The Joy of Cooking Podcast

Episode: Naomi Tomky: A Casual Culinary Chat About Whole Grains
Date: January 21, 2026
Hosts: Megan Scott, Jon Becker, Shannon Larson
Guest: Naomi Tomky

Episode Overview

This lively installment explores whole grains and the Pacific Northwest food scene through a delightfully candid conversation with award-winning food and travel writer Naomi Tomky. Along with touching on what makes Seattle’s dining culture unique and discussing kitchen mishaps, the co-hosts and Naomi provide practical grain-cooking tips, swap home cooking stories, and relate memorable food travel adventures. Expect thoughtful yet informal reflections, playful anecdotes, and realistic advice for home cooks interested in incorporating whole grains into easy lunches.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Festive Home Cooking Highlights & Holiday Traditions

[02:28 – 10:28]

• The hosts recap recent holiday kitchen escapades, ranging from failed club sandwiches to duck dinners and impromptu party snacks.
• Megan Scott: laments, “I ate the worst club sandwich of my entire life over the holiday break, which was very upset. I was amazed at how upset I was about it. Like, it kind of ruined my day.” ([04:46])
• Naomi Tomky: shares her love for “hot pot season” at home, describing it as “the coziest thing” ([10:59]), and admits to buying her seasoning rather than fussing with homemade blends.
• Playful banter about the nostalgia and absurd underuse of popcorn and butter cookie tins, party mix permutations, and leftover holiday snack inventions.

2. Special Guest: Naomi Tomky Joins the Table

[10:32 – 35:44]

• Naomi’s Cooking Right Now:

  • Reveals that winter is “hot pot season” in her house, and extols the freezer-stash approach for fast meals with “whatever vegetables and scraps” on hand ([10:59]).
  • Hot pot favorites include rare finds like Celtis (stem lettuce): “It’s like, very weirdly complex, savory… like this concentrated lettuce flavor.” ([13:25])

• Joy of Cooking Relationship:

  • Did not grow up in a cooking household but learned from a thrifted 1970s Joy of Cooking after college: “That room in the house where… [food is made]” ([15:16]).
  • Nostalgic remembrance of attending a book event on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic ([15:40]).

• Food Writing Adventures:

  • Editor at Seattle Met, deeper explorations into Seattle’s restaurant scene, Balkans food, and Taiwan’s hot pot culture: “Vacation destination for me… dinner is just, like, hot pot made from all the ingredients they grow around the hotel.” ([17:04])

• Great Food Destinations:

  • Taiwan (“food heaven”), Albania (“a recipe for extremely good food”), Kosovo’s fresh dairy.
  • Memorable fresh, unpasteurized milk: “I grew up in a city. I don’t think I have ever before in my life had milk from a cow milked that morning. And I don’t even drink milk. I’m a normal adult.” ([19:25])
  • Humorous recounting of baby cows licking hands as trip highlights ([21:08]).

• Least Favorite Culinary Travels:

  • “I always feel bad when I say this. I’m sorry. Uruguay.” ([21:31])
  • Lacked variety, mostly processed meats, but high praise for provoletta (grilled cheese) ([23:20]).

3. Pacific Northwest Seafood, Food Allergies & Lingcod Advocacy

[26:00 – 32:23]

• Salmon Allergy Revelation:
  • Naomi became allergic to salmon after writing the Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook—a “brutally ironic” twist ([26:14]).
• PNW Seafood Standouts:
  • Oysters (“I think our oysters are the best” — controversial, she admits [28:16]),
  • Lingcod as a versatile, forgiving, sustainable fish: “Justice for lingcod” ([30:26]).
  • Halibut: Delicious but “eye-wateringly expensive” and overrated for the stress and price ([30:48]).
• Fun Fish Facts:
  • Lingcod’s blue flesh is a mystery—possibly due to diet ([29:40]).
• Bay Shrimp Usage:
  • Tiny, cooked, “kind of just a texture thing… you want to throw them into… anything where you’re not re cooking them” ([33:28]).
• Practical Seafood Questions:
  • Group shares humorous confusion (“shrimps is bugs” graffiti shoutout, [33:11]), and wonders aloud about mechanical shelling processes.

4. Seattle’s Characteristic Foods & Restaurant Scene

[35:44 – 44:57]

• Rising Costs and Changing Landscape:
  • Seattle’s restaurant industry is struggling with high costs, making chef-driven creativity hard to sustain ([35:57]).
• What Makes Seattle Distinct:
  • Fluency in seafood: “Any good restaurant is going to have seafood,” not just the stereotypically “seafood restaurants” ([37:07]).
  • Integration of Asian cuisines—Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese—“woven into any kind of restaurant all over the city” ([38:53]).
• Seattle-Style Teriyaki:
  • “Ubiquitous as to be invisible”—the unique chicken thigh and sweet sticky sauce combo, historically in Styrofoam boxes ([40:00]).
  • Origins in 1976 by Toshi Kasahara; revival interest and nostalgic importance ([41:26]).
  • Out-of-town friends are baffled by “all of this teriyaki everywhere” ([42:39]).

