On this week's show:
From Harvest Public Media, we'll hear about a new book that tries to put consumers in touch with one farm family's challenges.
"I think a lot of people are under the impression that they can change the food system by what they buy at the grocery store and it's really not that simple."--Ted Genoways, author of This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm
Grant Gerlock of Harvest Public Media interviews Genoways about his new book.
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Leigh Bush and Maddie Chera talk with Simone Cinotto, a visiting Food Historian at Indiana University's Food Institute. Cinotto is an Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. The university was founded in 2004 by the international non-profit association Slow Food in cooperation with the Italian regions of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna.
Cinotto is the author of The Italian American Table: Food, Family, and Community in New York City (University of Illinois Press, 2013) and Soft Soil, Black Grapes: The Birth of Italian Winemaking in California (New York University Press, 2012). He's the editor of the essay collection Making Italian America: Consumer Culture and the Production of Ethnic Identities (Fordham University Press, 2014). His most recent article, "Memories of the Italian rice belt, 1945–65: work, class conflict and intimacy during the ‘great transformation'"appears in The Journal of Modern Italian Studies.
During his stay at Indiana University, Cinotto is teaching a course on the History of Italian Food in the Collins Living-Learning Center. Cinotto's course involves a tasty hands-on component in the IU Food Institute's kitchen.
We had a chance to sample some of Cinotto's culinary prowess, when he taught us how to make Bagna Cauda. Be sure to listen to the podcast to hear Cinotto's description of how best to enjoy this historic dish.
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And...you'll want to get the grill fired up. Chef Daniel Orr shows us a simple (and delicious) way to prepare fresh mushrooms.
Stories On This Episode
Fresh Mushroom Brochettes
Chef Daniel Orr uses ultra-fresh mushrooms for a simple brochette -- the star of a lovely warm salad.
Truffle Herb Aioli
Dress your salads in something special (and remarkably simple).
Simple Roasted Tomatoes
I like to serve these tomatoes during brunch but you'll find that they are versatile enough to serve along side just about any dish
The 'Ghost Geography' Of Midwest Farmland
Changing the food system is more complicated than simply "voting with your fork." Author Ted Genoways brings to light the challenges family farms face today.
