Hello Friends,

I've known cookbook author Diane Kochilas for decades and use her recipes often to bring me back to my teenage foray on Crete which lasted a couple of months. It's a delight to talk to her about her home island of Ikaria and the rhythm of life there. It brings me back to when I lived in a commune with kids from all over the globe in a tiny town inland from the famed caves of Matala.  Cue Joni Mitchell... it was 1970, after all. But because I was there for an extended time — living in a tiny village where the few tavernas basically adopted us and made sure we were fed — my palate occasionally longs for those Greek island dishes. In fact, the very first cookbook I ever bought with my own money was Greek Cooking for the Gods by Eva Zane. I see it came out in 1971 so I must have bought it right when I got back from my nearly year-long adventure in Europe. I remember browsing the shelves of Papa Cristos looking for the cheeses and oregano I needed and seeing the book. Diane is the culinary ambassador for Ikaria, a Blue Zone island, and teaches cooking classes at her home there. As I watch friends whiling away the summer on various Greek island beaches, I think how lovely it would be to cook with her. Click down below to hear our conversation.

This week's show is such a good example of how food holds both joy and horror. The joy is in the conversation with Diane and Gillian's market report on corn. Corn! But as difficult as it is to hear, the stories of brutality and erosion of humanness/humaneness are, I feel, so necessary. If we don't know, how can we effect change? Two stories this week focus on the prison in Louisiana known as Angola. Once again the Associated Press (AP) supports excellent reporting on the dark side of the food chain. Earlier this year, two investigative reporters published an expose for the Associated Press. It's the culmination of a sweeping two-year investigation that focuses on the hidden ways in which prison labor fuels our food chain. The title of the article is "Prisoners in the US Are Part of a Hidden Workforce Linked to Hundreds of Popular Food Brands." Read it. Our second story related to Angola is about Robert Kind, one of the unjustly imprisoned Angola Three who, while in prison, developed a praline recipe that's fueling his freedom and bringing awareness to the brutality experienced inside. We're grateful to Heritage Radio Network and producer Jessica Gingrich for sharing the story with us. 

Evan

The term "plant-based" is everywhere these days but there are places in the world where this way of eating is so ingrained in the culture, it isn't labeled as such. One of those places is Greece, where Diane Kochilas' people are from. She's a daughter of Ikaria, an island that's famous for the longevity of its inhabitants. Her latest book is The Ikaria Way: 100 Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Inspired by My Homeland, the Greek Island of Longevity.

"A hidden path to America's dinner tables begins here at an unlikely source, a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country's largest maximum security prison," writes Margie Mason and Robin McDowell. The AP reporters are talking about the notorious State Penitentiary in Louisiana also known as Angola Prison. Too much of our food system relies on brutality. Read their exposé.

In 1961, Robert King was sent to Angola where he found himself trapped in a modern system of subjugation. He tells podcast host, journalist, and food historian Jessica Gingrich that his grandmother cut sugarcane in Gonzales, Louisiana for less than one dollar a day. Decades later, King found himself doing the same work just 75 miles away for only two and a half cents an hour. King survived 31 years in prison, 29 of which he spent in solitary confinement. In her reporting for Heritage Public Radio, Jessica Gingrich shares how food became a powerful tool for King's resistance and resilience. 

Memo Torres returns with his curated list of where to eat around Los Angeles for Apple Maps. Each month he adds five places to the map. He talks about La Diosa de los Moles in Bell Gardens, Noodle Express in Alhambra, We're Pouring in Glendale, Stevie's Creole Cafe in Pico/Fairfax, and Macheen's sandwich menu at Birote Deli in Paramount.

For me, corn is the "it girl" of summer. Nothing is like that sweet crunch. Pastry chef Sam Robinson discusses the sweeter side of the vegetable. At All Day Baby in Silver Lake, he's baking sweet corn cakes served with a preserve made with peaches from Regier Family Farms. Blending the kernels of sweet corn with corn meal, Robinson adds sour cream and eggs to make the batter. On the farm side, Tony Carranza grows as part of the collective at McGrath Family Farms in Camarillo, where he harvests several types of baby corn which can be enjoyed raw and are perfect for pickling.

Who says grilling is just for meat and straight-up veggies? Not us. We know that just about anything — including lettuce — can get an intense hit of smoky flavor when grilled. From a grilled Caesar to a twist on potato salad, there are ideas here that are easy enough to make on repeat.