WHYY’s Delishtory is back and it's weirder than ever! I haven’t traveled in over a year but researching and writing the latest batch of episodes was a trip! Research included:
Reading the World Trade Organization’s 1995 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
Deciphering the cryptic meaning of soup tureens.
Spelunking into old menus to figure out what first class passengers ate right before the Titanic sank.
What can I say except my work is hella glamorous.
We kicked off 2021’s rounds of Delishtory with exploring “Champagne Foods” — basically the concept of protected foods that earn what’s called a Geographical Indication. In one respect, it’s the world’s way of saying that certain foods are so special they deserve to be synonymous with the places from which they come. But it’s more about a country’s economic interest. Geographical Indications can in some ways protect the economic value of a culinary tradition, preventing imitators from competing on the global stage. But not all countries recognize the Geographical Indications of another country, hence why Kobe beef in the United States is likely just sparkling beef (just kidding - it’s actually American Kobe Style Beef according to the USDA).
Watch the full episode to learn more about foods that are Geographical Indications (including a story about the Swiss Cheese Mafia) and tell us what foods you think deserve to be protected!
The rich and famous have always found peculiar ways to flaunt their wealth, and serving fancy foods was one of them. But the foods considered prestigious hundreds of years ago are more common place today.
This episode of Delishtory takes a look at historical food flexes and at the slightly bizarre but very entertaining way the powerful from the past showed off their high status. This also includes one of my favorite bits about the final 10-course feast served on the Titanic hours before it sank.
New episodes of Delishtory drop on Wednesdays at 11am! You can catch it on WHYY’s website, the PBS app, and on YouTube!
I’ll be back next week with a new episode of the Amuse-Bouche Podcast, but in the meantime, enjoy this recipe for Breakfast Cookies!
Cookies for breakfast? You betcha! These flourless cookies are packed with fruits, peanut butter and oats to create a sweet treat that’s healthy enough for breakfast. Bananas are a common substitution in baking and in this recipe, they show off just how much they can do! If you’ve got a few bananas hanging around that are on the brink of going bad, make a batch of these breakfast cookies — the more ripe, the better! But don’t worry — the bananas aren’t overpowering and neither is the peanut butter. All of the flavors balance one another and really enhance the dark chocolate and tart raspberries. They’re easy to make and an easy and satisfying breakfast to enjoy with a cup of coffee or take on the go!
Ingredients
4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
3 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
raspberries or fruits of your choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mash ripened bananas. Stir in peanut butter and oats until thoroughly mixed.
Add eggs, vanilla extract and baking powder.
Fold chocolate chips and fruit into the dough. Chill dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
When dough is chilled, scoop dollops of dough onto cookie sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 12 - 15 minutes or until edges of cookies lightly browned. Cookies should be firm and cakey in texture.
Looking Forward To:
Neil Bardhan’s show, Neil Estate: Property Listing Comedy Show. Yes, it’s a funny pun with Neil’s name, but the premise is hilarious, especially for those of us who have spent the past year in quarantine scrolling through Zillow and dreaming of living in someone’s home (or trying to figure out why anyone would want to live in some of these homes).
Three new recruits compete for their own Neil Estate license in a series of challenges using real viral and surprising property listings. It's like browsing Zillow with your funniest friends!
It’s April 1 (no joke) at 9pm streaming live on Twitch!
Publishing:
The Importance of Feeding a Neighborhood on KitchenAid Stories explores Riverwards Produce, a market in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood that is breaking the rules of conventional food supply chains. I sat with Vincent Finazzo to talk about his unique business model and the shortcomings of big box grocery stores. But an unintended story came out of our conversation. It was a story about how our perceptions about food can sometimes create social barriers.
Listening:
The Confessional with Nadia Boltz-Weber is a podcast that examines shame and guilt in a way that contextualizes it as a human experience that’s likely relateable. Nadia is a Lutheran Pastor and the founder of House for All Sinners and Saints, in Denver, Colorado. It’s religious, but in a way that’s welcoming and non-judgemental, which gives her guests space to discuss moments in their lives where they were less than perfect — and the grace she offers them feels absolutely cleansing.
Watching:
I’m rewatching King of the Hill and it’s still as funny and charming as ever. Mike Judge is so good at developing characters, and so many of the jokes and idiosyncrasies within each character were written right from the beginning. Hank Hill drops a “that boy ain’t right” within the first few minutes of the first episode. It’s great!
Seeking:
Guests for the Amuse-Bouche podcast that goes along with this lovely newsletter! I have a few guests lined up, but I’m still looking for a few more folks. It's a casual conversation about the joy of food from a perspective that somewhat resonates with the guest's work or a body of work they've produced. If you have a niche, a topic of interest, or a specific area of expertise, send me a pitch!
We also rewatched King of the Hill a couple months ago. I never appreciated how funny it is!
I'll have to try those breakfast cookies!