Home Cooking – Episode 2 Babka 2 Furious (Sept 26, 2025)
Hosts: Samin Nosrat & Hrishikesh Hirway

Episode Overview

This episode of Home Cooking is a special treat for listeners: Samin and Rishi welcome us into a live event celebrating the kickoff of Samin’s new cookbook, Good Things, taped in San Francisco. They discuss the journey from Samin’s first book (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) to her latest, explore the heart of communal dinners, answer audience questions about home cooking, and share the joys and philosophy of eating and gathering. The episode radiates warmth, vulnerability, humor, and practical kitchen wisdom.

Main Themes & Purpose

• The evolution of Samin’s cooking philosophy from her first book to Good Things.
• The profound value of eating together and cultivating ritual around shared meals.
• Encouragement for home cooks to lower the stakes, simplify, and find joy in the process.
• Practical advice for group menus, substitutions, and fridge staples.
• A celebration of community, questions, and connections through food.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up and Babka Adventures

[00:40–02:42]

• The episode opens with the hosts reflecting on their time together in San Francisco.
• Samin gifted Rishi a babka from Loquat Bakery, sparking a fun riff on “two babka” and a discussion of what makes a true babka.
  • “A babka is an enriched bread, which means there's eggs added to the dough to make it richer, kind of like a brioche or a challah.” — Samin [01:39]

2. Best Bites Lately: Sicily, Almonds, and Granita

[02:42–05:15]

• Samin recounts a transformative food experience in Sicily: almond milk granita and the astonishing flavor of Sicilian almonds.
  • “I understood why almond extract and almond paste taste the way they do, because before that, I never felt like there was a relationship between that ... and actual almonds.” — Samin [03:33]
  • She exhorts everyone: “If you ever get a chance to have almonds or almond milk or almond milk granita in Sicily, I encourage you to do that.” [05:15]

3. The Making of Good Things: Motivation & Differences

[06:35–13:26]

• The episode transitions to the live event, with Rishi moderating a discussion about Good Things.
• Samin describes the internal struggles and creative process behind writing a new cookbook after Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
  • On the push to write again: "At the heart of it, I'm a person who makes things, I create things. I'm so generative. I can't not." — Samin [08:26]
• She details what's similar (her voice and approachability) and what's different (deeply personal stories, intimate photography in her home).
  • “What's similar first is me ... my goal in talking about cooking and food on the page is always to invite you in and to make it feel possible.” — Samin [10:46]
  • “What's different is also me. I'm much more present in this book ... It's very much a document of my life and my cooking in this time and my home.” — Samin [12:10]

4. Recipe Structure & Chapter Themes

[13:26–17:25]

• Samin explains her book's organization, inspired by the quote: “Eating is a small good thing at a time like this.”
• Chapter one focuses on “good things come in small packages” — i.e., condiments and fridge staples that elevate simple meals.
  • “That's what turns, like, the bowl of rice ... not always the same bowl of rice, because I might have garlic and herb labna ... chili crisp on it the next night.” — Samin [17:27]

5. Low-Effort, High-Yield Homemade Staples

[19:20–25:09]

• Listener Lexi asks: what is just better homemade than store-bought, with minimal effort?
• Samin recommends the “green sauce” (a flexible herb sauce), simple dressings, and her viral “house dressing.”
  • “I have just sort of become more of a home cook ... instead of saying you have to chop all your herbs ... I'm like, dump everything into a thing and use your immersion blender.” — Samin [21:07]
• Rishi highlights the green tahini dressing Samin gifted him as refrigerator gold.
• On “house dressing”: “I feel pretty good about that. And it is at this point still one of my highest ranked and most beloved recipes. And it really has changed my own relationship to salad dressing.” — Samin [24:14]

6. The Heart of the Book: Monday Dinner & Community

[26:40–34:55]

• Samin reads a moving passage about the origins and meaning of her regular Monday night dinners with friends.
  • “What we eat together matters far less than the fact that we eat together.” — Samin, reading [33:40]
  • She describes learning to let friends care for her, the healing power of honest camaraderie, and rituals that nourish beyond food.

