Jessica Seinfeld Transcript
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everybody. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe. I'm your host, Kerry Diamond.
We have a bonus holiday episode for you today with cookbook, author and philanthropist, Jessica Seinfeld. Her brand new cookbook titled Vegan At Times was just published this past Tuesday and it's Jessica's fifth cookbook.
I'm a big fan of her Can't Cook Cookbook, say that five times fast, Can't Cook Cookbook. I can cook, so I wasn't exactly the target audience, but I always get great ideas from it when I am stumped about what to make, so I'm excited to make a few dishes from Jessica's latest.
Jessica and I will chat about her book, her vegan journey and how she's brought her family along. We chat Thanksgiving and Hanukah because, hey, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Hanukah is around the corner. Jessica shares the fact that her husband, the world famous comedian Jerry Seinfeld, does not eat potatoes. I still can't get my head around that fact. It sounds like a Seinfeld episode. Anyway, Jessica will tell us more in just a minute and of course, we talk about her Good+ Foundation, an amazing organization that has helped countless children and their parents. Stay tuned.
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A little housekeeping, I'll be in Washington, D. C. on the evening of December 7th for a special conversation with baker Cheryl Day. We'll be talking about her brand new cookbook, Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking. Tickets are $40 and include a signed copy of Cheryl's book. Visit Boldforkbooks.com for more details. If you live in D.C., I would love to see you.
Now, let's check in on Jessica.
Kerry Diamond:
Jessica Seinfeld, welcome to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Thank you for having me. It's so great to see you.
Kerry Diamond:
Did you ever think you would have five cookbooks?
Jessica Seinfeld:
No, I never thought I'd have one cookbook. I created my first book because I had a kid who refused to eat any vegetables or anything green or anything with any texture. Everything had to be white. And I grew up in a family, we were eating tofu and brown rice and really embarrassing lunches my whole life, so I didn't know what to make of a kid who, in my mind, was going to be malnourished, which was, you know, at the time, I was a new mother and hyped up and freaked out and I just was like, "Oh, my God, what am I going to do?" So I just started pureeing vegetables and putting them in her foods and it just did so much more than make me feel like I was doing a good job as a mother, it just made the food better. It made it more, I don't know, it made it richer and heartier, especially simpler foods, which is all should we eat anyway. So I was like, "Oh, let's put some broccoli in this chicken nugget," and it ended up making it crunchier and juicier. I'm not a food scientist, but to this day, I don't know why fruit and vegetables makes everything more delicious.
Kerry Diamond:
And now, you don't have to hide the fruits and vegetables in the food anymore because those kids are all grown up.
Jessica Seinfeld:
They are all grown up. It's crazy.
Kerry Diamond:
My personal favorite is the Can't Cook Cookbook because it's the perfect book for when you have stuff in your pantry, you have stuff in your fridge, but you're just stumped. It's like, "I don't know what to make. I do know I have all this stuff that I can make a meal from." And you can literally just open that book, look at the index and figure out something to make.
Jessica Seinfeld:
See, that's amazing to hear that, Kerry, because that's not why I created this book. I created this book, the Can't Cook Book as a prequel to Deceptively Delicious and Double Delicious because all my friends around the time of the Can't Cook Book were just starting to have kids and were just starting to realize, "Wow, I've put my career first and I'm this awesome adult who can do so many things except cook." So I created the Can't Cook Book for all the people in my life who can do amazing things and are super accomplished, have busy, complicated lives and never learned to cook. So how do you, I guess I just feel this way in general, I think we've talked about this before. How do you not talk down to people who are trying something new and who are trying to accomplish something that it appears that other people around them have already been able to figure out?
Kerry Diamond:
It's kind of my Google for recipes. Instead of going online and being bombarded by a thousand recipes, I just opened that and I think the last thing I made was, which I make all the time, I don't know why I still have to look at the recipe, the roasted mushroom caps.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I love you. They're so good. I love it, yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, they're they're so good. They're so good. Anyway, I could talk about that book for a while, but we are talking about your brand new book today, Vegan At Times. How did your journey to being vegan at times come about and what does vegan at times even mean?
