Eden Grinshpan:
I'm going to put this out there, my mom does not love to cook, okay? My mom would step into the kitchen and be like, "I don't belong here."
Kerry Diamond:
Bombesquad. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe, the podcast that's all about women and food. I'm your host Kerry Diamond. Today's guest is Eden Grinshpan, the host of Top Chef Canada and author of a fab new cookbook, Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Day. Speaking of bold, Eden joins us to talk about the journey that took her from high school to culinary school, to India and beyond. I think you'll be very inspired by the adventurous spirit that Eden brings to everything she does. Let's do a little housekeeping because we have added a few new features to our official Bombesquad membership.
Kerry Diamond:
We now have an email address just for members, so you can share news with us, send pictures or ask questions. We're getting ready to debut a members' directory on cherrybombe.com, and our next members meeting is February 11th. If you are a member, be sure to check your inbox for an email from us with all the details. If you're not a member and you'd like to join, visit cherrybombe.com. Annual memberships are $40, and it's a great way to support the show. While you're there be sure to check out our members corner to learn about cool Bombesquad folks like cookbook, author Yana Gilbuena and Bombesquad produced products like saba jam, perfectly cordial drinks mixers, and squish marshmallows. I love that name.
Kerry Diamond:
Today's show is brought to you by Catbird, one of my favorites. Catbird's mission is to make beautiful sparkling jewelry that will bring you joy now through forever. Catbird believes that even very special jewelry can be worn every day. I have my Catbird stacking rings on right now and some tiny earrings that I adore. I love giving Catbird gift certificates as gifts because you can always find something beautiful and affordable on their site. All Catbird's jewelry is made in their Brooklyn studio with ethically sourced gold. All stones are conflict free and the company is female founded and owned. For more visit catbirdnyc.com. And now here's my conversation with Eden Grinshpan.
Kerry Diamond:
First off Eden, I wanted to say congratulations. You have very good news to share with the world.
Eden Grinshpan:
Yes, thank you. We're really excited. We're expecting our second child this summer. We found out it's a girl, so my daughter's flipping out. All her dreams have come true. And obviously I come from a family of girls, there's three of us. So for me it's really sweet that I get to give her a sister because I totally get that dynamic. We're excited. I'm really anxious to also kind of see, in a good way, how it's going to be to bring another baby into this world. Becoming a mother is a huge deal and the first time around was good, really hard. So I'm hoping this time it'll be a little bit more natural. A little more casual.
Kerry Diamond:
How do you feel?
Eden Grinshpan:
The first trimester was awful? I actually feel like this time around it is way more challenging. A lot of people also say that because you're taking care of another kid, so you don't get the time to rest. You don't get to just go to sleep at eight or really just take the time for yourself. But the truth is for me, the worst part was just the nausea. I basically lived off of cream of wheat and bagels for three months. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I'm sick of bagels. Never in my life would I ever say that ever because bagels could be probably one of my favorite things of all time, and I think I'm sick of them. I'm done for now.
Kerry Diamond:
That might have to be the title of the podcast. Well, this sort of connects to my first observation question. My biggest takeaway from your cookbook is that it's a love letter to your family. So I was curious, growing up, what was your family like when it came to food?
Eden Grinshpan:
For me, I feel like food is so much about your history and how you grew up and who you are, and your connection to it obviously starts from a very young age and food has memory, right? Not food has memory. What is it?
Kerry Diamond:
I know what you mean. Everybody out there gets it.
Eden Grinshpan:
No, you-
Kerry Diamond:
Food is very connected to memory.
Eden Grinshpan:
Food is very connected to memory. So for me, when I think of food growing up, I grew up in Toronto. One of the most multicultural cities in the world and my dad was always so passionate about taking me to different grocery stores, trying different flavors. For fun we would just go to all these different places and snacks and treats from these different groceries to just explore. I think that's where I really kind of fell in love with foods from all over. I think my father really gave me that, but my food memories are just... I was very fortunate to have dinner every night with both my parents and my siblings.
