Episode 1 -- David Leichter on Edible Memory

In this first episode, I talk with Dr. David Leichter about "edible memory", the idea that memory is embodied in food and the act of eating. That includes our own personal memories as well as social, communal memories around food. That leads to a wide-ranging conversation about food tourism, religious food, and more!

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Show Notes:

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David Leichter was the guest in this inaugural episode. You can find some of his work at his PhilPapers page.

The focus of our conversation was the chapter he wrote for the book Food Justice in US and Global Contexts: Bringing Theory and Practice Together, which I edited with Zachary Piso.

The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and a pretty interesting suggestion. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.

Here's the recipe that David brought to share:

"The following recipe for moong dal is one taken from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. This is one of the first recipes I learned after graduating from college. I was living with my partner at the time, just outside of Detroit, MI. We had to learn how to cook for ourselves, and I figured that the way to do it was to cook Indian food. I'm not sure why, but I thought that cooking meat was too easy. I was looking for something about how to layer flavor, trying to eat a bit more healthy and mindfully, and thought that Indian food was the way to go. So, I found this cookbook and, in the last 20 or so years, I have cooked most things in it. What I like about it is that it's simple and easy - it can be made while doing other work, it can be made while hungover to cure it, and it can be made attentively. It works on a cold night, a warm evening, and anything in between. By itself the dal is a little bland, but the spiced oil (tadka) is what really makes it sing:

1 cup moong dal

1/4 tsp turmeric

3 1/2 cups water

1 tsp. salt

3-4 Tbsp. ghee or light vegetable oil

2 tsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. ginger

2-4 green chilies

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

4 Tbsp. cilantro

1. Wash & rinse dal and put into a pot with the turmeric, water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and partially cover, cooking for about 35-40 minutes. The dal should be soft. Whisk until it turns into a thick puree. Keep on low heat while

2. Heat ghee/oil in a separate pan over medium high heat. Add cumin and stir until they turn brown (~15 seconds), then add ginger, chilies until the oil is laced with the scent of the ginger, chilies, and cumin. Pour into dal. Add lemon juice and fold in the cilantro. Add a little cayenne pepper or kashmiri pepper if desired."