Jessica Seinfeld:
There are people who feel that if you're vegan, you're vegan all the time. Really, it's about behavior change and I think there's nothing harder than to change a behavior permanently. So I feel like I wanted to explore vegan eating because, well, first of all, I was having some health issues and my doctor said, "You can read about it. You can learn about it," without talking about it, without making any bold and grand statements about it. I just started eating less dairy and eating less meat and I would make the kids and Jerry normal dinners and I would just change it up a little bit for myself. And it was undeniable that I felt better. So I just crept slowly towards this goal. Where's the delicious vegan food? What can we do that feels cozy and comfortable and yummy, which is how I want to eat at all times anyway, so how do we make those foods plant based?
Kerry Diamond:
So are you 100% vegan or vegan at times?
Jessica Seinfeld:
No.
Kerry Diamond:
Vegan at times.
Jessica Seinfeld:
No, I'm vegan at times. Sometimes, I'll go a month. Sometimes, I can't go two days. It really just depends. Ultimately, if I look at a whole year, I'm probably 85% vegan, but that's okay.
Kerry Diamond:
How did the family handle this latest? Food thing for mom
Jessica Seinfeld:
My kids are always like, "Oh, God, what's she into now?" And my daughter just has this, well, you know, she's gotten better over the past couple of years. I'm going to say that since she's gone to college, she's around a lot more people like me who are thoughtful about what they put in their bodies and for good reason and it's just not to be annoying, it's our health has evolved. Everything we put in our bodies has an impact. So I know that now as a 50 year old, that it really matters and I feel the difference, so she's been better about, she's actually come very far in the past couple of years, thank goodness for college. But they were definitely on alert when it went into high gear, this book, during the pandemic.
Sara and I had started it, I had pitched this idea for the book to my publisher and they loved it, but we weren't like, I wasn't set on an idea. I wasn't 100% committed to, can I do a vegan book? Because I don't want to use processed vegan foods. I just want to use whole foods. And I was like, ooh, this is tough. And how great, if we can build the infrastructure around vegan eating and have these products become more affordable and more accessible. So the pandemic hit, Sara was at her apartment, I was at mine and I was like, "All right, let's just keep going. Let's just figure it out. I got to keep working. I'm going to lose my mind." Although, I also started graduate school during the pandemic. So I was like all of a sudden doing two very hard new things, which I love. That's my favorite thing about life, how are we going to kill it today?
But we started to just develop things separately and then send each other and test and then we realized, we need these products, we need these processed foods. They're super high quality. People think that it's very hard to find vegan food ingredients and you can't pronounce it, you don't know what it is, you don't know what it does. How do we talk to people about these ingredients and how do we make it very clear that everyone can find them across the country? We shopped at Walmart, we shopped at Kmart, we shopped at Target, we shopped at all of those stores for the ingredients. And that was, let's say, halfway through the pandemic, she and I spent weeks together just developing and using these products and that's when we knew we had a book.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us for a second who Sara is. You two have been culinary partners for a while.
Jessica Seinfeld:
10 plus years, since the Can't Cook Book. Sara's the only reason why I still do this because I just love working with her so much. And she, Sara Quessenberry is a food stylist and master recipe developer now. We started to work together on the Can't Cook Book because I really needed help. I'm not super organized around measurements and things, I'm just more of a free wheeler in the kitchen and she is an actual chef. I'm just a very experienced home cook. And she just keeps us going because this is her full-time job and this is my part-time job because I run Good+ Foundation, which is definitely the main focus in my life outside of my kids. So she's the best and if I didn't have Sara, I would quit.
