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#111 - What can we learn from Chef Rachel Ray about food and cooking - Chef Series

Just one episode this week - I'll be back with two again next week!
Today we're going to be talking about chef Rachel Ray. You may have seen her on the Food Network. She loves to do all her cooking from home. You can look her up on YouTube - she's lots of fun.
She's very much about taking things like fast food, or anything that you enjoy, like Chinese food takeout, and then recreating it at home using simple techniques. She makes a lot of comfort food. We’re going to mention some things that we can learn from her as a chef, and then we’ll talk about some particular meals she makes, and what she does to make them her signature food. Let's get started. 

#110 Practical Dinner Ideas for Making Memories with Your Hubby and Kids

Today we’re going to be continuing our theme on meaningful dinners with some practical ideas for things you can do.
So, we’re thinking about how to make dinner time meaningful, how to create meaningful memories, and to make it special. Here are some ideas to focus on connection, not perfection - making the evening meaningful. 
There are so many ways to make dinners meaningful, whether family nights or date nights. I find that as soon as I start to make an effort, the ideas come. When I'm feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I don’t have many ideas, but somehow putting on some soft music, dimming the lights, and setting the table beautifully helps already to bring that family closeness and connection.

#109 Being Fully Present at Dinner Time and Making it Meaningful as a Family

 Today we're going to be talking about dinnertime in your family - what makes memories, what makes it meaningful, and what makes it special.
I've been feeling that lately I've been leaping up a lot in the middle of meals, both at lunch and dinnertime. 
What I really want is connected family mealtimes where we feel close, where the conversation is good and deep, and where it's a meaningful experience. Now, this can't happen at every single meal, obviously, but I do want to make sure that every week or two we have an extra special meal so that we can feel connected as a family and make some memories. 

#108 What we can learn from Guy Fieri about Cooking – Chef Series

 Today we’re going to continue with our chef series - what we can learn from and be inspired by from famous chefs.
Today, we’ll talk about Guy Fieri. Guy is the host of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives from Food Network. He has a great love for American comfort food. He loves roadside diners and dive bars, and he travels around the country to find unique places that make local-inspired food.
He just loves to make ordinary dishes that are easy to cook, and to elevate them. He has many of what he calls “Guy-ifie” dishes. So, there's a lot we can learn from this inspiring chef. Let's get started. 

#107 British Comfort Food – Easy England-Inspired Meals to Cook at Home

 Today we’re going to continue the series about comfort food.
We've done French, Swiss and Italian comfort foods, and today we're going to talk about British comfort foods - all the yummy things that they eat that are easy to make.
 If you order a meal at a pub on the street, you'll probably order one of these things. They're easy to cook at home, and they're hearty, they help in the winter. In Britain there are a lot of rainy days. So, here we go with some British comfort foods that you can try at home.

#106 How to Use a Crocpot or Slow Cooker, How to Cook the Best Meals in it - Helping You Get Super Confident!

Note: This is the last episode for 2025 - I'll see you again in January. Thanks for being part of my community - you are awesome! Happy Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas to you and your family.
Today, let's talk about crockpots - slow cookers.
A crockpot is one of the most time-saving things, and I'm always surprised at how many people either don't have a crockpot, or they don’t know how to use theirs; they don’t know what to cook in it.
Hopefully, after this episode, you'll know a lot more, and you'll feel confident in using a crockpot.
One of the great things about a crockpot is that they're so cheap to buy. They're one of the cheapest kitchen appliances there is.
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#105 What We Can Learn from Ireland about Food and Dining, Cooking and Nutrition

Today we’re going to talk about what we can learn from Ireland, the green Emerald Isle, about food and nutrition, cooking and dining. Hopefully you can become inspired and get some good ideas from this episode.
Ireland's food and dining culture has changed a lot over the last few decades. It used to be very simple, hearty fare, and that's the sort of food we’re going to be looking at.
There'll be no Wednesday episode this week - I'll be back next Monday.
Don't forget about our recipe book Elegant Easy Appetisers available here.

#104 Ideas for Side Dishes and How to Make Them - Part 1

 Today we're going to be talking about some of my favorite side dishes to cook with a meal. We’ll look at some examples of side dishes, mainly from a few English countries, and maybe a couple of others. Generally they’ll be ones that are familiar, and you just need to be reminded of. 
My favorite kind of side dish is steamed vegetables. These are very simple to make. There are green beans, chopped butternut squash or sweet potato, long stem broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. All of those work so well simply being steamed. The cheapest way to do this is to use a steamer tray that’s like an insert. It’s made from stainless steel, and it has holes in it. 
Steaming vegetables is one of the healthiest ways to eat them. That way, they retain the most nutrients, and they retain the most flavor because it's not boiled away. 

#103 What We Can Learn from India about Cooking, Dining and Good Nutrition

Today we're going to talk about what we can learn from India about cooking; dining and good nutrition - from the grandmothers and from the culture. It's really fascinating to see how they go about cooking and the relationship they have with food. 
Indian cuisine is very interesting. It's fresh and spicy, made with whole foods as well as medicinal ingredients. Indian cooks cook slowly, paying attention to the order and the process of cooking.
I hope you're feeling inspired to try some Indian recipes!

#102 Swiss Comfort Foods - Easy Swiss-Inspired Food to Cook at Home

Today we’re going to be talking about Swiss comfort food. Swiss comfort food is like no other, and Switzerland is so well known for its cheese and its chocolate. In a book by Weston Price, that famous dentist who toured the world, he talks about Swiss people many generations ago who lived on healthy, thick bread and cheese in the mountains, and how healthy their teeth were.
There’s so much about Swiss cheese and European cheese that’s so good for us, and they have amazing comfort foods made from cheese, like Swiss fondue, etc. We're going to talk about some of those. Then chocolate, of course, is a wonderful snack, especially Swiss chocolate. It just tastes the best - it's so good! I love the cute little chocolates that they decorate with Swiss chalets and Swiss snowy mountain scenes. You don't have to cook chocolate, and it's definitely a Swiss comfort food.