Bitchin' About Food

Kath has been looking forward to/dreading talking to Jan's cousin Lauri Weiss for almost two years because Lauri knows the truth about food and is the epitome of the saying "you are what you eat". A scrupulously clean eater, Lauri recounts her health journey which began nearly 30 years ago with a focus mainly based on diet and nutrition. She debunks the notion that martinis and giant hunks of cheese (Kath) and mini-tootsie rolls (Jan) are good for you and participates in Kath's lightening round of a long list of foods which may or may not be beneficial. Spoiler alert: Doritos don't make the list. A fascinating conversation about the power of the mind, discipline and mindful eating. Listen in!

Karen Pratt is a fearless world traveler with a taste for adventure (and good food). She is also one of Kath's oldest pals and she was kind enough to Zoom with us and regale us with tales of food experiences in foreign lands. Recalling early travel and food experiences as a child, she has now experienced all sorts of gastronomic delights, from Jordanian bread slapped on the side of a hot metal dome to Israeli salads to Norwegian eels to fenugreek cake: she has tasted it all. A true culinary journey that made us both want to simultaneously book tickets and eat something. Listen in!

Jan goes way back with screenwriter and author Parker Bennett and his wife Tish Hicks. As one of LA's most successful voiceover artists for over 25 years, there’s a good chance you have heard Tish’s voice talking to you about Subaru, Citibank or Pop-Secret...or maybe you have even taken her voice-over class (head to www.thevodojo.com - Jan keeps promising to). Tish recounts the Polish feasts of her childhood and how her Swedish stepfather was really the one who introduced her to thoughtfully prepared and executed meals. We talk about the three-meat minimum for any Polish get-together, Parker’s infamous ground turkey "crumble", Kath’s love of pierogis, the famous Croquembouche project and the annual turkey photo with their kids. A delightfully tasty and fun episode – listen in!

Long-time veterans of Chicago theatre Steve Totland and Meryl Friedman join Kath and Jan in the studio to discuss a wide-variety of subjects: vegetarianism, their very long marriage, the journey to Los Angeles from Chicago, Steve’s garden, how working long hours impacts who does the cooking, the price of food, a salmon dinner that went south and Meryl’s face-to-face with a ham sandwich on white bread with mayo served on a Christmas plate. We marvel at how we’ve known each other for decades, but have never really hung out much, yet still have much in common to talk about, especially when it comes to food. A terrific episode that seemed to fly by – listen in!

It's a rollicking good old Chicago love-fest when Kath's old pal and stage manager, Steve Sweeney, joins Jan and Kath in person. We talk about Steve's health journey from scary to svelte, using food quality improvement and portion control as the ultimate medicine. We reminisce about Margie's Candies in Chicago, and Steve finally gets to tell HIS side of the story about how he helped an elderly woman with her Thanksgiving dilemma of a too-big turkey by (let's call it) re-homing it. A hilarious conversation with the cleverest of them all - listen in! 

Kath and Jan are back at it, welcoming Ruth Arnold, Kath’s former hash-slingin’ co-worker at D. B. Kaplan’s in Chicago. Ruth’s life has had many chapters and we delve in to the good, the bad, and the gritty. From persimmon pudding in Indiana, to acting, marriage, Passover challah (oops) children, career-change, sudden deaths and untimely illness, Ruth keeps it real and focuses on what’s really important: food. It’s ultimately the stuff of life! A terrific conversation with the best of the best. Listen in!

Native New Orleans chef Richard Papier began his culinary journey with vichyssoise when, as a child, he suddenly found himself as a third-wheel on his Mom’s date at a fancy French restaurant. To everyone’s surprise, the kid liked cold potato soup! His passion for food started then and has not stopped since. In a far-ranging conversation, we discuss his current gig helping chefs (both in New Orleans and around the country) become more efficient and his former life as a restaurant owner. We learn how butter really is the secret to New Orleans cuisine and how to woo a partner with mussels instead of muscles. Kath and Jan of course manage to wangle a dinner invitation out of him and also his current favorite restaurants. It’s always great fun to visit the Crescent City, even if it’s virtually and this was a terrific conversation – listen in!

We’re back! After a brief unexpected hiatus and of course, THE FIRE, Kath and Jan are back and kicking off 2025 with a small bitch-fest about Christmas brisket and bad Chinese food, then a discussion about where to give to help with victims of the wildfire (see below). Then, we launch a spicy episode featuring Andrea and Eric Mather the couple who created PINCH DAB DASH, a spice blend company which is really a passion project of theirs. Kath questions “who uses a spice blend?” but Jan points out that a spice blend takes some of the thinking out of cooking and is in fact a shortcut. A fascinating glimpse into the rapidly disappearing “Mom and Pop” shop and the world of spices! Find Andrea’s amazing recipes and spice blends at www.pinchdabdash.com and also on Instagram @pinchdabdash and while you’re at it…listen in! To give to wildfire relief please go to www.charitynavigator.org

Kath and Jan travel via Zoom to the Crescent City to talk to New Orleanian John Beyer about his multi-faceted career as producer, editor, writer, filmmaker and most importantly, food historian in that great city. Kath and Jan recall their last visit there where they basically ate more than any human should ever eat and John offers his theories as to why the food down there is so damn good (hint: butter). Kath and John go way back to her final days in Chicago and it’s always great to touch base with him. A wonderful conversation that was over before we knew it – listen in!

Happy Podcastaversary Number Two to US! We are once again joined by our annual (perennial?) November anniversary guest, Nick Sheist, our first beloved engineer. Kath and Jan briefly rehash the debacle otherwise known as the election, and then Nick joins in and regales us with tales from his wedding, honeymoon (he cooked on his own honeymoon!), his rebooting of The Sheist podcast, his continuing love of bad movies @badmoviesweluv and his slight obsession with Dolph Lundgren. It’s always a blast to see Nick and we never run out of things to talk about – listen in!