Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

A Walk in the Garden of American Eden with Dr. Victoria Johnson

In the early days of the foundation of the American republic, a charismatic dreamer with a love for plants and medicine made his mark on the world by establishing the country’s first public botanical garden: the Elgin Botanic Garden once located where Rockerfeller Center in NYC stands today. He would go on to grow more than two thousand species on a 20 acre plot of land where he taught medical students about the healing virtues of plants and conducted pharmaceutical and crop research. Join me as I meet with author Victoria Johnson as we discuss American Eden, her award winning biography of the physician botanist, Dr. David Hosack.

#Garden #AmericanHistory #Medicine

Tomatoes! The Aztec secret to the Mediterranean diet?

Some call them a fruit, some call them a vegetable – I call them juicy, red and delicious! How is it that a crop from a poisonous plant family came to pervade our salads, soups and sauces across numerous cuisines? What makes the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, Solanaceae) a healthy food ingredient and how can you capture its best benefits? We’ll be exploring the fascinating history and pharmacology of one the world’s top ten crops in this episode of Foodie Pharmacology.

#Tomato #TomatoSauce #HealthFood

 

A Hot Cup of Oregano...What? with Dr. Avni Hajdari

Join me direct from the Sharri Mountains of Kosovo! I speak with Prof. Avni Hajdari of the University of Prishtina about a unique local beverage known as mountain tea (caj malet)! You may be surprised to learn of the secret ingredient: the gorgeous and fragrant purple flowering wild oregano (Origanum vulgare, Lamiaceae). 

#Oregano #Tea #Balkans

Salep: The Edible Orchids with Susanne Masters

Orchids are a plant lover’s delight – they bring this amazing level of beauty to home interiors and gardens. Many of you plant lovers may have a lovely orchid decorating your home, or office or garden. Many of the orchids sold commercially are propagated through cell culture techniques so as not to deplete wild collections. Orchids aren’t just for beauty though – some of them are even edible. One edible example you may be familiar with is vanilla – this comes from the fruit pod of an orchid species that is native to Central America. In the Balkans, there are several species that are consumed, with the underground tubers being harvested to create a special beverage called salep. Join me from Kosovo as I sit down to chat about salep with orchid expert, Susanne Masters!

#Orchids #Salep #PlantTrade

Mango The King of Fruits!

Mango belongs to the same family as poison ivy and while it is an absolute delight for some to eat, for those sensitive to urushiol – it can have allergic effects. the mango tree (Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae) is native to tropical Asia and has been cultivated on the Indian subcontinent for over 4,000 years, where it has also played a key role in Ayurvedic medicine. Join me as I examine the history and pharmacology of this delightful fruit!

#Mango #Fruit #Tropics

Green Cardamom, The Queen of Spices

I absolutely love green cardamom as an ingredient in sweet desserts and in flavorful chai lattes, Turkish coffee, or golden milk where I combine it with turmeric and ginger, or even in a Middle-Eastern inspired apple turnover dish I like to cook in the fall. Join me as I explore the history and pharmacology of this tasty spice and also tour a new ice-cream factory in Atlanta – the IceCream Walla Company! I chat with Reza Bhiwandiwalla and taste test their delicious Badam Milk ice cream, which incorporates fresh ground cardamom pods with crunchy almonds into a rich sweet cream, creating a distinctive and delicious dessert as a result! Are you hungry for more? I am! Let’s dig in. 

#IceCream #Cardamom #Spice

Be My Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis, Lamiaceae) belongs to the mint family and is also known by the names of balm, common balm, garden balm, or balm mint. This fragrant herb is native to a range spanning southern Europe to Central Asia, but today it can be found in home gardens around the world. The leaves are used as a tea ingredient and the leaf essential oil is also used in aromatherapy. Join me as I explore the health benefits of this fragrant herb.

#LemonBalm #Herb #HerbalTea

Peanuts Ain't Nuts with Chef Steven Satterfield

Join me as I chat with Chef Steven Satterfield about our favorite, not-actually-a-nut, the peanut! Peanuts belong to the legume family and are also known by the names of groundnut, goobers and monkey nut. The crop was domesticated thousands of years ago in South America, but now is sold across the globe in the forms of roasted or boiled nuts, oil, butter or even peanut flour. While they are a tasty treat to many, they are also implicated in food allergies for some, which can range from mild symptoms to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. 

Chef Satterfield is the executive chef and owner of Miller Union, an award-winning, seasonally-driven restaurant located in Atlanta's Westside neighborhood. Since opening in 2009, the restaurant has received various honors on many national lists including Eater, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Esquire and James Beard Foundation. In 2015, Satterfield released his first cookbook, Root to Leaf, to broad critical acclaim. Peanuts, his second book, is a delightful collection of recipes that offers ingenious ways to cook peanuts, from childhood snack, to kitchen condiment and even the centerpiece of a meal. 

#Peanut #Cookbook #FoodAllergy

Cannabis Curious? A Conversation with Dr. John de la Parra and Ernest Anemone

Cannabis is known by many names, from hemp to marijuana. It has been used for everything from a fiber plant, a food, as a psychoactive, and as a medical remedy for epilepsy and pain relief. The legal framework regarding the regulation and use of the Cannabis plant is undergoing a state of rapid change across the US. In this episode, I sit down with two experts on cannabis chemistry and law—John de la Parra, Ph.D. and Ernest Anemone, J.D.—to discuss the changing legal landscape and pharmacology of edible cannabis.

#Cannabis #Marijuana #Hemp

Blame it on Cain...Cane Sugar

How sweet it is! Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum, Poaceae) grass grows to a height of 10-13 feet high and supplies most of the world’s sugar market. A native of New Guinea, it has spread across the tropics and subtropics westward, where it is now also cultivated in the Americas and Caribbean. Join me from the beautiful Caribbean island nation of Barbados as I explore the history and use of this sweet grass!

#sugar #Barbados #sweet