Snacking Dinners, Whimsy and Hummus with Georgia Freedman

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Georgia Freedman, author of “Snacking Dinners: 50+ Recipes for Low-Lift, High-Reward Dinners That Delight.”   “We put a lot of pressure on dinner,” Freedman explains.    You need a protein, a starch, and at least one kind of vegetable - five if you are in California. Plus, it’s an important part of family life. It’s a time to connect with your partner and talk to your kids.    “And all of this [cooking and bonding] happens when everybody is completely exhausted,” she explains.    When you reframe the idea - that dinner has to be everything - you can trade it in for a fun, family dining experience that’s full of whimsy.   “A lot of the recipes that I created for [“Snacking Dinners”] are either snacks that are from my childhood - or other people's childhoods - that have been bulked up a little bit to make it more meal-like,” she said. “Or foods that I really love that I made into finger foods [or] snackable foods.”   Freedman talks about her early food memories, career journey, and how “Snacking Dinners” is different from her previous projects. She also shares her love of produce/salads, lots of snackable food prep tips, and her recipe for hummus topped with spiced nuts, olives, and raisins, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.    “All the recipes in this book, except for the prep ahead chapter, take 5 to 20 minutes,” Freedman explains. “Having that in your back pocket is a really nice way to let the pressure off on the nights when things don't go well, and turn dinner into something that's more relaxing and fun.”    Subscribe to Georgia Freedman’s Substack at SnackingDinners.com.    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.