We are so thrilled to be back for season 2 of SALT PIG! We’re kicking things off by talking about a favorite autumn tradition (at least for us): making pesto from all the basil in the garden, which we freeze to eat all winter long. Turns out making quarts of pesto at a time has a fair share of complications! How do you properly dry a trash bag of basil? Why do we require multiple appliances? How much olive oil do you need, really? (The answer, annoyingly, is always “more.”) The good news is that it always tastes good, even if you don’t properly defrost it. And over the winter we forget about our pesto-making problems just long enough to get excited about doing it again next year. Plus, tune in for some hot takes on peeling almonds!

Discussed in this episode:

• Pesto 101 via Claire Dinhut
• Types of Basil
• Trapanese Pesto (Oops, Ellie was wrong: Trapanese traditionally uses fresh tomatoes)
• Pesto Rosso via David Lebovitz (This is the one with sun-dried tomatoes)
• Cottage Cheese Gnocchi
• Pesto Beans (NYT Cooking, gift link)

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Welcome to SALT PIG! How's your summer going?? Today we’re sharing a bonus episode, in which Ellie and Lukas check in from opposite sides of the northern hemisphere. Between the constraints of our short-term kitchens and lots of fun new ingredients and places to shop, we’re feeling inspired and invigorated. And getting away from home is providing plenty of healthy perspective on some of the New York/American antics that we’d otherwise barely be aware of. We’re also including a re-release of one of our earliest episodes, in which Ellie shares a chicken stock disaster and we both wax poetic about our dishwashers. Hope you're staying safe, healthy, and having a blast this summer! We can’t wait to re-connect in September, when we kick off season 2 of SALT PIG.

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Welcome to SALT PIG! After analyzing all sorts of home-cooking topics over these last 22 episodes (!), we marvel at how often we neglect certain basics and niceties when cooking day in and day out. As cookbook professionals, we are devoted to the details of our clients and our work; but when left to own devices, we can really phone it in and forget/refuse to make cooking as pleasant and fulfilling as it can be. So for our SALT PIG season finale, we explore if there's a way to make putting dinner on the table more of a practice than a task. What tiny, easy acts make a nicer experience for ourselves? Do we have the brainspace and time to prioritize joy and ease in the kitchen? Is there a price to “treating” ourselves to the right piece of equipment or a little extra care and attention? Being intentional just may be the secret (ingredient) to everything.

Happy summer, pals! We are taking a break until September. Write us and let us know what you’re up to. We’ll be back for season 2!

Discussed in this episode:

• Chicken cutlets dredged in Preserved Lemon Paste
• Jenna Helwig’s interview with Greta Podleski
• Lukas’ Snacks For Dinner
• The SALT PIG Lentil Salad Matrix
• Alice Medrich’s melted butter tart crust
• Full circle to our first SALT PIG episode: Food Waste vs Recipes

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