookbook, I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To), Ali Slagle stops by to talk about her spring cooking approach: from boiling artichokes and eating them with store-bought mayonnaise to doing nothing with spring strawberries (“I just eat ‘em raw.”)
We also talk about her growing up in LA, her grandmother who lives near me and apparently makes amazing food for her neighbors that they don’t eat (hello! I’m right here), how she pitches stories to The New York Times, her decision to leave Brooklyn with her boyfriend after the pandemic to travel the country, and who tastes her food to give her feedback.
Make sure to become a paid subscriber so you can hear tomorrow’s bonus episode with Ali where I pepper her with TEN FEISTY FOOD QUESTIONS. (Here’s last week’s with Natasha Leggero.)
As for my own favorite spring recipes, here’s that strawberry rhubarb pie I mentioned when I talked with Ben.
You can get the recipe here.
And all of that talk of fava beans reminds me of that amazing fava bean toast that I made last year.
You can read about it in this archived newsletter.
What are your favorite spring recipes? Let us know in the comments!
Okay, off to the market….
Your friend,
Adam
Spring Cooking Week with Ali Slagle & Ben Mims