Kerry Diamond:
So the family was okay. How is Jerry with the transition?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Jerry was super into it. After one night, we had, I made them steak and I made myself a sweet potato and a bunch of different sides. That was before I was really, really comfortable with making myself a full meal of vegan foods that didn't feel like a bunch of sides put together, which I think happens a lot. But I still had these really pretty sides, very colorful meal and plate. And he, after dinner, just went and laid down on the sofa and was just like, "Ugh," and I was like, "Hey, does anyone want to play Scrabble?" And it was during the pandemic and it was just like, I think he realized, wow, she has been doing this for a while. She's not preaching about it. She's just quietly going about her business and she feels better than I do.
And so he's like, "Hey, I'll try this with you." And I was like, "Okay." So he is less committed than I am, but last night, strangely, you know we only have Shepherd, our youngest at home now. Our other two are college together, which is awesome, but Shepherd's home with us and last night, we committed as a family to four nights a week dinner fully vegan with our kid. Jerry was fine with it if I dictated that before, but now, Shepherd's like, "I'll do it." So I felt like last night was a big step for us. And then, he goes out with his friends the other nights a week, so whatever he does and we'll figure it out, but we are committed to four dinners as a family together and that feels very big to me.
Kerry Diamond:
That's nice. And Jerry came up with the name for the cookbook, right?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Jerry comes up with the names of all of my books. That is his favorite thing to do around these books, aside from eat everything and think everything is so great, which is so nice. But sometimes I'm like, "Are you just saying that because I made it, you saw me laboring and trying and over and over and over?" He's like, "No, no." But yeah, he came up with Vegan At Times. He came up with Deceptively Delicious. He came up with Double Delicious, the Can't Cook Book. I think the Can't Cook Book was a collaboration between he and I and then Food Swings, I think that was mine.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
But yeah, he did.
Kerry Diamond:
It's handy to have him at home, huh?
Jessica Seinfeld:
It is, he's the best.
Kerry Diamond:
So let's talk about the common theme that runs through all these books because when I was thinking about all your books for this interview and the story we did with you for the recent issue of the magazine, I was like, there really is this common theme of you just want to help people make dinner time better.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah. I have no interest in being a famous food person. I have no interest in having a television show or any platform other than, if this helps you, I'm here. I'm not trying to take away the business or the spotlight from anyone who has gone to cooking school and worked their whole lives for the opportunity to have a show or whatever it is that you are passionate about that makes you feel successful.
I am over here in my corner, trying to, kind of as a side hustle, I'm just trying to help people who feel intimidated learning from a big time chef and I'm just out there slogging away, trying to figure this out. This vegan journey that I'm on, I'm not, by any means, as we talked about, an expert here, I'm just giving you all some things that work for me and I try to take as many steps out of the recipes as possible because I know people are coming home from work, I know people have kids, I know people are just, that's the balance between Sara and I. Sara is so amazing at creating recipes that are just everything you want to eat, and even she takes out steps, but I take even more steps out. I'm like, "No one's going to do that. No one has time for that. No one knows how to do that." So I am just here trying to help and I have a whole other side of my life that I'm totally focused on, which is making life easier for parents.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, we're going to talk about that because you have done a lot of amazing things for a lot of people.
We're going to switch over to the holidays because Thanksgiving and Hanukah are so close to each other this year. It's freaking a lot of people out, a lot of people are excited about potential holiday mashup, but some people are freaked out that two big holidays back to back. What are you thinking for this holiday?
Jessica Seinfeld:
For the first time, make vegan main courses the focus of the meal. We have a three day tradition. We do Thanksgiving. We do on Friday with our closest family, friends and stuff [inaudible 00:17:16]. We do Thanks Again. And then, on Saturday, we do No, Thank You. So I have to get through three days of different families and friends without a turkey, so I don't think I'm going to succeed because I don't think I'm going to get that many people to agree that it's time, but I'm thinking, "What if I did a turkey breast? What if I just didn't do a whole turkey?" And I think I'm going to, yeah, I'm going to look at that, Kerry.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
That's a good plan.
