Earth Eats

16/01/2025

When it's cold outside, there's nothing better than homemade soup. And–homemade stock!

Although you can buy stock from the store, it's really easy to make at home. Just take leftover chicken bones and scraps, add some seasonings, and simmer it all together with water. Then, you can freeze it and use it all winter long.

Vegetarians, you can do the same thing! Just use vegetable scraps instead of chicken bones.

Once you've made your stock, it's a wonderful base for delicious soups, like our simple, tasty carrot ginger soup!

For the full recipe, search Earth Eats on YouTube!

13/12/2024

It’s that time of year again! But if you’re already feeling stressed about the holidays, we can help!

Instead of having to make fresh dough for your holiday cookies, use this freezer dough instead! Make the dough ahead of time and stick it in the freezer until you’re ready to bake. Just take it out whenever you want to make some cookies (no thawing required) and pop the cookies in the oven!

Plus, chocolate and pecan are made for each other. This cookie is a real crowd pleaser.

For the full recipe, search Earth Eats on YouTube! Or check our bio for the link.

27/11/2024

Busy hands; making magic. 🥑

26/11/2024

Earth Eats is grateful for YOU! 💚✨

Last week, we were finally able to present "Books and Cooks" 📚🥣 at the Monroe County Public Library (Indiana)'s new teaching kitchen at the southwest branch.

We tried a crispy nori recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon's "Tenderheart" cookbook. 🍙 For many participants, it was their first time trying seaweed. We appreciate each and every one of you who stepped outside of your comfort zone to try something a little different!

And a big thank you to Becky at MCPL-SW. We could not have done this without your help! The library offers a wide array of classes, so we encourage you to explore future events. 📖

01/11/2024

This week on Earth Eats, we're turning up the heat!

Kayte makes her signature habanero hot sauce with peppers straight from her garden. One batch calls for 12 habaneros, so this sauce really packs a punch! It's the perfect addition to any meal that just needs some spice.

Listen to the full episode at eartheats.org!

FULL RECIPE (inspired by one from Rick Bayless):
6 garlic cloves
1/2 cup peeled chopped carrot (about 1 medium carrot)
1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion (about half of a small onion)
12 medium orange or red habanero chiles
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons salt (or more, to taste)
1 Tablespoon Honey

DIRECTIONS
Remove stems from peppers
Peel and chop garlic, carrots, and onions
Combine all your ingredients in a large pot and simmer until vegetables are softened
Blend the hot sauce
Pass the blended sauce through a food mill to remove seeds

20/09/2024

In this week's episode, we hear from author Austin Frerick about his book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry. In our conversation, we discuss the most powerful companies within the industry and how they affect our nation's food system.

06/09/2024

In this week when we've been thinking about labor, we hear from geographer Jen Watkins who is researching the restaurant industry.

For the full conversation, go to your preferred podcast platform or find us online at eartheats.org!

12/07/2024

With infectious disease as a leading cause of death in Nigeria, coupled with increasing resistance to antibiotics--pharmaceutical microbiologist Funmi Ayeni wanted to know if there were effective alternatives to drugs. She ran scientific studies on a traditional Nigerian home remedy and the results were astonishing. Hear the full story this week on Earth Eats. Saturday morning at 7, Sunday at 1pm on WFIU Public Radio or listen whenever you want from your favorite podcast app.
Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington

Indiana University scholar Funmi Ayeni shares her surprising research on a simple food used in households throughout Nigeria to treat malaria.

03/05/2024

If you're not a fan of kale yet, change that by trying this delicious salad!

Kale can often be a love it or hate it kind of green, but Kayte shares how she came to love it through this exciting salad. Perfectly complimented with dazzling roasted tomatoes, fragrant garlic, and toasted pine nuts, this kale makes an excellent fresh salad, perfect for spring—or anytime!

For the full recipe, check out our YouTube channel (link in bio)!

05/04/2024

What to bring to your eclipse viewing party? 😎 Eclipse cookies, of course! 🍪

This recipe uses a dough that is closely based on Marbled Tahini Cookies by Susan Spungen from NYT Cooking. Black tahini is a crucial ingredient, so if you can’t find it, try this method with a chocolate wafer cookie instead.

Full instructions are available on our website, with an easy method to achieve the perfect sun and moon shapes! 🌙

Delicate tahini sandwich cookies mimic the phases of a total solar eclipse.

04/04/2024

A savory citrus and garlic pork dish is coming to Earth Eats this week. Producer, Alexis Carvajal, cooked up her grandmother's recipe with her father, and it's a dish that has some Cuban flare! Tune in to Earth Eats this week for the full recipe, and to hear how inseparable this dish is from the family who makes it. [The podcast drops Friday at 9am, or listen to WFIU Saturday morning at 7 or Sunday at 1pm, 103.7FM in Bloomington]

01/04/2024

Monica White, the author of Freedom Farmers, is coming to town next week!

