I'm Frances Lamb, and this is The Splendid Table from APM.

For so many of us, it's week two or three or four or more of lockdown.

In a normal times, something like half of all meals consumed in our country are prepared

or from restaurants. And, well, since that's not happening so much right now, you're probably

cooking a lot. Maybe you're getting to the point where all your go-to recipes are starting to

wear a little thin, and I honestly am right there with you. My lunch, pretty much every single day since I started staying in two weeks ago, has been

a ham sandwich on an English muffin.

It's fine, but the bigger thing is, like I've realized it's just one fewer thing I need to think about during the course of my day right now,

and that kind of feels like what I need.

But cooking dinner has still been a pleasure, for me at least.

It's family cooking.

Not cooking to impress or to perform or show off.

I'm just glad to be able to nourish the bodies and the spirits of the people around me.

And I've mostly been making simple food, but, you know, trying to take some care with it.

I've been adding, like, diced sweet potatoes to the mac and cheese and cooking down mushrooms to flavor a gravy for meatballs.

Like anyone else, I could use a hand.

Which is why this week we spent an hour on the foam with Samin Nosrat.

Samin is the author of Salt, Fat, Acid Heat, one of the best books on learning to cook I have ever read. She's also the star of the Netflix show of the same name, and she has a brand new podcast called Home Cooking.

She's one of the most delightful people I know, and she's a fantastic teacher and human to boot.

I called her at home, from my home.

We caught up a bit, and later we took a whole bunch of your cooking questions.

Hey, Samin, I am so happy to talk to you.

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