Dates are such a fascinating desert fruit. They grow on date palm trees, which may be one of the oldest cultivated trees in the world, dating back over 5,000 years. They’re not only tasty, but they’re a pretty cool food to learn about, too. Today’s guest teaches us all sorts of fun facts. I learned so much talking to her! 

Like, did you know that dates are considered a berry? Or that the dried fruit is more than 50 percent sugar? 

Joan Smith runs Rancho Meladuco Date Farm in Coachella Valley, California. She’s a CPA who shifted her career to date farming. She’s a mother, a home cook, and a backyard gardener. Her dates are so delicious, they’ve been featured in Bon Appetite and Oprah magazines!  She shares her favorite date recipes, fun facts about date plants, tales of her farm dogs, and how she makes a point to give back to her community! 

Dates are such a fascinating desert fruit. They grow on date palm trees, which may be one of the oldest cultivated trees in the world, dating back over 5,000 years. They&rsquo;re not only tasty, but they&rsquo;re a pretty cool food to learn about, too. Today&rsquo;s guest teaches us all sorts of fun facts. I learned so much talking to her!&nbsp;
Like, did you know that dates are considered a berry? Or that the dried fruit is more than 50 percent sugar?&nbsp;
Joan Smith runs Rancho Meladuco Date Farm in Coachella Valley, California. She&rsquo;s a CPA who shifted her career to date farming. She&rsquo;s a mother, a home cook, and a backyard gardener. Her dates are so delicious, they&rsquo;ve been featured in Bon Appetite and Oprah magazines!&nbsp; She shares her favorite date recipes, fun facts about date plants, tales of her farm dogs, and how she makes a point to give back to her community!&nbsp;

Raising Kale tackles honest food issues served with joy. What does broccoli have to do with a chefarmer in Illinois and a school kid in California? And what is a chefarmer anyhow? If eating your vegetables can make you healthier, listening to Raising Kale will make you smarter--without any snooty side effects. It chronicles the stories of food thought leaders that include chefs, farmers, doctors, and leading experts, connecting them back to communities building resilience around a fractured food system.

Raising Kale tackles honest food issues served with joy. What does broccoli have to do with a chefarmer in Illinois and a school kid in California? And what is a chefarmer anyhow? If eating your vegetables can make you healthier, listening to Raising Kale will make you smarter--without any snooty side effects. It chronicles the stories of food thought leaders that include chefs, farmers, doctors, and leading experts, connecting them back to communities building resilience around a fractured food system.

Raising Kale

Raising Kale tackles honest food issues served with joy. What does broccoli 
have to do with a chefarmer in Illinois and a school kid in California? And 
what is a chefarmer anyhow? If eating your vegetables can make you healthier, 
listening to Raising Kale will make you smarter--without any snooty side 
effects. It chronicles the stories of food thought leaders that include 
chefs, farmers, doctors, and leading experts, connecting them back to 
communities building resilience around a fractured food system.

In this episode we learn about dates from Joan Smith, who runs Rancho Meladuco Date Farm in Coachella Valley, California. She’s a CPA who shifted her career to date farming. She’s a mother, a home cook, and a backyard gardener. Her dates have been featured in Bon Appetite and Oprah magazines!

S2-Episode 5: Joan Smith-The Date Farmer

In this week’s episode, we hear from Lisa Gross, owner of League of Kitchens. She is one such human. She’s the founder of a business that at every level values women in ways that are revolutionary. Packed into one company, she has managed to capture what America needs most right now: meaningful cultural exchange, putting women at the center of the story, celebrating diversity, celebrating immigrants, and being revolutionary by paying women for their talents (talents, I will add, that have been taken for granted historically as household “duties”). 

As the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, Lisa Gross was raised on one grandmother's denjang-guk and the other's matzoh ball soup. Her company, The League of Kitchens, which employs immigrant women as in-home cooking instructors, is borne out of her passion for New York City, her love of cooking, and her connection to the immigrant experience. Lisa is an artist, educator, and social entrepreneur.