Kerry Diamond:
That, I have to stop you right there, is remarkable.
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
How was that even possible?
Eden Grinshpan:
Honestly, my dad's job allowed him to be home by 6:00 PM. I don't know if my parents really knew at the time that it was going to be such an important thing in our lives, but when I look back those are the memories and I think that's also why my family is so, so close. My sisters and I are best friends and the dinner table... I'm going to put this out there, my mom does not love to cook, okay? I didn't grow up in a house where my mom was like, "I love to make all these different kinds of foods." My mom would step into the kitchen and be like, "I don't belong here."
Eden Grinshpan:
So I grew up very much with a mother like that. So actually when I got into food, everyone was shocked, especially her. She was like, "I don't get it." But when I think about my childhood and I think about growing up with dinner every night at that dinner table, that was our stage. That was our place to really express ourselves. There's three really outgoing, really loud big personalities. Well also my mother, but three girls and we would talk about our day, we would... And we're all very theatrical and we would obviously we were always doing school plays and it was just our place to just be free.
Eden Grinshpan:
So I just associate dinner time and meal time in such a positive light and I think it's really because I was able to experience that growing up. And then so obviously, as I said my mom, not huge fan of cooking, but in high school I fell in love with food actually because I fell in love with Food Network. At the time Food Network wasn't a kind of as mainstream as it is now. Most of my friends did not watch Food Network. It was me and all of the 50, 60 year old mothers watching Food Network. I lived for it. My friends thought I was so weird and that really inspired me to actually get in the kitchen.
Kerry Diamond:
So interesting. Well, that's really beautiful about your family. And tell me if I got this right, you went from high school to culinary school. Is that correct?
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah, I was a pretty big troublemaker growing up. School was not my thing. I always had fun for the social aspect of it. I had tons of friends but I just didn't really love going to class. When it came time to apply for university, I did apply, but I kind of felt like it just was not for me. I told my parents, "I feel like I'm going to be wasting four years of my time and probably your money and I just don't feel like this makes that much sense for me." And my dad was actually the one that recognized how much I loved food. At this point I fell in love with Food Network in grade 10. So at this point I was in the kitchen a lot, cooking, baking, buying cookbooks, really getting into it. And he was like, "Why don't you go to culinary school?"
Eden Grinshpan:
He was the one that suggested this and I didn't even realize that it was an option, to be honest. I didn't even think about it. And so he's like, "Why don't you go to Le Cordon Bleu? And I was like, "What is Le Cordon Bleu? I need to look this up. What's going on?" So we looked it up and obviously there are Le Cordon Le Bleus all over the world and I just felt... I didn't know French so going to Paris felt incredibly intimidating. So I was like, "What's closest to France? Why don't I go to London?" And so I went to Le Cordon Bleu in London, England, and actually fortunately enough one of my best friends from high school got into the London College of Fashion, I think that's what it's called, and we went and we lived together. We moved together to London and we lived together and went to school.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that's incredible. I had no idea how instrumental your dad was in that decision.
Eden Grinshpan:
My parents actually, I feel very fortunate because I didn't go down the traditional path. They didn't really fight me on it. They were very open and open-minded, and it's so funny because now when I cook my dad meals, he's like, "If you wouldn't have done anything with this and your career, it doesn't even matter. You can make amazing food regularly and that's just your life and you get to have amazing food and cook for your friends and family." So in his mind, going to culinary school was probably a win-win anyways.
Kerry Diamond:
Do you think on some level you were living out what your dad wished that he had done?
Eden Grinshpan:
My dad actually, he grew up in Israel and he was in the army. He was in the [inaudible 00:10:00]. And the second he finished and this was not the norm, he packed up his bag, took his, I swear he had 200 bucks, put it in his pocket and he wanted to go to school in Chicago. No one left. It wasn't the norm for people to leave during that time and he just left by himself. He had this idea in his head and he just went not knowing anyone in Chicago. And on his way to Chicago, he stopped in Toronto because he knew this one girl that he met at a Kibbutz who turned out to be my mother's best friend but that woman does not talk to my mother.