Kerry Diamond:
So you've got Thanks Again, which I love. I think some of us are going to steal that from you and then, No, Thank You. Is that "No, comma, thank you," or, "No thank you?"
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
No, "No, thank you." That one was Jerry. I don't know what exactly it means, it just means, no, after today, we're done.
Kerry Diamond:
Right?
Jessica Seinfeld:
It's been great, but now, we're not cooking for anybody else.
Kerry Diamond:
Got it. One of the great things about your cookbook. Vegan At Times, is there are so many recipes in there that would make great sides for Thanksgiving. Let's talk about a few of them. Definitely your creamy polenta, tell us that recipe because that's a good Thanksgiving recipe.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Polenta is something that normally, you'd use tons of butter and tons of Parmesan. Is it the same as using half a tub of butter and tons and tons of Parmesan? No, it's not, but you're not going to miss it.
Kerry Diamond:
Mm-hmm.
Jessica Seinfeld:
So I think that's the great thing about this book for me and that's been what we feel is our great success in this book is, everything is so cozy and comfortable and delicious and hearty and satisfying and really flavorful and we've spent, I mean, we probably tested each recipe 10 times just to make sure we weren't saying, "Here's polenta, here's vegan polenta, it tastes like cardboard, but it's still vegan." This stuff should all be awesome and it is.
Kerry Diamond:
Do you introduce any creamy element?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah, well, we have wine.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
We like wine. So that adds lots more flavor. The nutritional yeast I know is a weird word and it makes people cringe a bit. I think it's delicious and it took me one try and I was like, "Okay, you know what? I can see why people would say this is Parmesan-y, I'm not mad."
Kerry Diamond:
And you top it with roasted mushrooms and tomatoes, right?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
How do you do the tomatoes?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Those are roasted. Those are going to be the whole sheet pan, we put the sheet pan in first with the tomatoes and the mushrooms and I think there's thyme, yes, thyme in there, tons of olive oil, salt and pepper. And just like you would roast your vegetables and top that polenta with what feels like a really nice cozy winter meal.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. You've also got a great baked bean recipe in there. Tell us about your vegan baked beans.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Well, we decided that one of the things that's hard in the summer is to go to a barbecue and miss out on those yummy, I don't even want to say the words, but like ribs and chicken and all that stuff, which is so good, and believe me, I miss them. But beans, I think there is nothing, I mean, yes, you don't have your pork or your bacon, but I personally wouldn't put that in anyway, but I don't know, I just think brown sugary, molasses-y, rich beans might be really good over the holidays during the winter.
Kerry Diamond:
What kind of beans do you use?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Navy or, yeah, Navy. Navys, everyone can find Navy.
Kerry Diamond:
And do you start from dried or canned?
Jessica Seinfeld:
No. Canned.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. I can't, I don't know what it is, Jessica, I am cursed when it comes to dried beans. I just can never make them come out perfectly and it frustrates the hell out of me. So yes, I [crosstalk 00:21:29]-
Jessica Seinfeld:
The recipe definitely does call for them to be soaked and dried, but I'm like, "In my real life, I'm not doing it."
Kerry Diamond:
All right. Canned it is. So what do you put in the baked beans?
Jessica Seinfeld:
I have found that dried mustard is definitely my friend more than ever in vegan and cooking, especially with the mac and cheese that we have in the book. You've got to layer in flavor.