In this week&rsquo;s episode, we hear from Lisa Gross, owner of League of Kitchens. She is one such human. She&rsquo;s the founder of a business that at every level values women in ways that are revolutionary. Packed into one company, she has managed to capture what America needs most right now: meaningful cultural exchange, putting women at the center of the story, celebrating diversity, celebrating immigrants, and being revolutionary by paying women for their talents (talents, I will add, that have been taken for granted historically as household &ldquo;duties&rdquo;).&nbsp;
As the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, Lisa Gross was raised on one grandmother's denjang-guk and the other's matzoh ball soup. Her company, The League of Kitchens, which employs immigrant women as in-home cooking instructors, is borne out of her passion for New York City, her love of cooking, and her connection to the immigrant experience. Lisa is an artist, educator, and social entrepreneur.

This week’s episode features Lisa Gross from League of Kitchens. As the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, Lisa Gross was raised on one grandmother's denjang-guk and the other's matzoh ball soup. Her company, The League of Kitchens, which employs immigrant women as in-home cooking instructors, is borne out of her passion for New York City, her love of cooking, and her connection to the immigrant experience. Lisa is an artist, educator, and social entrepreneur.

S2-Episode 8: Lisa Gross-The New Face of Cooking Classes

This week, I speak with Kara Heckert, a regional director at the nonprofit American Farmland Trust. Its mission is to save America’s farms and ranches. Kara works there on agricultural sustainability and natural resource conservation in California. America’s farmers are facing some very real challenges right now. Wildfires, drought, loss of farmland, and a history of discrimination. In this episode, we look more closely at all these issues. 

This week, I speak with Kara Heckert, a regional director at the nonprofit American Farmland Trust. Its mission is to save America&rsquo;s farms and ranches. Kara works there on agricultural sustainability and natural resource conservation in California. America&rsquo;s farmers are facing some very real challenges right now. Wildfires, drought, loss of farmland, and a history of discrimination. In this episode, we look more closely at all these issues.&nbsp;

This week, I speak with Kara Heckert, a regional director at the nonprofit American Farmland Trust. Its mission is to save America’s farms and ranches.

S2-Episode 7: Kara Heckert - Farm Politics

Today, we’re talking about rice with farmer Michael Bosworth! 

California grows 20 percent of America’s rice, and nearly all of the country’s sushi rice. Ninety-seven percent of the state’s rice farms are located in the Sacramento Valley. 

One of these farms is run by Michael, who comes from a family of farmers dating back to the 1870s. He went to college to study farming and has been a farmer his whole life. The man has rice in his veins!

Michael is a different kind of rice farmer. While the majority of California rice is grown for sushi, Michael has shifted to nurturing unique varieties of grains grown less with a focus on yield and instead with a focus on flavor. His new company, True Origin Foods, was a small idea before the pandemic hit. Today, with the rise in home cooking and the growing consumer desire to buy local, Michael’s business model is thriving. 

 

Today, we&rsquo;re talking about rice with farmer Michael Bosworth!&nbsp;
California grows 20 percent of America&rsquo;s rice, and nearly all of the country&rsquo;s sushi rice. Ninety-seven percent of the state&rsquo;s rice farms are located in the Sacramento Valley.&nbsp;
One of these farms is run by Michael, who comes from a family of farmers dating back to the 1870s. He went to college to study farming and has been a farmer his whole life. The man has rice in his veins!
Michael is a different kind of rice farmer. While the majority of California rice is grown for sushi, Michael has shifted to nurturing unique varieties of grains grown less with a focus on yield and instead with a focus on flavor. His new company, True Origin Foods, was a small idea before the pandemic hit. Today, with the rise in home cooking and the growing consumer desire to buy local, Michael&rsquo;s business model is thriving.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Michael Bosworth is a rice farmer and  founder and CEO of Next Generation Foods. He also co-founded his newest venture, True Origin Foods, an artisan rice and pantry staple food brand. He’s a California farmer, born and raised!

S2-Episode 5: Joan Smith-The Date Farmer

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