Kerry Diamond:
I just got goosebumps. She doesn't talk to your mother?
Eden Grinshpan:
No. Are you kidding? My mom met my dad and then they were engaged three days after they met. Oh yeah, it was wild.
Kerry Diamond:
What a great story.
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah and they'd been married for 47 years, they're still together. So he's always been that kind of person and I think he saw that there was something similar in me. Go, explore. Learn about yourself, learn about the world, and that's very much kind of what my education was in the end. I moved to London and I went to Le Cordon Bleu and I started working in kitchens and I eventually started... I traveled and I learned about different cultures through their food actually because I loved food and that was very much what inspired me to go to all these different places. I look back and it makes so much sense for me and for what I had to go through.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell us a little bit about your time in London. Were you able to explore the food scene?
Eden Grinshpan:
It's so funny because when I think first of all, okay, I'm just going to put this out there. I was 18 years old and it was my first time living away from my parents. A, I was legal in London so we frequent the pub after school. So I'm just going to... There was a lot of fish and chips, lots of cider. Kind of like culinary school college days for me. So I did get to explore. Did I get to go to a lot of the fine dining spots? Not so much. Borough Market-
Kerry Diamond:
You were 18?
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah, 18. I lived there from 18 to 20. Borough Market and there is this... So when I went to the Le Cordon Bleu, it was on Marylebone high street. It was so charming, it was gorgeous. And on right off of Marylebone high street, I might be getting them confused, but either way it was just this beautiful, charming street, gorgeous neighborhood. And there was this cheese shop right next door that I would go to all the time. And obviously in the UK drinking wine at lunch is so normal. So I would go for a cheeseboard and have a gossip line in between classes. Who am I? I wish I was that person right now. Anyways, so La Fromagerie, that's what it was called, and I went there last time and it's just amazing. This woman owns the restaurant and she just brings cheese from all over Europe. And it's not so much a restaurant as much as it's a cheese shop, food specialty store.
Kerry Diamond:
La Fromagerie?
Eden Grinshpan:
La Fromagerie.
Kerry Diamond:
So now we know you loved the Food Network, I didn't know that. How did you break into food TV?
Eden Grinshpan:
This is kind of a wild story. So after I graduated from culinary school, I ended up backpacking through India, Southeast Asia. I ended up living in Israel for a couple of years too working in restaurants. Actually while I was in India I ended up volunteering and I worked at this... volunteered to this orphanage called Ramana's Garden in Rishikesh and that was always the plan because I actually, I went to India twice. So the first time with a group for three months where we did tons of volunteering. Volunteered at Mother Teresa's Hospice, different orphanages. That trip changed my life. I went to India not really knowing even that much about the country and the culture and I just went and felt so madly in love with all of it. So after I went on this trip, I moved to Israel, got a job, worked and saved up for a year and then I actually went back to India for-
Kerry Diamond:
You loved it that much. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah. So I went back and I went to one of the orphanages that I volunteered at previously because I knew I wanted to be there and kind of dedicate some time. And when I was there, I kind of wanted to figure out what I was going to do. How I could contribute the most of my time and the money that I also saved up to donate to the orphanage. And they had this cafe that was donated to them. Someone came and built this gorgeous cafe for them but it wasn't being run. So I was like, "You know what? I just went to culinary school. Why don't I open this and run this for you?" I'm 21. Why don't I just open this and run it? Reopen it because I think it was opened in the past.
Eden Grinshpan:
So anyways, I took it on. I took on this project and I ended reopening this cafe for them. And I would, obviously, I cooked all the food and the kids would come in and it was... It wasn't anyone was working. The kids weren't working, they were coming in and playing and they loved it. It was such a great experience. And my, again, parents called me one day and they're like, "You should tape this process. You should record this." And I obviously am like, "I'm really busy. I don't have time for anything." It was a lot obviously but I ended up doing that and I taped the entire process. Eventually after my travels, I decided to move to New York City.
