Wednesday July 20, 2011
I was lucky enough to sit down with Marilyn and Nabih Nejaime one sunny afternoon. They shared their amazing story of how their Lebanese heritage served as the basis of their booming business! As good stories often are, the story of how the Nejaimes began their lavash company happen almost as accident. A customer at their grocery store in Stockbridge requested the Lebanese flatbread, but Nabih refused to serve the low quality of manufactured lavash. Instead he made his own for the customer, and served the leftovers as samples to the shoppers. The next day, people returned requesting "that bread stuff." Although they didn't share the lavash recipe with me, I did manage to get their delicious humous recipe and fattoush salad. Listen to the rest of their amazing story on Heirloom Meals Radio!
Wednesday July 13, 2011
Gina Hyams has a diverse history, both geographically and culinarily. She and her mother moved to California for a year to live in a commune. To this day, she still can't stand the taste of sprouts. Gina has had a fondness for giant New York roast beef sandwiches since her father took her to a Jewish deli. To her young eyes, the sandwiches seemed ten inches tall! He would also make omlettes in the shape of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, complete with a grape jelly nose. For several years, Gina lived in Mexico, which inspired her first "kit" Day of the Dead Box. She now resides in the Berkshires, where her love of pie has led her to another endeavor, Pie Contest in a Box. Listen to our interview and try out the custard cornbread - a real hit at dinner parties!
Wednesday July 06, 2011
This California gal with Irish and French roots had a horse-whispering cowboy grandfather and a great uncle with an orange grove. Lauren's memories of drinking the FRESHEST orange juice of anyone I know and her description of the grove, the property and the view that she beheld at the top of the hill is palatable . Imagine drinking OJ from oranges that were just picked and squeezed that morning - it was her favorite childhood memory! Lauren also shared how there were avocado trees in her Aunt and Uncle's backyard - the kids would arm wrestle for the avocados. For us East Coasters - this sounds so yummy and exotic!!
Lauren's Mom is known to make a killer Chicken with Black Beans - something Lauren will have to start making for her own family! So listen to Lauren's story as she transports you to California in the 60's and 70's.
Friday April 01, 2011
Klara Sotonova could be a poster child for Heirloom Meals. Klara is from the Czech Republic. She came to the United States 11 years ago to improve her english language skills and broaden her horizons. You will “hear” that her language skills are certainly honed and you will learn that Klara has made Lee, MA her home. Klara has created a business, Klara’s Gourmet Cookies using her great grandmother’s cookie recipes. Klara’s story is sweet, heart-warming and inspirational!! And her cookies are amazing!!
Listen Here!
Wednesday March 23, 2011
Sarah Maine and Brianna Bain, co-founders of Recipe Relay, a website geared toward recipe sharing and recipe developing and hopefully inspiring the use of locally grown foods. Sarah was raised overseas and has developed a taste and sense for many cuisines and the importance of sharing meals around the table. Brianna grew up in Southern California with her Dad’s Czech cooking, her Mom’s bias toward healthy eating and the healing arts and, of course, with access to great freshly grown fruits and vegetables. After meeting at Antioch University in a Green MBA program and finding a common love for cooking, Sarah went back to NYC and Brianna back to California. They have continued the shared love of cooking by relaying recipe ideas back and forth through cyberspace and as a result found that this idea of recipe relay could be much bigger than the two of them. Check out their website for more information, the rules and join the relay. I am!!
Listen to their interview - lovely and inspiring!
Wednesday March 16, 2011
What I love about Heirloom Meals is that it has allowed me to be in places where I get to meet people like Cooper Boone. Cooper is a treasure of a human being. He has spent his life “giving back” by helping people through his psychology practice. But he also brings joy to the stage through his country music. And if that isn’t enough, Cooper is passionate about cooking and can often be found mixing great food and music together - be it a cooking demo and performance for the Country Living Fairs or his new tour - called "POT LUCK TOUR". Cooper encourages you to ask people to bring a covered dish of food to share with the hopes of creating a vibe that is communal and organic. Cooper will be playing with his band from Nashville (guitar, vocals, fiddle and mandolin). I am booking him for an evening - stay tuned for more information!!
Listen and be inspired!!