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Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

By: Food Friends
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Summary

 Do you love home cooking but hunger for better recipes that help you deliver quick and delicious meals to your dinner table? Two former personal chefs turned best friends share their expertise with each other and you! Kari and Sonya have been inspiring each other in the kitchen for over 15 years by swapping recipes, tips, and trade secrets in the pursuit of better home cooking. FOOD FRIENDS is a bi-weekly podcast inspiring home cooks to try new dishes in the kitchen by sharing trusted recipes, tips, and friendship. Every Tuesday, each host delivers 3 unique solutions to seasonal home cooking, like: how to make craveable soups with your farmers market haul, the easiest one-pot meals for busy nights, or what to do with leftover rotisserie chicken. On Thursdays, we serve up a pint-sized chat about our “Best Bite” of the week, pantry essentials we can’t live without, and more. Previous guests include Seth & Lauren Rogen, actor Randall Park & writer/director Evan Goldberg, recipe developer Justine Doiron, #1 Food & Beverage Substacker Caroline Chambers, and more. If you’re looking for a boost of fun in the kitchen by discovering recipes that will make mealtime easier and more delicious with a healthy dose of laughter, then you’ll want to dig in with FOOD FRIENDS! First-time listener? Tune into Episode 2: Don’t send flowers, send soup! and Episode 4: What do you bring to a potluck?Food Friends Podcast 2022 Art Cooking Food & Wine
Episodes
  • A Banana Snacking Cake from Cookbook Club + An Easy Spring Soup | Our Best Home Cooking Bites of the Week

    A Banana Snacking Cake from Cookbook Club + An Easy Spring Soup | Our Best Home Cooking Bites of the Week
    May 14 2026

    What recipes actually stick with you when you discover a new cookbook?

    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 want to bake a warmly spiced turmeric banana snacking cake. It's easy to make, easier to eat, and it comes from the "Diaspora Spice Co Cookbook" —the featured book at a recent cookbook club gathering.

    You’ll also want to try a bright, simple carrot and cauliflower soup that feels especially right for spring cooking.

    Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration.

    ***

    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!

    ***

    Links:

    The Diaspora Spice Co Cookbook

    Turmeric Banana Snacking Cake shared by Have a Little Something

    Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup by Melissa Clark for NYT Cooking

    ****

    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!
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • What We Eat in a Day! What We Really Cook At Home, Spring Edition

    What We Eat in a Day! What We Really Cook At Home, Spring Edition
    May 12 2026
    Ever wonder what private chefs actually cook for themselves when they’re tired, busy, craving comfort food, or stuck in a cooking rut?If your meals have been feeling repetitive lately, this episode offers a look at two real days of home cooking with new ideas to get you through the week. Through practical meal planning, freezer clean-outs, farmers market finds, and smart store-bought shortcuts, we share the kinds of meals we actually make on a regular day—approachable, flexible, and satisfying.By the end of this episode, you’ll:Discover make-ahead breakfast: including a new take on chia pudding, a prep-friendly frittata, and a whole-grain muffin you can bake in minutesLearn simple ways to rely on your freezer to get dinner on the table — all you need is a bag of dumplings and a bunch of greensFind out how lunch can come together in 10 minutes or less and still feel fresh and substantialPress play now for a behind-the-scenes look at what two food-loving home cooks actually eat in a week — and leave with ideas you’ll want to make right away!***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!***Sonya Day #1Breakfast: Blackberry coconut chia pudding topped with fruit and almonds (blackberries and strawberries)Lunch: Jammy eggs, sauerkraut, fruit, veggies, sourdough crackers (Share crackers brand)Dinner: Berbere meatballs from NYT Cooking (unlocked), oven roasted sweet potatoes cubes with lemon rounds and onion wedges, spring salad with radishes and snap peasKari Day #1Breakfast: Breakfast brownies, a recipe I’m testing, but using this chocolate amaretti cookie as a starting point, subbing in oats, banana, dates, wheat bran, etc. Recipe forthcoming!Lunch: Beef kimbap from H Mart, dragon fruit, crunchy ramen chipsDinner: One-pan dumplings with kale by Ali Slagle from NYT CookingSonya Day #2:Breakfast: Millet muffin from Super Natural Every Day alongside a yogurt bowl with ground flax, pepitas, wild blueberries, goji berries, kiwiLunch: Spring chicken salad (with leftover chicken roasted chicken breast, sugar snap peas, scallions, celery stalk + leaves, mayo, whole grain dijon), strawberries, Bittman’s sourdough, simple green salad with lemon and olive oilDinner: Black bean soup + “all the greens salad” with lettuce, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, bok choy, mint, scallion in a sesame soy dressing Kari Day #2:Breakfast: Life-changing egg frittata: I followed ratios with eggs, heavy cream, sharp cheddar, and caramelized onions; added tarragon, oregano, basil, blanched greens and ½ cup of pickled jalapenos.Lunch: Green leaf lettuce with lemony vinaigrette (use both whole grain and dijon mustard, add maple syrup, omit the thyme, use good olive oil) with tons of dill, chunks of avocado, and nasturtium from my gardenDinner: Beef bulgogi (pre-marinated from H Mart), lettuce wraps with kimchi, spinach, and bean sprouts, and the hoisin sauce approved by my friend Malin :)****Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084For 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!
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • A Turkish Pastry with a Buttery Dough + Jammy Sugar Cookies! Our Best Home Cooking Bites of the Week

    A Turkish Pastry with a Buttery Dough + Jammy Sugar Cookies! Our Best Home Cooking Bites of the Week
    May 7 2026

    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!

    ***

    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!

    ***

    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!)

    ****

    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!
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
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