Eden Grinshpan:
I asked my friend who knew an editor and he cut it together for me. I got a job at Baby Cakes. I was working front of the house for them. I was their manager. I was there for a bit and there was this article in the times about this big agent called Jon. His name is Jon Rosen at William Morris. You're going to laugh, but my parents called me one day and they're like, "Did you hear about that agent?" No, really. My parents are pretty amazing and they're on top of it. They called me and they're like, "You should take that video to this guy." And I'm like, "Mom, I'm really busy. I don't know what you're talking about. No, one's going to see me at this agency." I have such FOMO of opportunity. So I was like, "Whatever, I'll just do it." So I ended up getting dressed up. I went to William Morris, I bring this video. I don't know-
Kerry Diamond:
You just showed up on their doorstep.
Eden Grinshpan:
I just showed up on their doorstep. This does not happen. I walked into the office and I'm like, "Hi, I'm here to see Jon Rosen," And they're like, "What's your name?" I'm like "Eden Grinshpan." I am not kidding you. Literally, this actually happened. And they're like, "I'm sorry, but you're not on our list. We can't let you up." And I was like, "But I have something for him." And they're like, "Well, you're going to have to drop it off in the mail room," which was basically in a garage.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. You probably had to walk outside, walk around the block, yeah.
Eden Grinshpan:
Walk around the block and to the garage in my five inch heels. I tried. You know me, I'm a pretty casual person.
Kerry Diamond:
You're very much a jeans and t-shirt girl.
Eden Grinshpan:
All the way. So anyways, I drop it off. I don't think anything of it and I get a call from an agent at WMA literally two weeks later.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. That's too much.
Eden Grinshpan:
No, it's crazy. It's honestly crazy.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, it is interesting. Sometimes naivete can work in your favor. When you don't know better, nothing is stopping you.
Eden Grinshpan:
I think I've always kind of been a little bit like this. I've never been really great with emails and-
Kerry Diamond:
Formalities?
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah. So I've always just been like, "I'll do it in person." I've always been that person. I'll just go and do it in person. That's how I got a lot of different jobs. I just went in and was like, "Hey, what's up?" I feel like I could always sell myself better when I was in person versus just getting random email. I just wanted to be there anyways. So it ended up... He saw the video and they called me in. One thing led to another and I met with production companies and I met with this woman one day at Baby Cakes and we came up with Eden Eats. This woman randomly walked into the bakery with her camera.
Kerry Diamond:
So Eden Eats led to Top Chef Canada. How did that come about?
Eden Grinshpan:
I co-created and sold Eden Eats to the Cooking Channel with my old business partner, Samantha Schutz. We partnered with the production company called Teal Edwards. So long ago, I think I was 23 or 24 and then after that I had Log On & Eat with Eden for the Cooking Channel which was so ahead of, I think, the time. It was about food influencers. This was 10 years ago. And then after that, Food Network, I judged a lot of different shows. Iron Chef and Beat Bobby Flay and then they put me as a judge on Donut Showdown, Sugar Showdown.
Kerry Diamond:
Are you a good judge? You don't come across as a judgy person.
Eden Grinshpan:
For me, I tried so hard to just remind myself, "Eden, it's not a personal thing. You're just literally judging this food that's in front of you based off of-"
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, come on. It's so personal.
Eden Grinshpan:
I know.
Kerry Diamond:
The contestants don't look at it that way.
Eden Grinshpan:
I know anyone that eats my food I'm... But it's not easy. It's not easy, it was never easy.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh my gosh, and then Top Chef, that's what that's all about.
Eden Grinshpan:
Donut Showdown and Sugar Showdown eventually led to Chopped Canada and then that got me to Top Chef Canada and I'm currently the host of Top Chef Canada, and I get to work alongside some really incredible people. Really amazing Canadian talent food writer, I don't know if you know Chris Nuttall-Smith, he's amazing, very well known here in Canada. Mark McEwan. Janet Zuccarini who actually is... She has a restaurant in the U.S. actually, Felix in LA. So very well known, she has a ton of restaurants here.
