Our common nature is a musical journey with Yo-Yo Ma and me, Ana Gonzalez, through this complicated country.

We go into caves, onto boats, and up mountain trails to meet people, hear their stories, their poetry, and of course, play some music, all to reconnect to nature and get closer to the things we're missing.

Listen to Our Common Nature from WNYC, wherever you get podcasts.

It's Lyn Rosetta Casper with the splendid table.

Music splendid table. If you've ever sat in a restaurant and wondered what goes on behind the kitchen door,

or if you've ever thought about becoming a chef, today's show is for you.

We're talking with 1998 best chef

in america jean george von der rickton about how he got there he tells us how he trained how he

likes to run his restaurant and why he's not based in his native friends for dining out a little

lower on the economic scale, Jane and Michael

Stern are eating stuffies at marguerite. Cheathmonger Steve Jenkins explains the garlicky, low-fat

caparone. A New York chef tells us why you don't want to order fish on a Monday night,

and as always, it's open lines for your call. Coming up on the splendid table.

But first, this.

Welcome to Kitchen Chronicles, where knowledge is power and cooking is pleasure,

a practical guide to nourishing ourselves and the people we care about.

Today we're working with fresh herbs and their flowers.

Fresh herbs are available all year in most markets, but summer is when we can stock up on

locally grown and get the bonus of having some of the flowers that herb plants produce.

So how about some ideas for how to

buy or harvest and then how to use fresh herbs and their flowers? Let's start with selecting

herbs in the market. Look for organic herbs. And remember, younger is usually better. The smaller

...