Welcome to Salt Pig! Dinner must be made most nights, but sometimes you have no plan or ingredients lined up. We’re there often! This week, Lukas and Ellie describe some of their solutions to last-minute meals—both the odd and the obvious—and some surprise ingredients that get us over the line. Plus, is it gross or just wildly efficient to squeeze citrus with your bare hands? Asking for a friend.

Discussed in this episode:

• Lotus Foods Brown Rice and Millet Ramen
• Lukas’ House Slaw and One-Pan Pasta & Beans with Asparagus
• Catherine Newman’s 2-Ingredient Slaw
• The Caramelized Fish Sauce Tuna that Lukas has mentioned before

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Welcome to Salt Pig! This week, we're celebrating the glory of tap water. Ellie and Lukas break down the numerous ways that water is one of the most useful ingredients in our cooking and helpful tool in the kitchen—from controlling temperature in a pan and dispersing flavor, to making the purest-tasting soups, risottos, and more. Plus, catch Ellie’s quick lemon spaghetti and Lukas’ hot take on leftover pasta. Join us, and if you enjoy — please like and subscribe!

Discussed in this episode:

• Via Carota's Insalata Verde
• Does Pasta Water Thicken the Sauce? by Nik Sharma
• Gabrielle Hamilton's Endive Salad in the Puntarelle Style

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Welcome to Salt Pig! Does our society’s penchant for using recipes broaden the horizons of home cooks, or constrain them? This week, Lukas and Ellie discuss who recipes are written for, what a successful recipe is, and what to do when a finished recipe needs something beyond the page. Plus a hand’s-off technique that is balm to one’s often-overcooked sockeye salmon. Join us, and if you enjoy — please like and subscribe!

Discussed in this episode:

• Calabrian Chili Peppers, the BIG jar
• Samin Nosrat’s Scallion Pancake and Scrambled Egg Tacos
• The New York Times No-Recipe Recipes
• When Did Following Recipes Become a Personal Failure? by Laura Shapiro

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Welcome to Salt Pig! What do Alice Waters, Ellie’s ex-boyfriend, and everybody’s militant neighbor have in common? They all clean their cast iron pans differently than Lukas and Ellie do. We discuss the ways this versatile pan works for us, from searing and baking, to grilling and camping, and how to get and keep that satiny patina. Also covered: ambitious vacation packing, re-using bacon fat, and how Lonesome Dove may have scooped all of our food topics. Join us!

Mentioned in this week's episode:

• Sourdough Biscuits from Lonesome Dove
• War and Peace
• Cafe Vienna
• Casa de Mozzarella

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Welcome to Salt Pig! This week, we are talking about coffee culture, tea rituals, and all the surprising hot concoctions we drink now as people in our forties. Tune in for Lukas’ gleeful goodbye to his fancy burr grinder and Ellie’s awkward intro to the Seattle Freeze. Pop quiz: Which enthusiastic teen in a big scarf was the first person in line at the first ever Starbucks in Boise, Idaho?? Join us!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Oxo Coffee Grinder
• Dandy Blend Coffee Alternative
• Stash Earl Grey Double Bergamot Tea
• Heidi Swanson's Turmeric Tea
• CCF Tea (via Sapna Punjab's Dal Chawal)

And here's Lukas's Ginger-Lime Tonic: Grate a bunch of fresh ginger into a pitcher, squeeze the juice of several limes over it. Cover with boiling water and steep for a few minutes, then drink (straining out the solids as you pour) all day. Sweeten it with honey if you like.

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Welcome to Salt Pig! This week Ellie and Lukas discuss the convenience foods that we love and the ones we snub. Indian jarred sauces and Trader Joe’s frozen treats are in, but Italian jarred sauces and pre-chopped produce is out. Turns out we are full of contradictions and biased as hell. Plus, are tech companies behind everything? Join us!

• A Very Good Tomato Sauce (by Alison Roman)
• Brooklyn Delhi (maker of Tomato Achaar and Cashew Korma)
• Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza and Orange Chicken
• Freedom with a Side of Guilt: How Food Delivery Is Reshaping Mealtime (New York Times)

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Welcome to Salt Pig! This week Ellie and Lukas discuss our sourdough bread baking journeys and all the practical and existential questions it provokes: How many starters has Ellie killed? Can you bake sourdough without being consumed with fussiness? How far is too far when experimenting with sourdough discard? What is a “real” baker anyhow?? Join us!

Discussed in this episode:

• Il Buco: Stories and Recipes by Donna Lennard with Joshua David Stein
• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
• The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo
• King Arthur Baking's Sourdough Discard Crackers
• King Arthur Baking's Sourdough Granola (and Lukas' adaptation)
• Alexandra Stafford's website Alexandra Cooks
• Lukas' Bread Machine Cookbook
  
  

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Welcome to Salt Pig! This week Lukas and Ellie detail all the ways we love spinach, and all the ways we hate cleaning it. Plus Lukas shares his secret ingredient for smoothies and Ellie discloses her favorite 3-minute home lunch. Join us! For more information and to get in touch, visit saltpig.substack.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Noah Galuten’s Health Sludge
• Lukas’ Smoothie Formula
• Everyone’s Table by Gregory Gourdet
• Caramelized Fish Sauce Tuna

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