Kerry Diamond:
So is this the kinder, gentler Top Chef because it's Canadian?
Eden Grinshpan:
I actually feel like it's very much similar to Top Chef in the U.S. The one thing that is really different though is it doesn't have that reality aspect where you follow them into their living space. So it doesn't get catty that way. I find that sometimes when you go into the apartment they're living in and you get to hear kind of how they're reacting to each other, it can feel a little bit more like reality style. So we don't have that here on Top Chef Canada.
Kerry Diamond:
Let me ask, is Top Chef Canada similar to Top Chef in the U.S. in that it has just had such an impact on the restaurant scene whereas you win or you perform well, you can go open a restaurant based off that?
Eden Grinshpan:
Every season changes. So we've had executive chefs or chefs that already have restaurants compete and we also have chefs that are up and coming chefs compete. So it really depends. It depends, I think, on where they are in their career. But I do feel like it's the number one prime time competition show on Food Network, Canada. So people are really into it and definitely see these chefs do a lot of really amazing things after they won.
Kerry Diamond:
How can folks watch it if they're not in Canada?
Eden Grinshpan:
It's tough.
Kerry Diamond:
I know but I had to ask because people probably want to catch it now.
Eden Grinshpan:
I know. A lot of my friends, obviously I've lived in New York for 11 years now and they're like, "Okay, so you host Top Chef Canada. Where can I watch this?" So sometimes when they come over, I'll show them some episodes because they have to send them to me because I can't see them when it... because I'm not living there. But yeah, I don't know. Maybe online, maybe there's some episodes you can find, I have to check that out.
Kerry Diamond:
Let's jump, because we're going to run out of time, let's jump to your beautiful cookbook because I love your cookbooks so much. The cookbook is called Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Day. You have yours too. The title really sums up the optimism and the energy of the book. How did you come up with the title?
Eden Grinshpan:
Funny story Ido and I were eating at Mogador in Brooklyn and the title's really, really tough because you really want to capture kind of the energy. The idea of what you're about to experience, the food you're about to check out, and we just wrote down a bunch of words that we really felt captured the food, our personality, our love for Israel and what makes, obviously this is very much inspired by my Israeli background. And "loud" was just a word that I could not... it was just a word that followed me everywhere. It's followed me everywhere my whole life. Everyone-
Kerry Diamond:
I have mistakenly called the book several times, Eden Out Loud.
Eden Grinshpan:
Well basically that's what it should have been called, but I [inaudible 00:23:08] my whole life to talk with an indoor voice, which I don't have. I still don't have one at age 34 and I feel like that's so connected to also my Israeli background. When I go to Israel it just feels like everyone's just talking at a higher level. The passion, the arms, the hand movement, the gestures. Everything feels really big and warm and I really wanted to bring that energy to my Brooklyn kitchen to your homes and to this book.
Kerry Diamond:
Before we talk about the recipes, you're talking about the energy of Israel and the warmth and the voices. And it's funny you say that because when I was reading your introduction, there's that one paragraph and I just thought, I really want Eden to read that out loud. And I've never asked an author to read something from their cookbook and share it out loud, but I don't know why it just struck me. So are you cool to read that part out loud?
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah. "I'm half Israeli and grew up visiting Israel every summer, but this trip was completely different and having just finished culinary school, it was like meeting the country for the first time. I had a better understanding of the food, how it was made and where the ingredients came from, and I asked a lot more questions. I wanted to know everything about this crazy mishmash of flavors that drew from places in North Africa, in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and about a million years of culinary history.