7. Advice on Group Meals and Menus with Dietary Restrictions

[39:18–47:00]

• Multiple audience members ask about cooking for groups with dietary restrictions.
• Samin champions simplicity, sharing, and make-ahead options:
  • Start with “forever popcorn” (pro tip: grind nutritional yeast and salt so it clings to popcorn).
  • Serve hearty bean salad with “house dressing,” a big green salad, slow-roasted salmon, a loaf of bread, and plenty of condiments.
  • For dessert: “burnt honey icebox cake” (a make-ahead crowd-pleaser) or cookies.
  • “In order to create a ritual that continues, it can't kill you every week.” — Samin [41:35]
• Emphasis on not exhausting yourself and letting others contribute to the process.

8. Lowering the Stakes: Home Cooks Can Relax

[47:00–49:35]

• Rishi notes there's an “invisible, like, step zero” in Good Things: don’t stress.
  • “Yeah, that's as much for me as it is for you ... I'm always telling myself less is okay, that maybe hearing that from me will be comforting to you.” — Samin [47:32]
• Samin shares examples of extremely simple but delicious “recipes,” like “kid crudités” (just carrots, cucumbers, seasoned rice vinegar, and salt).

9. On Substitutions and Recipe Flexibility

[49:35–54:09]

• Listener Mandy prompts a lively discussion about substitutions (the “Ship of Theseus” approach).
  • “My hope is that I've written it in such a way that it's clear to you upon reading what is crucial to know ... so I actually am stoked when people change stuff.” — Samin [50:16]
• Samin points to her “creamy one pot pasta with ricotta and any vegetable” as endlessly adaptable.

10. Recipes That Didn’t Make the Cut

[55:09–58:27]

• Listener asks if there's a recipe Samin wanted in the book but couldn’t include.
• Samin shares a story about her ground turkey and zucchini patties (a failed attempt to beat Ottolenghi at his own game), and acknowledges sometimes recipes are left out because “a lot of my food is brown, so it doesn’t like photograph that well.” [57:20]
• Rishi puns: if he wrote a cookbook, it would be called “Only Burgers in the Building.” [56:25]

11. Food Poetry: The Emotional Epicenter

[59:21–62:12]

• At the end, Samin shares a food poem meaningful to her: “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo.
  • “Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.” — Samin (reading Joy Harjo) [62:09]
• This moving moment encapsulates the episode’s heart: the table is connection, comfort, and the human experience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "At the heart of it, I'm a person who makes things, I create things. I'm so generative. I can't not." — Samin [08:26]
• "What's similar first is me ... my goal in talking about cooking and food on the page is always to invite you in and to make it feel possible." — Samin [10:46]
• "What we eat together matters far less than the fact that we eat together." — Samin (reading) [33:40]
• "In order to create a ritual that continues, it can't kill you every week." — Samin [41:35]
• “There's an invisible, like, step zero that you've put in, which is don’t stress.” — Rishi [47:00]
• “My hope is that I've written it in such a way that ... you can use this herb or that herb ... so I actually am stoked when people change stuff.” — Samin [50:16]
• "Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite." — Samin (reading Joy Harjo) [62:09]

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment Description | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:40 | Rishi & Samin banter about babka from Loquat | | 02:42 | Samin's almond revelations in Sicily | | 06:35 | Transition to live event/book discussion | | 10:46 | Philosophical differences between Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and Good Things | | 17:25 | Chapter organization—focus on condiments & fridge staples | | 19:20 | Audience Q: fridge/pantry essentials; green sauce & house dressing | | 26:40 | Samin reads about Monday dinners—community & ritual | | 39:18 | Cooking for groups with restrictions: building a menu | | 47:00 | On lowering the stakes for home cooks—'step zero: don’t stress' | | 49:35 | Substitutions, flexibility, and the “Ship of Theseus” in recipes | | 55:09 | Recipes that didn’t make the book | | 59:21 | Samin shares a favorite food poem | | 62:09 | Closing poem—Joy Harjo’s “Perhaps the World Ends Here” |

Tone & Language

The episode is playful, candid, and warm. Samin shares personal vulnerabilities; Rishi balances with humor, gentle teasing, and sincere admiration. Both hosts prioritize accessibility, encouragement, and togetherness. The language is inviting, occasionally self-deprecating, and always focused on demystifying the kitchen.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode is a heartwarming blend of storytelling, practical advice, and food philosophy. You’ll learn how Samin’s new cookbook is a love letter to real, everyday cooking and how ritual, even humble, can transform your experience with food and community.

If you walk away with one thing, it’s this: what’s on the table matters, but who’s around it—and how you show up—is what truly nourishes.

End of Summary