Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

Are you looking to beat the heat with an easy, refreshing, and QUICK dessert?
By the end of this episode, you'll want to try a tapioca pudding topped with fresh summer berries that's vegan, gluten-free, and ready in just 10 minutes on the stove.
You’ll also discover a lemony pasta dinner that comes together fast, with the help of a can of chickpeas, a bundle of greens, and crumbled feta.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
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Links:
How to Start A Cookbook Club from our Substack
Dac Biet: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook by Chef Nini Nguyen and Sarah Zorn – in the book you’ll find the recipes for:
Green Jackfruit and Cabbage Salad
Lemongrass Ground Meat
Pickled eggplant (here’s a similar version to try)
And Coconut Tapioca banana pudding (here are two similar recipes: one from Serious Eats with crushed peanuts, and another with caramelized banana on top from Food 52)

You can find more of Chef Nini Nguyen’s recipes here
Lemony Chard with chickpeas and feta by Hetty Lui McKinnon, tossed with pasta
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.
Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers’ market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

What do you do with a pile of zucchini?
If you're torn between making the same tired zucchini bread again or scrolling through hundreds of recipes hoping to find one that’s actually delicious and not a soggy mess, this episode is for you.
This week, we’re sharing tried-and-true zucchini recipes, and by the end of this episode, you’ll:
Discover 30-minute dinners, like a one-skillet meatless meal with a 5-minute game-changing yogurt sauce
Learn cooking techniques to get the best texture and flavor out of your zucchini – like crisp edges and lots of caramelization
Find out an unexpected, delicious, and easy way to freeze and use up any summer squash

Press play now and turn your zucchini overload into the most delicious problem you'll solve all summer!

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And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
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Links:
Zucchini and crispiest chickpeas in garlic yogurt from Smitten Kitchen
Seared zucchini with halloumi by Ali Slagle
Ina Garten’s Parmesan roasted zucchini
Zucchini tots from Recipe Tin Eats
Grated zucchini orecchiette from Hailey Catalano
Corn and zucchini orzo casserole by Half Baked Harvest
Zucchini roll-ups from Wholesome Yum
White Zucchini Pizza by Yumna Jawad, from The Pioneer Woman
Zucchini in smoothies (frozen ahead of time) from Love & Lemons
Zucchini cookies with lemon glaze by Foodie Crush

Also mentioned:
Gabrielle Hamilton’s zucchini tops

A few all-time favorites;
Thomas Keller's viral zucchini
Elizabeth Minchili’s pasta with zucchini and herbs, and her TikTok
Giada’s scarpaccia video and her recipe (gluten-free!) and Vegan version of scarpaccia from Earth To Rocco
Kari’s favorite carmelized zucchini pasta by Ali Slagle for the NY Times
Farfalle with yogurt and zucchini by George Germon and Johanne Killeen for Food & Wine
Zucchini bruschetta (aka zucchini crostini!) by Martha Stewart (add a little basil in it too!)
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.
Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers’ market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

What makes one recipe become the most popular in the New York Times Cooking’s history?
In this bite-sized episode, we share the best things we ate this week to inspire each other—and you.
By the end of this episode, you'll want to make crisp, stuffed zucchini blossoms that are restaurant-quality but come together in under 30 minutes. You'll also discover why the legendary Marian Burros plum torte has become one of the most beloved dessert recipes of all time – it's endlessly adaptable, freezer-friendly, and approachable for even beginner bakers.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
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For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
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Links:
Stuffed zucchini blossoms from Carolyn’s Cooking – this recipe calls for parsley and chive, but Sonya likes to add basil to the filling instead.
Original plum torte by Marian Burros for NYT Cooking, plus suggestions for adapting the recipe. Kari used plums with butter, whole wheat flour and cardamom in addition to cinnamon (¼ tsp each) mixed with turbinado sugar on top, then apricots with non-dairy butter, GF flour with almond meal, and the same cardamom and cinnamon mixed with turbinado sugar on top.
Other mentions:
Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.
Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers’ market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

Ever wonder what food people actually cook when guest come over — and why those recipes always work?
This week, we're re-releasing our fan-favorite episode with Adam Roberts — aka The Amateur Gourmet. He takes us inside his kitchen, shares his favorite cookbooks and go-to recipes, and tells us all about his fantastic debut novel, Food Person (now out in paperback!). We talk summer cooking, dinner party philosophy, and why even a slightly undercooked salmon can still lead to a great night.
By the end of this episode, you’ll:
Get a sneak peek at Food Person, Adam’s twisty, funny debut novel and a page-turning, insider look at food media (think The Devil Wears Prada, but for cookbook publishing).
Discover the dessert that never fails a dinner party.
Find out the #1 mistake home cooks make when hosting, and the mindset shift that turns chaos into calm.

Press play for Adam’s best dinner party advice, his all-time favorite cookbooks, and the recipes he relies on most to make hosting feel like a breeze.
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Links:
Food Person, Adam’s debut novel is out now!
Subscribe to Adam’s Amateur Gourmet Newsletter on Substack
Follow Adam on Instagram

Adam’s cookbook recs from today’s episode:
The Barefoot Contessa books (especially for beginners)
Or level up your home cooking with Mozza at Home, by Nancy Silverton and Carolyn Carreno
For the best homemade ice cream recipes and techniques, check out David Leibovitz’s The Perfect Scoop
Anything by Melissa Clark is dependably excellent
Some of the cookbook’s highlighted in Food Person: The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, The Chez Panisse Cookbook, and The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth

The food writing Adam most admires:
Calvin Trillin
Amanda Hesser’s Cooking for Mr.Latte
Nora Ephron’s Heartburn

Who Adam channels in his kitchen:
Lidia Bastianich, and one of her recipes is his go-to pasta dish for dinner parties.
He might follow that with warm freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here. You can also now find us on YouTube.
We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!
Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

What if you could make a short rib dinner that tastes better than takeout, in less than 20 minutes?
In this bite-sized episode, we share delicious moments about the best things we ate this week to inspire each other – and you!
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover how to make Korean Galbi using beef short ribs – with a little planning, you can have dinner on the table in minutes.
You’ll also discover a healthy summer chopped salad with an unexpected flavor combination of sweet summer peppers, juicy mango, and tangy kumquats.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
***
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
***
Links:
Sonya made a version of Galbi similar to this one from Onolicious. To learn more about Galbi (also known as Korean short ribs, or “LA Galbi”) check out this post by Maangchi
Summer kumquat and mango salad by Melissa Mayo
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.
Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers’ market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!