Eden Grinshpan:
I had things like jachnun, a flaky doughy Yemeni bread; sabich, pita stuffed with fried eggplant, spicy pickled mango and chopped salad, the Holy Trinity of cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs; and baladi a fat wild eggplant that's burnt to a crisp so the insides get custardy and smoky then drizzled with toppings like tangy pomegranate molasses or nutty tahini. I learned that the universal cooking fat is extra Virgin olive oil. No dish is complete without a generous cascade of a bright fruity varietal and that there's no wrong time in the day for eggs, especially if they're poached in a spiced tomato, pepper sauce, and sopped up with pita a la shakshuka.
Eden Grinshpan:
I fell in love with zesty, bright sumac; the briny tang of sheep's milk feta; and the surprisingly tarp but balanced punch that pomegranate molasses adds to richly flavored dishes. And I met my mate for life: tahini. We're talking an epic obsession. I couldn't get enough of the rich creamy sesame paste that is essentially the Israeli mother sauce. In Israel, I found it dolloped onto roasted vegetables and fish dishes, whisked into spreads, shaken into dressings and added to pretty much everything that hit the table, sweet or savory. Now I barely put out anything without a drizzle of the stuff. And let me tell you just about everything is better for it. I'm a firm believer in the motto "If you fuck it up, put tahini on it." I'd like to think of Julia Child were Israeli, she would have said the same thing.
Kerry Diamond:
I love that so much. I mean that sums up your book so beautifully. If your mouth watered after hearing all of that, you do definitely need to get Eating Out Loud. What would you say is the gateway recipe for the book?
Eden Grinshpan:
Oh, I've mentioned shakshuka in there. I have four shakshuka recipes in my book and basically a chapter on eggs because I love it. And I find that when I lived in Israel, we ate eggs any time of the day. Dinner was a pretty popular time to eat egg dishes.
Kerry Diamond:
Any secret to your shakshuka?
Eden Grinshpan:
I actually put curry powder in my shakshuka. I find that it really adds some really beautiful body to the flavor of the tomatoes. And I think I'll also add harissa on this one, which is a North African spice paste that brings such a beautiful heat for me. Adding just a little touch of heat just makes the sauce just feel so much more satisfying and delicious. And then I finish it with a lot of garlicy tahini, which as you just heard is an epic obsession and I can't... It is challenging for me to not include it in a recipe. I had to really sit myself down and be like, "Okay, do I really need to finish this with tahini? Let's keep this one out here."
Kerry Diamond:
Reading the book you realize you have a lot of opinions clearly about tahini, including how to pronounce the word.
Eden Grinshpan:
It's because of where I grew up. I grew up obviously going to Israel and being half Israeli. So in Israel we call it tahina and I just love it. It's just sesame paste and it's, as I said before, it can be savory and sweet. One of my favorite treats ever, it's not even a treat, just a favorite thing to eat as sourdough with tahini paste, honey, some sea salt, maybe some bananas on there or whatever. It's just tahini and honey, so good.
Kerry Diamond:
What do you look for in a good tahini?
Eden Grinshpan:
I find that the lighter the tahini for me, the color is definitely a sign. When it's darker, it's more roasted, so you'll get more of a bitter flavor. So I try to look for a lighter tahini in color, and also when you shake the tahini when you get it, I find that the higher quality tahini is, the oil that gets to the top of the tahini will mix in easier than the ones that you have to basically take a spoon out and stir it. Brands that I love, Soom does an exceptional job.
Kerry Diamond:
Soom's great.
Eden Grinshpan:
I also find that Seed and Mill also does a really great job.
Kerry Diamond:
Love Seed and Mill. Both women founded and owned brands. We love them.
Eden Grinshpan:
Love that. And they're both fantastic.
Kerry Diamond:
So tell me about a recipe in the book that's close to your heart.
Eden Grinshpan:
This recipe, I think this is also one of my earliest food memories and it's funny because it actually has nothing to do with my time in Israel, the Persian rice tahdig. Growing up in Toronto, my parents, one of their closest family friends are Persian and they would invite us over and every time we'd come over, the mom would make tahdig. And it was just, my whole family went nuts. We would fight over it. Their family would be like, "Okay, take it crazy women." We're like, "Just so good." The crunchy rice, the saffron, the buttery flavor just cooked to perfection. I didn't know that rice could be so delicious and I just fell in love with it, and when I sold this book, that was actually one of the first recipes I wrote down. I was like, "Persian rice tahdig."
