Your Mama’s Kitchen

Journalist Natalie Morales discusses her globetrotting childhood, sharing culinary influences from Taiwan and Spain. She talks about her diverse family's cooking styles and the challenges of military life. Morales also touches on her cookbook and the importance of food in shaping identities.

Award-winning food writer and journalist Mark Bittman shares his culinary journey, influenced by family recipes and global politics. Reflecting on the transformative power of cooking and the impact of family on his passion for food. Exploring how household responsibilities led to a career in the culinary arts and the significance of cooking at home as a radical act.

Nationally renowned women’s health advocate Dr. Sharon Malone takes us back to her childhood in Mobile, Alabama where she lived through a monumental moment in civil rights history led by her sister, Vivian Malone. Dr. Malone talks about how she views cooking together with family as an act of love, and what better way to show love than baking a decadent pound cake.Dr. Sharon Malone is an OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner who has been an active advocate for reproductive rights, women’s health and health education. She authored the book Grown Woman Talk for aging women whose healthcare needs are ignored or just less talked about. She is also the chief medical officer of Alloy Women’s Health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Nicole Avant—daughter of legendary music mogul Clarence Avant—looks back at her bustling childhood kitchen, where prominent Black figures were always stopping by. She’ll tell us about her mother’s snow cookies recipe as well as reflect on the loss of her mother and share tips for consoling someone experiencing deep grief. Nicole Avant is a film producer, author, and former ambassador for the Bahamas. She wrote the critically acclaimed book Think You’ll be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude. She also produced the documentary The Black Godfather about her father’s illustrious music career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best-selling author Kristin Hannah shares childhood memories of living in unique settings, her journey to historical fiction, and her mom's cooking on a wood fire stove. She discusses the importance of portraying women's stories in history through her novels and shares a recipe for her mama's buttermilk cornbread.

On this episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, we’re joined by Maria Bamford. She’s a comedian, actor, and now a New York Times bestselling author with her memoir Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, released in late 2023. Maria talks about her Midwestern upbringing, her journey with obsessive compulsive disorder, and the delicious pot roast she still craves from childhood.Maria Bamford is an American actress and stand-up comedian. She’s the first female comic with two half-hour “Comedy Central Presents” specials, and her critically acclaimed work includes her web series The Maria Bamford Show (featured at MOMA NY), Ask My Mom (recommended by The New Yorker), and her Netflix series Lady Dynamite (2 seasons). Bamford’s Audible Original You are (a Comedy) Special and multiple comedy albums are on all major streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bestselling children’s book author Judy Blume shares nostalgic memories of her New Jersey kitchen, family dynamics, and sweet noodle pudding recipe. Reflects on societal pressures, generational relationships, and emotional expression through family dishes.

Entrepreneur and Shark Tank fixture Mark Cuban shares his upbringing by Jewish immigrant grandparents, early sales experiences, and fast-tracked education. He values family and hometown friends, loves his mother's Raisin Noodle Kugel recipe. Cuban's journey showcases hard work, seizing opportunities, and challenging norms for personal growth.

Award-winning novelist Tayari Jones speaks on her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was raised in the midst of the historic civil rights movement, women’s liberation, and the tragic Atlanta child murders. She reflects on the role feminism played in her home life and how she learned to love cooking by cooking things she liked. Plus, she tells us about her delectable red velvet cake. Tayari Jones is a writer and novelist. Her 2018 novel An American Marriage won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, an NAACP Image Award, and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. She was also a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow for Creative Arts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bryant Terry – cookbook author, chef, food activist, conceptual artist and publisher – joins Michele at his University of California Berkeley art studio to discuss one of the biggest influences behind all of his work: his grandmother, Margie Bryant; or, as his family affectionately called her, Ma’dear. In Ma’dear’s Memphis, Tennessee kitchen, Bryant spent hours helping her shell peas, peel potatoes or pour sugar into the pot for her sweet fruit preserves. It was in her kitchen that Bryant learned how Ma’dear’s love for her family came in the form of what she made there, and it's that love that stays with Bryant today and drives his work.When Bryant is not penning one of his acclaimed cookbooks, like his most recent work, Black Food, he is touring the country, educating Americans about the ways in which our food system is broken, how we as consumers can make choices that help local producers and farmers get the resources they need to continue their valuable work, and about what many of us often get wrong about Black Food – a cuisine that is far more varied, healthy and complex than many people are led to believe.   In this episode, Bryant recounts how a very specific 90s hip hop song led him to veganism, he shares his recipe for Ma’dear’s savory, slow-cooked leafy greens, and he sings the haunting, beautiful song Ma’dear would sing as she cooked them down until they were meltingly tender.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.