Joy of Cooking Podcast Summer Break Announcement

Summary

Joy of Cooking Podcast: Summer Break Announcement

In the Summer Break Announcement episode of The Joy of Cooking Podcast, hosts Megan Scott and John Becker share exciting news about their temporary hiatus and engage listeners with a delightful array of summer-inspired recipes. Released on July 4, 2025, this episode serves as both a farewell to the summer season and a tantalizing preview of what’s to come in the next season of the podcast.

I. Announcing the Summer Break

Megan Scott opens the episode with warm wishes for the summer season and informs listeners about the upcoming break. Joined by John Becker, she sets a friendly and inviting tone for the announcement.

Megan Scott [00:39]: "It's me, Megan Scott, the host of your favorite podcast. I'm here today with John Becker to wish you all a happy summer and let you know that we're taking a summer break for the month of July."

John echoes Megan's sentiments, expressing enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

John Becker [00:53]: "Before we go, we wanted to give you all a little summer homework in the form of some of our favorite summer recipes."

II. Summer Homework: A Taste of Joy

To keep their audience engaged during the break, Megan and John introduce a selection of favorite summer recipes from The Joy of Cooking. They encourage listeners to try these recipes and share their culinary creations on social media.

A. Cold Brewed Tea (Page 8)

Megan highlights the Cold Brewed Tea recipe, emphasizing its simplicity and refreshing qualities—perfect for summer.

Megan Scott [01:10]: "Some of the recipes that we'd love for folks to make are the cold brewed tea recipe on page eight. It's a great summer recipe because it requires no heating of any water."

She elaborates on the advantages of cold brewing tea, such as the avoidance of the tedious heating and cooling process associated with traditional tea making.

Megan Scott [01:38]: "Cold brew tea is nice because you just add the tea bags or you can use loose leaf tea, whatever you like to drink to cold water, you put it in the fridge overnight."

John adds a humorous note about the differences in taste.

John Becker [02:07]: "So it's, it's definitely not for you tannin lovers out there."

B. Kalbi Recipe (Page 459)

Next, Megan introduces the Kalbi Recipe, a Korean BBQ favorite that's both simple and flavorful—ideal for grilling enthusiasts.

Megan Scott [02:10]: "Kalbi is such a great summer recipe because it's very simple. You just marinate the cross cut short rib, beef short ribs, and you don't even have to marinate them for that long."

John provides grilling tips to ensure perfect results, emphasizing the importance of managing flare-ups and monitoring the meat's doneness.

John Becker [03:07]: "Don't be too afraid of the flare ups because they will happen especially with cross cut short ribs... just be sure to check to make sure they're not getting too done."

C. Tomato Cobbler (Page 706)

The Tomato Cobbler recipe brings a savory twist to summer cooking. Megan describes the process, noting its versatility and rich flavors.

Megan Scott [03:34]: "You cook onion and garlic with some seasonings like fresh herbs. And then you add cherry tomatoes and you make a quick drop biscuit dough."

She highlights the ease of preparation and the delightful combination of caramelized tomatoes with biscuit topping, perfect for a summer meal.

D. Chocolate Sorbet (Page 848)

John presents the Chocolate Sorbet recipe, a dairy-free dessert option that boasts a creamy texture and intense chocolate flavor.

John Becker [04:30]: "This is another one we added to the 2019 edition. And it is really straightforward. It's just chocolate and, and cocoa powder no less."

Megan defends the choice of cocoa powder over actual chocolate, praising the sorbet's rich taste and creamy consistency without dairy.

Megan Scott [04:44]: "It's all made with cocoa powder. And what I love so much about this recipe is that so it's sorbet, it has no dairy, so it's vegan. But you'd really never know because it has such a creamy texture and a really rich chocolate flavor."

They discuss the nuances between natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder, endorsing both for their unique flavor profiles without compromising the recipe's outcome.

III. Encouraging Community Engagement

Megan and John actively encourage listeners to engage with them by sharing their culinary experiments on social media platforms like Instagram and Bluesky.

John Becker [00:53]: "If you make any of these, please let us know how you like them by tagging us in your post or story on Instagram at the Joy of Cooking. We are also on bluesky@joyofcooking."

This invitation fosters a sense of community and participation among listeners, making the cooking experience interactive and shared.

IV. Closing Remarks and Future Plans

As the episode wraps up, Megan and John express their gratitude to the listeners and tease the return in August with the second season of the podcast. They also provide information on how to stay connected and participate by submitting questions or sharing cooking joys.

Megan Scott [05:21]: "Thank you all so much for listening to the Joy of Cooking podcast. It has been such a pleasure connecting with Joy fans in this new way, and we can't wait to come back in August for more conversations about food and cooking."

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe, leave reviews, and follow the podcast on various platforms for updates.

V. Acknowledging the Team

John takes a moment to honor the behind-the-scenes team that makes the podcast possible, highlighting their crucial roles in production and engineering.

John Becker [06:35]: "We could not do this without our fantastic team at the Joy of Creation production house. Thank you to Dave Droski, our production coordinator, Haley Bowers, our audio engineer, and Sarah Marshall, our producer."

VI. Stay Connected

For those eager to dive into the summer recipes or share their results, The Joy of Cooking Podcast provides multiple channels of communication:

• Social Media: Instagram @joyofcooking
• Bluesky: bluesky@joyofcooking
• Call-In: 503-395-8858

Listeners are invited to call in with questions, share their hopes, delve into culinary history, or express where they find joy in the kitchen.

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This Summer Break Announcement episode not only informs listeners about the temporary pause but also enriches their summer with delectable recipes and fosters a vibrant community of home cooks and food enthusiasts eager to explore The Joy of Cooking's latest offerings.