Kerry Diamond:
There's a little bit of an intimidation factor though because of the flip.
Eden Grinshpan:
Well, in my book, I'm like, "Just get a non-stick." I'm like, "Let's not try and be heroes here." I'm just going to put this out there, I've tried without non-sticks and sometimes they stick and it doesn't form that that being said, it was still delicious because you just scrape off the crispy bits and then you have this beautiful just pyramid of crispy and fluffy rice. But I just use a non-stick. No pressure, take the pressure off.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm excited to try it because I just got some beautiful saffron from Diaspora Co.
Eden Grinshpan:
Oh saffron. What a magical spice, so gorgeous.
Kerry Diamond:
Absolutely. Next recipe question. What is a recipe that took off with readers? Because you never know what one's going to take off.
Eden Grinshpan:
I find that part to be so-
Kerry Diamond:
For the Cherry Bombe cookbook it was the pink spaghetti and I never would have called that.
Eden Grinshpan:
The easy-peasy pita has been popping up everywhere, which for me is amazing. Obviously I find that because of COVID a lot more people are baking and a lot more people obviously have the time on their hands to let the dough proof and they want projects, and it feels like people are really nailing it. This recipe is just gorgeous, which is making me so happy because there are so many recipes in the book that call for my easy-peasy pita. So people are able to make my easy shawarma, which is a fantastic dinner spread, where basically you make the chopped veg salad. You have all the different condiments and they easily... I just took literally chicken thighs, marinate them overnight and grill them, that's my shawarma. But people are making these gorgeous Middle Eastern spreads because they're nailing the easy-peasy pita.
Kerry Diamond:
Walk us through the easy-peasy pita. Is it truly easy-peasy?
Eden Grinshpan:
It really is. I figured out this technique which made it really, really just doable, and basically you make the dough. You can make it by hand, I make mine in a Kitchen Aid, and you let it proof. Then once it proofs, obviously depending on how warm the environment is, where it's proofing, you divide it into balls. I think the recipe calls for 12 and then you roll it out pretty thin, a quarter inch thick and you place them on individual parchment papers. And so the second proof is done on these individual parchment. Each pita that's rolled out is proved on one little piece. So while they're proofing for the second time you preheat your oven.
Eden Grinshpan:
If you don't have a pita stone, you just put a sheet tray in to get really hot because you want that base to be really hot. And then you take one or two, depending on the size of your oven, pita, that's been proved for the second time, literally on the parchment paper that you've placed it on onto your stone or onto your sheet tray. You close the door and it takes a minute or two and they pocket because you haven't messed with them after they proved for the second time and they're fluffy. For me, I love a fluffy pita. There's only one reason to ever purchase grocery store pita and it's to make your own pita chips, in my mind. I just find that grocery store pita is so flat and by the time I eat it, it's dry.
Kerry Diamond:
Always.
Eden Grinshpan:
So I had to make my own pita recipe and I didn't know how people would connect with it, and clearly people are like, "It is easy-peasy. I'm going to make this."
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I have to add that. I mean, I do want to cook through the whole book, but I have to add that also. Quick question about your pantry section. I was familiar with everything except, I don't even know if I'm going to pronounce it right, amba.
Eden Grinshpan:
Amba. But so it's this really popular condiment that you find at a shawarma spots and it's basically a mango pickle sauce.
Kerry Diamond:
Sounds amazing.
Eden Grinshpan:
And there's fenugreek in there and it has kind of a curry like flavor. It really packs a punch and it's incredibly addictive, and it's really hard to mimic that flavor. So I always say like, "Try and find amba." You can make your own it's a little bit, I know that Adeena Sussman has an amba recipe in her book. I actually haven't tried it but I was like, "Just buy it."
Kerry Diamond:
Do you have a brand you like?