23/02/2024

Did you know the tastes of fruit flies are similar to humans?

It turns out these small organisms won't eat just anything. They care about flavor, just like humans. The researchers who make food for flies add in ingredients like corn syrup to provide a sweet flavor. Even fruit flies have a sweet tooth!

Fruit flies are used in genetic research to help pinpoint the exact functions of each human gene. Their genes are a lot like ours and can help expand genetic knowledge. The work that occurs in the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center can have prominent effects in the world of genetics for all of humanity. And it all starts with the fruit fly.

Learn more about fruit flies and their diets at the link in our bio!

09/02/2024

If you've ever wondered how beans get from the stalk to your plate, watch as Sean and Denise Breeden-Ost walk you through the process. In this episode, we visit their farm and talk with them about the complications of food self-sufficiency. Also featured is Denise's recipe for hot water cornbread.

For the full episode, go to eartheats.org!

02/02/2024

On our 15th anniversary special, we highlighted the Salvadorian classic, pupusas. In this segment, Alex Chambers discusses with W***y Palomo the history of the recipe, and the culture that it carries with it.

Full Recipe:

Ingredients

Curtido (pickled cabbage topping)
½ head cabbage
2 carrots
1 medium onion
1 beet (optional)
apple cider vinegar
Masa (the pupusa dough)
2 cups Maseca (or Masa, corn flour with added lime)
Water
Filling
½ lb pork, fried (optional)
1 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
½ lb grated cheese (ideally a mix of queso and mozzarella)
Refried beans (optional)

Instructions

For the curtido, chop the cabbage, and grate or shred the other vegetables. Combine in a bowl, then fill bowl about half way with apple cider vinegar. Fill the rest with water and let sit up to a day.
For the masa, mix Maseca with enough water to create a playdough-like texture.
For the filling, blend the cooked pork or refried beans with the onion and tomatoes in a food processor.
Preheat a frying pan or griddle on the stove. Once the fillings and masa dough are ready, it's time to make pupusas.
First, take a ball of dough a little smaller than a kiwi in one hand. Ball it up, then press or slap it between your hands to flatten it until it's a circle about ¼ inch thick.
Put about a tablespoon each of the meat/beans and the grated cheese into the center of the circle. Then wrap the flattened dough around the fillings. The edges should point up like flower petals.
Pinch the edges closed so you have a ball of dough enclosing the fillings. Then, gently press or slap the ball between your hands again, until your dough is once again a flattened circle, between ¼ and ½ inch thick.
The dough might tear, exposing fillings. Repair with more masa if you can, or enjoy the flavor of the fillings that fry when exposed to the pan. Place the pupusa on the hot frying pan, and fry until both sides are golden-brown.

Check out the full episode and more of our best at eartheats.org!

24/01/2024

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Earth Eats! 🎂

All week long, members of the Earth Eats production team have been sharing our favorite moments from the Earth Eats archives. Check out this blog post for the full compilation of favored episodes, funny moments and delicious recipes! 👇

Earth Eats is celebrating its 15th anniversary! Take a look at these 15 moments from the Earth Eats archives.

24/01/2024

Today's the day—Earth Eats' 15th anniversary! For our final dip into the archives, we bring you a reading of "Eating Malombo Fruit in Freetown, 1989," a poem by Yalie Kamara.

Kamara first read this for us back in 2018. More recently, she was named as the 2022-2023 Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate and just last week launched a new book, Besaydoo. (Also available as an audiobook!)

We hope you enjoy this reading just as much as we did. Check the link in our bio for the full list of 15 Moments from the Earth Eats Archives - including the episode where this poem is featured.

Thanks for celebrating this moment with us! - Your friends on the Earth Eats production team

23/01/2024

As bioarchaeologist Keitlyn Alcantara was researching pre-colonial Mexico, she came across a surprisingly resilient and powerful community in Central Mexico (c. 1400).

"I was curious about what were the conditions that allowed them to maintain the sovereignty, where other places hadn't been able to do so," she said.

The answer may be hidden in the food they cultivated and their ways of sharing it amongst themselves.

Conversations like this one with Keitlyn Alcantara are at the heart of what I hope this show can be. Keitlyn speaks to the centrality of food in our everyday lives, and the ways in which it shapes our relationships with each other, with the earth and with our own histories. The interview was difficult to edit only because there was nothing she said that I wanted to cut.

Listen here: https://indianapublicmedia.org/eartheats/keitlyn-alcantara-on-indigenous-foodways-of-the-past-and-the-present.php

Original image: Wikimedia Commons user Rasbak, cropped, text added