Kerry Diamond:
So what else you've got? Dried mustard.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Dried mustard, paprika, soy sauce, molasses, brown sugar, salt and pepper, yellow onion, and always the little acid at the end, like apple cider or vinegar or whatever you have. Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that sounds good. I love baked beans so much. All right. And then, you've got a great appetizer option. You've got mushroom toast. Walk us through the mushroom toast.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Well, this mushroom toast is definitely based on this one I found in Durham, North Carolina at my favorite restaurant there called Cucciolo's. I came home with it and I told Sara, I was like, "We've got to figure this out in a way, because it's so satisfying." It's just shiitakes mixed, a mix of shiitakes or oyster or whatever you can find and shallots, obviously olive oil, garlic, thyme, white wine or a pinot grigio and an amazing baguette. And that's definitely something I am doing a lot of, is seeking out really good breads. The quality matters and if you're missing some things in some areas, let's make up for it another way, like a nice She Wolf or your favorite local baker.
Kerry Diamond:
She Wolf is fantastic.
Jessica Seinfeld:
The best. I can't. I can't even. I love them so much. And then, tons of fresh chives at the end and they're so, this thing, I would serve that at a party or yeah, I would serve that as an appetizer maybe.
Kerry Diamond:
Sounds so good. All right. Let's chat about Hanukah quickly because that is coming up right behind Thanksgiving. You are a latka girl. You like doing latkas on Hanukah.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I love, do you like latkas?
Kerry Diamond:
I love latkas. Yeah.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I love latkas so much.
Kerry Diamond:
What do you put on top of them since you're not using cream? What do you ...
Jessica Seinfeld:
I know. This year, I'm going to try and see what's out there because I just got sent some fresh cream cheese, which is not sour cream and not crème fraîche, but some vegan cream cheese, which I'm going to experiment with, maybe there's something there, but I'm also an apple sauce girl. I love just apple sauce. That reminds me of, and there you go. If you can, first of all, latkas have always been vegan, so you're not missing anything there and nothing, no big change there, but yeah, I'll see what's around for some kind of cream on top that I can either make or use that's available.
Kerry Diamond:
But apple sauce is great. No one would miss the cream if you put out apple sauce.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah, apple sauce, a little cinnamon.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, absolutely. And latkas, you have some latka recipes on your website. Jerry doesn't like potatoes.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I know, it's so weird. First, I was like, "Oh, you're so annoying. You're not ordering French fries."
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that is so annoying.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Right? Like, are you wearing salad? And when we first started dating and he would order salad instead of French fries, I said, ""Ugh, who are you? And then, he's like, "Yeah, I just don't like potatoes." So yeah, he doesn't like potatoes.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow. I don't think I know anybody who doesn't like potatoes.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Oh, I love them. So Yukon Gold.
Kerry Diamond:
Hm, it's so funny-
Jessica Seinfeld:
And sweet potatoes.
Kerry Diamond:
... because you are condemned to a lifetime of having to order your own fries and not eat someone else's fries.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yes, which is the worst.
Kerry Diamond:
It's like, can I have some of your fries? Never.
Jessica Seinfeld:
No, I have to do it. Yeah, or forget it, we're not getting them. It's so annoying.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that's funny. Any latka making tips?
Jessica Seinfeld:
I like them really, first of all, do not come to me and tell me that you mash up your potatoes and then you fry them and you call that a latka. A latka is one that you shred or grate the potatoes yourself and you put them together and it's all grated potato. I go to a very well known Jewish deli in New York City that calls them latkas and it's all mush inside and that is wrong.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, I think I'm with you on that. Okay, let's talk about another recipe in your book that could be good for Hanukah. You've got a stuffed sweet potato.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Oh, stuffed sweet potatoes with cabbage and spicy peanut dressing, that's so good. Yes.
Kerry Diamond:
That sounds great.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yes. Yes. Purple cabbage. Do you love cabbage?
Kerry Diamond:
I love cabbage.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I love to have me some cabbage. Me too. A little cilantro, but a lot of people don't like cilantro, do you find that?
Kerry Diamond:
Well, it's genetic. Did you, have you done one of those 23 And Me things?
Jessica Seinfeld:
I have.
Kerry Diamond:
They ask you about cilantro in that because some, there's a certain percentage of the population that has a genetic predisposition to disliking cilantro.