Eden Grinshpan:
If I find it, I just pick up. I'm like, "Oh amba, I'm just going to buy this." I think they're usually... I find ambas from all over different Middle Eastern countries, and I just pick them up when I'm at a specialty store. But I know that Adeena has a recipe if you guys want to try it at home.
Kerry Diamond:
I have Adeena's book right behind me. So I will definitely check that out. Okay, speed round. Ready?
Eden Grinshpan:
Yes.
Kerry Diamond:
A treasured cookbook in your collection.
Eden Grinshpan:
Jerusalem. I love Yotam Ottolenghi, huge inspiration to me.
Kerry Diamond:
Song that makes you smile.
Eden Grinshpan:
September. Earth, wind & fire. We played that a lot when Ay was born, she loved it. So it just always reminds me of that time.
Kerry Diamond:
So sweet. Most used kitchen implement.
Eden Grinshpan:
Yeah. I love tongs. I need tongs.
Kerry Diamond:
Tongs, okay. You might be the first to say that I love it. Oldest thing in your fridge.
Eden Grinshpan:
Oldest thing in my fridge, probably some sort of pickle that I threw in there, but I buy a lot of these when I find them. These pickled kind of chili peppers from Israel and it's hard to go through them fast because they're really spicy. So I definitely have them in a container in the back of my fridge.
Kerry Diamond:
Your last pantry purchase.
Eden Grinshpan:
Definitely tahini. I run out of that stuff pretty quickly. So it's always on the list.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Last question, dream food collab.
Eden Grinshpan:
Probably Mike Solomonov. I just love him. I feel like I could learn so much from him. His knowledge is just crazy. He knows so much about just Israeli cuisine, the history, the history of middle Eastern cuisine. I just think he's brilliant, and I love his Philly empire. He's really done something so magical there.
Kerry Diamond:
What would you want to make or do?
Eden Grinshpan:
Just a big family style dinner. Big bountiful, literally pots from the oven right on the table. Lots of hands, dippings, lots of schmears. I just would love to really capture one of those restaurants in Israel where you go and get all the mezes and all the food just comes out at once and it's just a big party.
Kerry Diamond:
That sounds great. Well, Eden, thank you for your time. This was a lot of fun. I learned so much about you. I had absolutely no idea about some of those stories.
Eden Grinshpan:
Well, Kerry, I always have such a blast and thank you so much for having me on and I hope that I can see you in person.
Kerry Diamond:
I know, same. It's been a while since we had a meal in person, but I hope for that too. But congratulations on your beautiful news. Please tell your husband I said congrats also, and good luck with the book.
Eden Grinshpan:
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. Stay well.
Eden Grinshpan:
You too.
Kerry Diamond:
Thank you so much to Eden Grinshpan for joining us. Be sure to pick up a copy of Eden's new book, Eating Out Loud, from your favorite indie bookstore. If you'd like a sneak peak, head over to cherrybombe.com for a free recipe, Eden's Honey-Roasted Parsnips with Dates and Tzatziki. I've made this a few times and I love it. You can make it with carrots if parsnips aren't your thing or just give parsnips a chance. Radio Cherry Bombe is produced by Cherry Bombe Media. Today's show is edited and engineered by Jess Seidman. If you enjoyed our show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, and hey, tell a friend all about us. Thank you for listening and don't forget you are the bombe.
Speaker 3:
I'll have what she's having.
Grace Reynoso:
Hi, my name is Grace Reynoso and I'm an intern at Cherry Bombe. Do you want to know who I think is the Bombe? Shirley Raines, an incredible individual and founder of Beauty 2 the Streetz, an organization that provides food, hygiene and essential services for the homeless of California. They've also been able to expand their efforts through their social media platforms. Shirley Raines of Beauty 2 the Streetz has taught me that empathy and action are the keys to making a difference, especially during these challenging times. If you want to follow what they're doing, follow them on Instagram at Beauty 2 the Streetz, and that's the number "2". Shirley Raines is the Bombe.