Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

What if the key to more creative home cooking isn’t more options — but better constraints?
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 learn how to make a simple, no-knead, no-rise dough for Turkish poğaça—savory pastries filled with spinach, herbs, and feta. You’ll also discover a jam-swirled sugar cookie that came to us from a listener suggestion.
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!
Our next gathering is May 13th at 4:30 PM PT! See you soon!
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Links:
Ayse’s poğaça (Turkish pastry) from Sonya
Sonya’s baklava recipe
Jam sugar cookies from Hewn Bakery in Evanston, IL, and chef Ellen King’s book, Heritage Baking (Thanks, Diane, for the rec!)
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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!

Are sheet-pan dinners the ultimate weeknight shortcut, or are they overrated?
If you’ve ever tried one and ended up with soggy vegetables, unevenly cooked protein, or underwhelming flavor, you’re not alone. In this episode, we break down what makes a sheet-pan dinner work, and how to get better results from simple, oven-roasted meals.
We’re sharing a handful of spring-forward recipes, along with the small technique shifts that make a big difference.
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:
A crispy rice sheet-pan dinner with everything you love about fried rice, without the stovetop
A popular Nigella Lawson’s tray bake that highlights spring produce
How to make sheet-pan eggs with herbs, vegetables, and feta for easy breakfasts, sandwiches, or quick dinners

If you’re looking for straightforward ways to improve your weeknight cooking, this episode will change how you use your oven!
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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:
Chicken and pea tray bake from Nigella Lawson
Liz’s roasted broccoli salad by Pinch of Yum
Rainbow veggie sheet-pan with green tahini sauce by Jenn Eats Good
Sheet-pan crispy rice with bacon and broccoli by Ella Quittner via Food52
Sheet-pan eggs and veggies by Ali Slagle for Food 52
Puttanesca fish tray bake by Recipe Tin Eats
Viral sheet-pan Doner Kebab from Feel Good Foodie
Chili-stuffed poblano peppers from Taste of Home
Other recipes:
Rainbow salad
Maple and Miso Sheet-Pan Salmon with Green Beans by Colu Henry for NYT Cooking
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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!

A Memorable Spring Menu, Seasonal Fried Rice & the Best Philly Sandwich | Best Bites with Special Guest David Page
What makes a meal truly memorable? And what’s actually worth repeating at home?
In this bite-sized episode, we’re sharing the best things we ate this week — and with special guest David Page of “Culinary Characters Unlocked” — to inspire each other and you.
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover a simple but unforgettable spring menu, a fried rice that makes the most of seasonal ingredients, and a Philly sandwich that lives up to the hype.
We also get into a few cooking techniques, from reverse-searing steak to building a seafood stew, that are worth trying (or rethinking) in your own kitchen.
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:
Tune into David Page’s Culinary Characters Unlocked wherever you listen to podcasts!

The menu from the birthday party: Farro & spring radish salad, spring green salad, marinated farm asparagus, thyme-scented baby new potatoes, Pacific NW smoked salmon, grilled Bavette steak
The potatoes were prepared similarly to simple roasted new spring potatoes (but add thyme!)
Green garlic salsa verde from Wishbone Kitchen

Kari’s fried rice: Use avocado oil to fry the rice first; add butter and spring onion tops and cook until softened. Add scrambled eggs into the buttery onion mixture until just cooked. Add favas to warm them up; top with fresh dill and crumbled feta.

David’s best bites:
Philly Roast Pork Sandwich from Serious Eats
SF-style Cioppino (but David prefers to cook each fish element separately)
Reverse-seared steak from Serious Eats

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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!

Do your weeknight meals ever start to feel a little flat — even when you’re cooking all the time?
In this episode, we’re talking to Yumna Jawad of Feel Good Foodie, known for her viral, approachable dishes. She shares how she transforms familiar recipes like banana bread, pancakes, and sheet-pan dinners with Mediterranean ingredients in ways that feel accessible for home cooks.
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:
The five Mediterranean ingredients to stock your pantry with, so you can easily whip up delicious weeknight dinners
Understand what makes a recipe go viral (including a must-try pasta)
New ways to use up oats – including a unique take on a savory breakfast

Press play now for practical home cooking tips that will make your meals brighter, and weeknight dinners feel easier!
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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:
Yumna’s website, Feel Good Foodie, her Instagram, and her TikTok
Grab a bag of her Oath Oats!

Recipes:
Strawberry rose pancakes and tahini banana bread, full recipes can be found in her cookbook: The Feel Good Foodie
Dry yogurt with strawberry and spirulina powder
Stuffed onions with ground beef and rice
Overnight oats recipe
One-pot Arabic-style stew
Viral recipes: Baked feta pasta, pasta chips, and cottage cheese ice cream

Yumna’s top Mediterranean ingredients: feta cheese, dates, tahini, olives, oregano, lemon

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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 actually wins a chili cook-off — and is it even the kind of chili you want to eat?
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 discover why Edna Lewis' "The Taste of Country Cooking" is an essential addition to any cookbook collection, plus the recipe from the book we can’t stop thinking about.
We also break down a cook-off-winning chili, along with other versions that may not take home a prize, but are staple recipes in our kitchens.
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:
The Taste of Country Cooking, by Edna Lewis

Edna Lewis recipes from Cookbook Club:
Plum Torte
Sweet Potato Pie
Biscuits
Edna Lewis-style Spoon bread from Serious Eats
Recipes for: Parker House Rolls, Salad of Grand Rapids Lettuce and Romaine, Ring Mold of Chicken with Wild Mushrooms sauce, and New Cabbage with Scallions can be found in the book

Sonya’s chili recipe from our Substack; two options – turkey and vegetarian!
To get the winning chili recipe from the cookoff, Subscribe to our Substack here and you’ll get it for free Sunday 5/3!
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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!