Jessica Seinfeld:
I never thought about that.
Kerry Diamond:
I think it tastes like soap. Yeah.
Jessica Seinfeld:
That's fascinating. Okay. Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
But I love cilantro.
Jessica Seinfeld:
You just, and then, in this book, we have a bunch of dressings that are interchangeable throughout many different recipes in this book. So the spicy peanut dressing, I just keep it in my fridge all the time because it goes on pretty much everything, it's so-
Kerry Diamond:
How do you make it? I love a spicy peanut dressing.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Coconut milk, which is something that, if you're a vegan person, you have a ton of in your house or you've become used to always having to buy it. That was a big thing for me and I also have, and paying attention to what is going on with coconut deforestation. I realize that was an issue, so important to say that in vegan eating, there are also habits that we are forming that are destructive for the planet. Okay, so cashew butter or peanut butter because I know a lot of people have allergies and are especially allergic to peanuts, so we do do a lot of interchanging in the book, of different nut butters. Lime juice, coconut milk, sriracha, which we use a lot of in this book, and salt and we whisk it all together and you're good for lots of different recipes in this book.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, I love that. You can drizzle it on everything.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Sweet potatoes or a Yukon Gold. Are you a white potato person?
Kerry Diamond:
Hm ... I mean, for French fries, sure. But I love sweet potatoes. Yeah. Does Jerry's thing extend to sweet potatoes too?
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, every kind of potato.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Ugh ...
Jessica Seinfeld:
It's weird. And then I'm like, "Oh, do you like sweet potato fries?"
Kerry Diamond:
I was just going to ask.
Jessica Seinfeld:
"Hm, no."
Kerry Diamond:
Oh.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Nope.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Last thing I want to ask you about the holidays, are you the kind of person who loves play settings and tablescapes? Is that you?
Jessica Seinfeld:
No, I'm terrible. Nope.
Kerry Diamond:
So tablescape is not a big word in your vocabulary.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Ugh. That's a business. Actually, my friend has a business called Social Studies where you rent a table scape because for someone like me who, I barely entertain because I'm so afraid to put together a table. It's just never been my thing. What about you?
Kerry Diamond:
I do like it. I just have a small apartment, so I don't have room for like all the dishes and the ...
Jessica Seinfeld:
What do people do? How do people learn how to do this? That's something I want to get really good at, but I don't know how to do it. What's the way to learn?
Kerry Diamond:
That's a good question. You know what? Maybe we can muddle through it together, but I do want to do more of that in Cherry Bombe. That's definitely been a thing we haven't done enough of and I love, and I so appreciate when I go to someone's house and they've done the whole table with table cloths and place mats and different plates and everything. It's gorgeous, but yeah.
Jessica Seinfeld:
It's incredible. To me, that is an art form.
Kerry Diamond:
Yes.
Jessica Seinfeld:
And I just, I'm so overwhelmed by it and I just need step one.
Kerry Diamond:
Yes. You know what, that's a good question for a story. We're going to work on that. Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Amazing.
Kerry Diamond:
So tablescapes, that's not a word that comes out of your mouth. Okay.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Nope.
Kerry Diamond:
Unlike supply chain problems, which now does come out of your mouth.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yes. I'm very good with logistics and really not glamorous, fun things. I'm terrible with the glamorous things.
Kerry Diamond:
Let's talk about what is going on with your foundation because some folks might not realize the name of the foundation changed. So tell us what's up.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Yeah. 20 years ago, I started an organization that was really focused on helping babies born into poverty and their parents and what I realized really early on was that if you're going to help and really make a difference in a child's life, you really have to help their parents. You have to help them get their GED, you have to help them find the way through all of these different systems that they have to navigate every day, our child welfare system, our child support system, homelessness, all of these different things that impact millions and millions of people every day. They're just, they run into walls all day long.