Transcript

[Megan Scott]

Sa.

[John Becker]

Foreign.

[Megan Scott]

It's me, Megan Scott, the host of your favorite podcast. I'm here today with John Becker to wish you all a happy summer and let you know that we're taking a summer break for the month of July. We'll be back in August with season two of the Joy of Cooking podcast.

[John Becker]

Before we go, we wanted to give you all a little summer homework in the form of some of our favorite summer recipes. If you make any of these, please let us know how you like them by tagging us in your post or story on Instagram at the Joy of Cooking. We are also on bluesky@joyofcooking.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, so some of the recipes that we'd love for folks to make are the cold brewed tea recipe on page eight. It's a great summer recipe because it requires no heating of any water. The thing about tea that drives me kind of bananas is that you have to heat up all this water and then you have to cool it down again. So you don't get to have tea right away unless you do some fancy footwork with like ice cubes and cold water. You know, there, there are strategies, but it's complicated.

[John Becker]

It sounds really onerous to me.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, it's not summer vibes at all to make tea that way. So cold brew tea is nice because you just add the tea bags or you can use loose leaf tea, whatever you like to drink to cold water, you put it in the fridge overnight. And then in the morning you have tea and you just have to strain it or remove the tea bags. And it also is less tannic than tea brewed with hot water. So it's just a really like clean tasting, almost sweet tasting, refreshing.

[John Becker]

So it's, it's definitely not for you tannin lovers out there.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, for everyone who likes it when their mouth feels dry. Maybe not for you, but for everyone else, cold brew tea again, that's on page eight. And then the second recipe we have for you is our kalbi Recipe on page 459. Kalbi is such a great summer recipe because it's very simple. You just marinate the cross cut short rib, beef short ribs, and you don't even have to marinate them for that long. And then you throw them on the grill and they're done in like 10 minutes or less.

[John Becker]

Yeah, it's easy to tell when they're done because they are slightly cremated. Just ever so slightly.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, you want them blackened like you're not going for. I mean, you can't do medium rare with short ribs. Cut that way.

[John Becker]

Yeah, not that way. Medium rare short ribs are actually a thing, but they have to be pretty thick. It's kind of counterintuitive. I feel like we're all taught that we should be either, well, just cooking short rows for a really long time. But they're delicious that way. But not, not with this cut.

[Megan Scott]

Do you have any general grilling advice, John?

[John Becker]

Don't be too afraid of the flare ups because they will happen especially with cross cut short ribs because they're good. That means they, they have a fair bit of fat either in the muscle or just on the trimmings. But yeah, you just want to be sure that you're turning them pretty frequen frequently and yeah, just be sure to check to make sure. Make sure they're not getting too done. Aside from that, they're pretty straightforward.

[Megan Scott]

And then the third recipe that we have is tomato cobbler on page 706. So this is a pretty interesting recipe. I'm actually going to flip to it right now to remind myself what, what the deal is because it's been a.

[John Becker]

Minute we're asking people to do homework and you haven't done yours.

[Megan Scott]

We're going to do it too, so. But give me time. Fine. We don't have tomatoes here really yet in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm not there yet. You cook onion and garlic with some seasonings like fresh herbs. And then you add cherry tomatoes and you make a quick drop biscuit dough. So it's basically just a dough you stir together in a bowl and then you scoop it out onto the top. We have different alternatives. You can use cornmeal biscuits if you want to get a little fancier. But then you just put the biscuits on top and bake it until the tomatoes are really bubbly and juicy and caramelized. And so it's just a fun like savory cobbler that's perfect for summer.

[John Becker]

Sounds good.

[Megan Scott]

John, would you share the last recipe?

[John Becker]

Chocolate sorbet. This is another one we added to the 2019 edition. It's on page 848. And it is really straightforward. It's just chocolate and, and cocoa powder no less.

[Megan Scott]

Like it doesn't actually have any chocolate chocolate in it. It's all made with cocoa powder. And what I love so much about this recipe is that so it's sorbet, it has no dairy, so it's vegan. But you'd really never know because it has such a creamy texture and a really rich chocolate flavor. And actually I kind of like it better than chocolate ice cream. I'm going to back that up right now. I know that's a controversial thing to say, but I like it better because you actually taste the chocolate flavor better because the dairy's not there.

[John Becker]

Something, something flavor release.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, that sounds. That sounds right.

[John Becker]

I'm trying to remember if we've had better results with, like, natural cocoa powder or with the Dutch process.

[Megan Scott]

That's a good question. I think I've used Dutch process in the past exclusively because I really like the flavor.

[John Becker]

It's hard to argue with Dutch process.

[Megan Scott]

But I think for this recipe, it kind of doesn't matter which one you use. They're going to have a slightly different flavor, but it won't affect how it'll. They'll both be delicious, and it won't affect the outcome negatively. No matter what. Natural cocoa powder has a little bit more complex cocoa flavor and it has a little bit more acidity. Yeah. And the Dutch process is like, if you love the flavor of Oreos, then Dutch process is what you want. And that's again on page 848. Thank you all so much for listening to the Joy of Cooking podcast. It has been such a pleasure connecting with Joy fans in this new way, and we can't wait to come back in August for more conversations about food and cooking. In the meantime, please subscribe to the show and leave us a review. Follow us at joyofcooking.substack.com and on Instagram hejoyofcooking. Call in with questions, hopes, history, or where you find joy in the kitchen. Our number is 503-395-8858. That's 503-395-8858.

[John Becker]

We could not do this without our fantastic team at the Joy of Creation production house. Thank you to Dave Droski, our production coordinator, Haley Bowers, our audio engineer, and Sarah Marshall, our producer.