Not From Concentrate

This week, Catherine chats with cookbook author, photographer, and recipe developer Alana Kysar about the rich, comforting world of local Hawaii food — and how she transformed some of Hawaii’s most beloved flavors into vegetable-forward recipes in her new cookbook, Aloha Veggies. 
They dive into the cultural influences that shape Hawaii’s culinary identity, and why dishes like katsu, laulau, poke, and plate lunches are about so much more than vacation food. Alana also shares what it’s like to photograph her own cookbooks, navigate the modern food media landscape, and build a creative career that spans blogging, writing, recipe development, and photography. 
Plus:

 Why Hawaii cuisine is far cozier (and more comforting) than people expect 

 The surprising challenge of “vegifying” traditional dishes 

 What Alana always keeps in her pantry 

 The creative freedom of writing a second cookbook 

 How California changed the way she thinks about vegetables 

 Cleaning as a strategy for calming a busy brain 

If you love food, Hawaii, cookbooks, creativity, or thoughtful conversations about cooking and culture, this episode is for you. 
Follow Not From Concentrate wherever you get your podcasts.

This week on Not From Concentrate, Catherine sits down with chef Spencer Horovitz , a 2025 James Beard semifinalist and the founder of Hadeem, a beloved California-Jewish Cuisine concept that's been popping up in San Francisco. 
But this episode goes far beyond food.
Spencer speaks candidly about living and working with ADHD in the high-pressure world of professional kitchens: the burnout, shame, impulsivity, time blindness, and sensory overload — but also the creativity, resilience, and self-awareness that ultimately helped him build a career that actually works with his brain instead of against it.
Catherine and Spencer talk about:

 Why fine dining kitchens can be especially difficult for ADHD brains 

 The accommodations and systems that genuinely help in restaurant life 

 Hyper-focus, multitasking, and “boy dinner” 

 Why labels, handwriting, and putting things away can feel impossible 

 ADHD-friendly cooking strategies that actually work 

 The emotional side of feeding yourself when your brain is overwhelmed 

 Culinary school, restaurant culture, and redefining success 

 Spencer’s California-Jewish cuisine philosophy and the story behind Hadeem 

This is one of the most vulnerable and practical “busy brain” conversations the show has had yet — packed with insight for anyone navigating ADHD, creativity, burnout, or simply trying to make dinner without spiraling.
Find Spencer and Hadeem:

 Instagram: @wearehadeem

 Website: wearehadeemsf.com 

Subscribe to the Not From Concentrate newsletter at catherinesmart.substack.com for links to ADHD resources, recipes, and more from this episode.

In this episode, Catherine sits down with journalist and author of Bread and War Felicity Spector to talk about the role of food in one of the most difficult places on earth right now: war-torn Ukraine.
Since 2022, Felicity has been traveling to Ukraine to support grassroots food initiatives—from mobile bakeries feeding frontline communities to chefs creating restaurant-quality meals for soldiers. Her work captures something often missing from headlines: the resilience, ingenuity, and humanity that keep people going.
They talk about:

 How mobile bakeries are feeding communities without electricity 

 The surprising logistics behind getting bread to the front lines 

 Why small food businesses are the backbone of society 

 Ukrainian food culture—and why bread is so deeply symbolic 

 The emotional reality of telling these stories in an overwhelming news cycle 

 Simple ways you can help 

This conversation is honest, emotional, and unexpectedly hopeful.
Links & Resources

 Buy Bread and War by Felicity Spector 

 Donate to https://bakeforukraine.org/

 Substack: Flour Power

If this episode moved you, share it with a friend. It’s one small way to help these stories travel further.

This week, Catherine chats with cookbook author and food writer Anna Ansari, whose new book Silk Roads explores the rich, interconnected cuisines stretching from East Asia to the Middle East.
Anna’s path to food writing wasn’t exactly linear—she started as an international trade and customs attorney in New York before moving to the UK and finding her way into recipe testing, food writing, and ultimately cookbook authorship. In this conversation, she shares how her background in law, her Iranian-American identity, and her global perspective all shaped the book.
Together, Catherine and Anna unpack the idea of the “Silk Roads”—not as one single route, but as a vast network of trade, migration, and cultural exchange that still influences how we cook and eat today.
They also get into:

 What the Silk Roads actually are (and why the plural matters) 

 Growing up between cultures—and how that shows up in the kitchen 

 Why curiosity matters more than getting it “right” when exploring new cuisines 

 The unexpected entry points into Central Asian and Middle Eastern cooking 

 How markets can unlock a deeper understanding of food and culture 

 The recipes to start with (including a simple, crowd-pleasing Uzbek plov) 

Plus, Anna shares her go-to strategies for sparking creativity in the kitchen—and calming the chaos when life (or dinner) feels overwhelming.
Whether you’re a cookbook collector, a curious home cook, or someone who’s ever felt intimidated by unfamiliar ingredients, this episode is an invitation to dig in with curiosity, playfulness, and zero pressure to be perfect.
Catherinesmart.com
Tune in to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
Not From Concentrate team:
Catherine Smart, Host/Executive Producer
Kevin O’Connell, Audio and Video Production
Allie Miller, Associate Producer

In this episode, Nina Gallant pulls back the curtain on the world of food photography: what actually goes into building a shot, how creative careers evolve, and what it takes to turn artistic work into a sustainable business.
balancing creativity with the demands of running a business, building community, and making work that people actually want to pay you for.
We also talk about:

 What a food photographer actually does (beyond taking beautiful pictures) 

 How lighting shapes emotion—and why “photography is light” 

 The art of building a visual world around food 

 How trends (Instagram, digital media) have changed food photography 

 The reality of creative careers—and how Nina made hers financially sustainable 

 Practical advice for creatives trying to make the leap 

Plus, Nina shares how she sparks creativity (in and out of the kitchen) and the small rituals that help her calm the chaos.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the images in cookbooks and magazines—or how to build a creative life that actually works—this one’s for you.
Sign up for the Not From Concentrate newsletter. Follow the Not From Concentrate podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Connect with Nina Gallant:
Nina Gallant’s website
Nina’s Instagram
Not From Concentrate team:
Catherine Smart, Host/Executive Producer
Kevin O’Connell, Audio and Video Production
Allie Miller, Associate Producer