My mom's a social worker and I'm in graduate school for public policy now to hopefully change a lot of these systems that are keeping people down. So I started it and it was called Baby Buggy because we were just focused on getting babies the things that they needed and just as many babies as possible. And then I realized, wait a second, serious change needs to happen in our systems and in the day to day lives of our families, so we started to really address the programs and policies that would lead to permanent change for families. I had a hard time fundraising around the word baby because it was very limiting so we changed our name several years ago when we really started focusing on fathers and the lack of resources and support that exists for men, specifically men of color. We wrestle with this deadbeat dad myth every single day and yet, we have these incredibly hardworking, brave, awesome men who show up every day and try to be part of their children's lives, but we've got lots of different systems in place and policies in place that prevent them from being there.
So we changed the name to the Good+ Foundation several years ago, goods plus services and education and support, so it's the Good+ Foundation. It's sort of our way of looking at, people need so much more than goods. They need all kinds of supports, 360 degree of support and we look at each different lever for families across the country. I've been doing that. That's my purpose. That's my main main event every day. I get very excited to create and I get that feeling in my chest that if this is going to help somebody, whether it's a program for fathers or whether it's a recipe that becomes part of your repertoire every week because you're super busy with school or kids and work that you don't have to think it through and you come home every Wednesday and you make it, that's hopefully the purpose I serve for many people.
Kerry Diamond:
And how's grad school?
Jessica Seinfeld:
It's incredible. I'm having the time of my life. I feel like I'm on my, if you read that David Brooks book, My Second Mountain, I'm learning so much every single day. I was on my way over here, I was talking to my professor about, if I was going to meet the next governor, what question would I ask her? And he was like, "What would you ask her?" And I said, "I'd ask her about community college and what kind of support we're going to give people around community college. It's so vital." I see it every day with our mothers and fathers in our programs and how they can get their GEDs and they can go on for job training and then they can start taking classes at community college because there's no barrier there. They're able to access those services within these community colleges that are going to actually take them to the next level and get them out of poverty. And now, I'm going to go work on making main courses, vegan main courses for everyone to enjoy with their holiday with their families.
Kerry Diamond:
Have you met the new mayor yet, of New York City?
Jessica Seinfeld:
I have not. I'm very excited. He's a vegan.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. You two are very like minded. He gave a great interview to David Remnick of the New Yorker this summer and outlined a lot of his thoughts and feelings about food and it was so exciting to hear somebody talk about food as medicine, essentially.
Jessica Seinfeld:
It's so great that he's a leader and doing that. I think Bloomberg tried to do that, but he did it in a way that didn't sit well with a bunch of people, but there were also lots of people who supported it, but yeah, this Eric Adams is so interesting and multifaceted and he has, we're studying him in my New York policy class right now-
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, cool.
Jessica Seinfeld:
... so I know a lot about him, but he is very exciting for the city and he will have to work hand in hand with our next governor and that's a very, very important relationship to New York City.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, Jessica, that's it. Thank you so much. It was so good to talk. I always love talking to you, so thank you so much.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Oh, you're so kind. Thank you so much.
Kerry Diamond:
Congrats on book-
Jessica Seinfeld:
And thank you for asking great questions.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, congrats on book five.
Jessica Seinfeld:
Thank you so much for having me.
Kerry Diamond:
All right and Happy Holidays.
Kerry Diamond:
That's it for today's show. Thank you so much to Jessica Seinfeld, author of the new cookbook Vegan At Times. Pick up a copy at your favorite local bookstore. Thank you to Fridge No More and Modern Sprout for supporting today's show. Be sure to check them out.
Radio Cherry Bombe is a production of Cherry Bombe Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our other chats wherever you get your podcasts. And I would love for you to subscribe to our show. Thank you to our assistant producer, Jenna Sadhu for working on this episode. Thanks for listening, everybody. You are the bombe. The Cherry Bombe team and I would like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukah.