Simmer

Today is all about Chinese food. I’m joined by Linda Huang of The Hummingbird’s Kitchen, where she teaches folks in Bozeman how to cook authentic Chinese food and hosts pop-up dinners. Today, Linda and I talk all things Chinese cuisine - from how she got her start in Bozeman, to the regional differences of the cuisine, to stories from Linda’s childhood of how her family ate in the days before refrigeration, and the best breakfast she ever had. Download Episode [http://traffic.libsyn.com/simmer/The_Hummingbirds_Kitchen.m4a] Links: Check out Linda's website and sign up for a cooking class: https://www.thehummingbirdskitchen.com/ Music: http://purple-planet.com Thanks for listening! Do you ever get hangry? You know, the thing that happens when you’re really hungry and your lack of food makes you angry?! I am well acquainted with this phenomenon, and I want to hear your stories! Send me your hangry stories, telltale signs of hanger, or prevention tips either in the comment section of this episode, or submit your story on the contact [http://www.simmertoshare.com/contact] page. You may hear your story featured anonymously on a future episode of Simmer! Speaking of which, you can use this contact page to submit all kinds of things like inquiries about being on the show or comments and suggestions for future episodes.

Enjoy as Merrill Warren, dedicated lasagna lover, and I talk about her history with lasagna, learn together how to make lasagna noodles from scratch, and test out a new twist on the lasagna making method. Welcome to the third episode of the Noodle Project. Today I’m with my friend Merrill, and we’re venturing back to Italy to learn how to make lasagna noodles. I asked Merrill to give me five words that reminded her of lasagna, and she said: home, mom, burnt edges, and family. I think a lot of us can relate. Lasagna is a common household dish in many American families, so it’s not surprising that Merrill has such strong ties to it. The origins of lasagna are largely contested, with some claiming that it originated in Great Britain in the 14th century, while others trace the word “lasagna” from the Greek word “laganon” which they consider the first known form of pasta in Ancient Greece. Laganon was similar to lasagna only in that it was a layered pasta dish, and it didn’t use many of the traditional italian ingredients that we usually associate with lasagna, such as tomatoes. Regardless of who originally created it, it has since become a global dish. I asked Merrill what is typically in her mom’s lasagna. After discussing Merrill's family ties to lasagna, we set out to make the noodles for our own lasagna. Today though, I had a trick up my sleeve: grilled lasagna. We laid out all the layering ingredients on the kitchen table and formed a circular assembly system, moving around the table in circles together. We grilled each lasagna packet on a medium-hot grill for ten minutes, then topped with ricotta and a mixture of chopped tomato and parsley. Links How to make lasagna noodles [http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/fresh-pasta-for-lasagne] Grilled lasagna [http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/grilled-lasagna-recipe-2105765] Sources: https://mybravoblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/the-history-of-lasagna/ [https://mybravoblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/the-history-of-lasagna/] http://plaza.ufl.edu/amrauwc/history.htmlhttps://www.thepauperedchef.com/article/the-disputed-origins-of-lasagna [http://plaza.ufl.edu/amrauwc/history.htmlhttps://www.thepauperedchef.com/article/the-disputed-origins-of-lasagna] http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Italian_Eritrean_cuisinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asmara [http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Italian_Eritrean_cuisinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asmara] Music: http://www.purple-planet.com [http://www.purple-planet.com] http://www.pond5.com [http://www.pond5.com] Download Episode [http://traffic.libsyn.com/simmer/Lasagna_Episode_Final.m4a]

Download Episode [http://traffic.libsyn.com/simmer/Nithin_Coca_-_A_Spicy_Quest_Final.m4a] A few weeks ago on Simmer we talked about where the chili pepper comes from and how it spread around the world. If you haven’t listened to the chili pepper episode, I’d recommend heading over there for a listen before continuing - it’s pretty short and sweet. When I was doing my chili pepper research, I came upon a website called A Spicy Quest. The website’s creator, Nithin Coca, was just as shocked as I was to learn that chilies came from South America rather than Asia, and decided to dig deeper into the story. I got in touch with Nithin and he’s joining me today to share the story of “A Spicy Quest” - a global, multimedia project to discover the untold story of the chili pepper and it’s unprecedented spread around the world. Nithin's Website [http://spicyquest.com] Listen to the Simmer chili pepper episode here [https://www.simmertoshare.com/the-chile-pepper-story/] Music:http://www.purple-planet.com [http://www.purple-planet.com]

Today I have Tammy Czapp on the show, owner of Stella Goods in Bozeman, MT. With the dream of someday opening a bed-and-breakfast, she taught herself how to make jam and started Stella Jams - a small jam operation that she sells in local farmers markets around the area. Tammy arrived at a career in food a rather roundabout way, and her jam business is only the start. Stella Goods [http://www.stellagoods.com] Music: http://www.purple-planet.com [http://www.purple-planet.com] www.polkamadre.com/ [http://www.polkamadre.com/] Recorded on Rob Weisberg's show 9/6/2008, Licensed under Creative Commons nc-sa-3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/] 3.0 http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Freak_Fandango_Orchestra/Love_death_and_a_drunken_monkey/06_-_La_Polka_Del_Amor_live_at_ScannerFm [http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Freak_Fandango_Orchestra/Love_death_and_a_drunken_monkey/06_-_La_Polka_Del_Amor_live_at_ScannerFm]

Welcome back to The Noodle Project! Last time, Adam and I used a pasta roller to make very precise tagliatelle noodles with a thickness of 3/8th of an inch. Today I’m with my friend Heidi Rogers, and we’re going back to the basics and the opposite side of the spectrum with a hand pulled Tibetan noodle dish called Thenthuk. Thenthuk is a noodle soup that comes from high up on the Tibetan plateau enjoyed by nomads and other Tibetan communities to keep warm during the long winters. The word thenthuk translates from Tibetan as “hand-pulled noodles”, with “then” meaning pull, and “thuk” meaning noodles. This dish attracted me because of its simplicity - the noodles are literally torn strips that are quickly tossed into noodle broth, and it reminds me of the comfort food that is chicken noodle soup because every family has their own unique recipe and way of making it. When Heidi came over to make noodles on a grey March evening, the simplicity of tearing noodles by hand coupled with the warm comfort of soup was exactly what I wanted. Download Episode [http://traffic.libsyn.com/simmer/Thenthuk_Episode_Final_-_41317_7.16_PM.m4a]