Whole Grains Q&A and Pantry Wisdom

[44:57 – 57:28]

Caller Question:

"If you had to choose one or two whole grains to keep in your pantry for maximum recipe adaptability, what would you pick? And what are some of your favorite make-ahead lunch recipes?" ([45:04])

Recommended Grains

• Farro
  • “An ancient variety of wheat… can be used anywhere you would use wheat berries.”
  • Usually sold as semi-pearled (cooks faster, retains some bran and germ) ([46:58]).
  • Works via “pasta method” (boil lots of water, drain when tender) or “risotto method” (stir in liquid gradually for creamy texture).
  • Great for salads, “furoto” (farro-risotto), breakfast porridge, or any “grain salad/mad lib” recipe ([48:36]).
• Quinoa
  • “Technically a pseudo-cereal… great in salads, easy to cook, high-protein” (no need to rinse anymore as it’s pre-rinsed) ([51:35]).
  • Fun to eat with a “pop,” mixes well in cold salads: “Small enough that it clings to the leaves and so it doesn’t all just fall to the bottom of the bowl.” ([53:08])
• Honorable Mentions:
  • Cracked Freekeh: Smoky, fast-cooking, textured.
  • Hāiga Rice: Semi-pearled, nutty, cooks like white rice ([54:11]).
  • Wild Rice: For added texture; favorite of Shannon ([53:11]).

Cooking Techniques

• Use absorption, pasta, or risotto methods—versatile depending on the grain.
• Grains are “interchangeable” in many recipes unless a specific regional dish demands a certain one ([48:36]).
• Keep a “big grain and a small grain” for maximum flexibility ([55:02]).

Leftover Rice Safety

• Naomi warns: “Leftover rice is… likely to become dangerous,” due to bacteria that can survive reheating and cause severe food poisoning ([55:55]).
• All panelists sheepishly admit to eating leftover rice regularly, despite the risk.

Favorite Lunch Formula

• No precise recipes: Use whatever veggies, cheese (feta, browned halloumi), hearty dressing, and balance crunchy, creamy, tart, and rich elements ([57:05]).
• Salads, furoto, or even stirred into baked goods for texture.

Grain Cookbooks Recommended

• Simply Ancient Grains by Maria Speck
• Grist by Abra Berens ([53:23])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Worst Club Sandwich:
  "I'm concerned for the person who made this sandwich… like they've lost their pride, their self-respect."
  — Megan Scott ([05:07])

• On Hotpot Etiquette:
  "Are you ever like, kind of judicious about who you invite to hot pot night? … My mom, she doesn't have the proper care… kind of a splishy splash."
  — Jon Becker ([11:54])

• On Lingcod:
  "If I had to pick, like, a favorite thing that everyone should know more about: lingcod… justice for lingcod."
  — Naomi Tomky ([28:58, 30:26])

• On Seattle Teriyaki:
  "So ubiquitous as to be invisible."
  — Quote credited by Naomi from a NYT article ([42:53])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Holiday Cooking Stories: [00:38 – 10:28]
• Naomi Tomky Introduction & Hot Pot Discussion: [10:32 – 15:33]
• Learning to Cook with Joy of Cooking: [15:33 – 17:04]
• Travel and Food Experiences (Taiwan, Albania, Uruguay): [17:04 – 24:44]
• Pacific NW Seafood Chat: [26:00 – 32:23]
• Seattle Food Scene and Teriyaki Origins: [35:44 – 44:57]
• Whole Grains Q&A Caller Segment: [44:57 – 55:02]
• Weekly Recipe Pick: Freekeh with Greens, Chickpeas & Halloumi: [57:28 – 58:35]
• What’s Cooking This Week – Team Roundtable: [58:55 – 61:53]
• Naomi’s Social Media & Podcast Closing: [61:53 – end]

Additional Resources, Recommendations, and Socials

• Recipes to Try:
  • Firecrackers (seasoned saltine snack, going into the next Joy edition!)
  • Freekeh with Greens, Chickpeas & Halloumi (Joy of Cooking, p.338)
• Where to Find Naomi Tomky:
  • Instagram: @theoregastronome (“…with an extra G, like a gnome.”) ([61:53])
• Grains to Start With:
  • Farro (especially emmer), semi-pearled
  • Quinoa and wild rice for salads and texture
• Cookbook Recommendations:
  • Simply Ancient Grains (Maria Speck)
  • Grist (Abra Berens)

Tone & Takeaways

Joyously nerdy, friendly, and realistic—this episode candidly demystifies grain cooking and Pacific Northwest food, foregrounding joy and adaptability in the kitchen. Naomi Tomky’s creative energy and the hosts’ supportive camaraderie set a welcoming table for home cooks to experiment with grains, embrace culinary “failures,” and savor the intersection of food, travel, and tradition.

Next Week:
Listener Q&A – “How to cook with yogurt.”
Don’t forget to make Freekeh with Greens, Chickpeas, and Halloumi (Joy of Cooking, p.338), and share results/ask questions via hotline: 503-395-8858.