Go to page: 1234567891011121314

Why health-conscious carnivores care what cows get to eat
Grass-fed beef is increasingly popular

Health conscious consumers who eat beef are increasingly concerned about what cows eat.  Over the past decade, demand for grass-fed beef has grown exponentially.  While health claims about it are open to debate, there’s no dispute that cooking grass-fed beef requires special care.  WKSU’s Vivian Goodman talks with Ohio farmers and cooks about that in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Fermented food company aims to preserve Cleveland's farm-to-table movement
A retired doctor and his daughter says they founded Wake Robin Fermented Foods to help consumers, farmers and the local economy

A father-daughter team in Cleveland has launched a business to preserve good food that grows nearby.  They say they make fermented food because it’s healthy for consumers and helps local farmers. But they also hope to spur the local economy.  WKSU’s Vivian Goodman tells the story in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Akron Peace Corps vet makes snacks with acai from the Amazon rainforest
Individuals with developmental disabilities in Akron help produce and package the fruit leather snacks

Peace Corps service in a remote South American village has inspired an Akron man to launch a food business.  He imports tropical fruit that grows wild in the Amazon rainforest to production facilities in Akron. There, workers with developmental disabilities turn it into fruit leather snacks.  WKSU’s Vivian Goodman tells the story of Peaceful Fruits in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

How an adventurous Cleveland chef and dad engages kids in the kitchen
James Beard award-winning Chef Jonathon Sawyer lassos kids into the kitchen with noodles

If you’ve resolved to spend more quality time with the kids, a Cleveland chef has some advice.  Use your noodle to coax them into the kitchen. WKSU’s Vivian Goodman has the story in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Christmas Eve is the big day for Cleveland's Polish-American community
Wigilia, the vigil before Christmas, is the traditional time for the holiday feast

It’s not Christmas Day itself. It’s the day before that’s most important to Poles and Polish-Americans.  Christmas Eve is the traditional time for faith, family and food.  But in Cleveland’s Slavic Village, a couple weeks before the big day there’s a sort of rehearsal dinner.  That’s where WKSU’s Vivian Goodman takes us for today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Italian Christmas cookies evoke sweet memories in Highland Heights and Bath
An Italian family grocery and an Italian-American home cook bake the traditional treats

In these last two weeks before Christmas, home cooks are racking their brains and rifling through recipe boxes, trying to recall just how Grandma worked her magic for those traditional holiday treats.  Every ethnicity has its favorites, and Italians are especially fond of cookies.  In today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman visits a Bath Township kitchen and an Italian grocery in Highland Heights to nibble a few.
(more )

An oasis for a food desert: the comeback of the East Side Market
Three Cleveland councilmen have formed an alliance to give their constituents a place to buy fresh food

Getting access to fresh, healthy food is not easy in much of Cleveland’s inner-city. But in the northeast part of town, three councilmen have joined forces to try to solve the problem. WKSU’s Vivian Goodman has the story in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Making potato latkes for Hanukkah: a Cleveland Heights family's tradition
Chef and restaurateur Doug Katz and his son Abe always cook together for the holiday

When the sun sets one week from tomorrow, Jews will light the first candle of the Hanukkah menorah.  The 8-day holiday celebrates a victory in 167 BC over Syrian Greeks.  The “Festival of Lights” is a time for family gatherings and traditional delicacies, like crispy, savory, potato pancakes.

WKSU’s Vivian Goodman samples some in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Thanksgiving cooking Taos Pueblo and Cherokee style in a Kent kitchen
Native Americans mark the holiday with reflection and traditional foods

Many Native Americans observe Thanksgiving. They just don’t celebrate it.  It’s often a time for somber reflection on a sorrowful history -- and always a time to honor ancestors. But food is important, too, as WKSU’s Vivian Goodman reports in today’s Quick Bite.
(more )

Artisan baker in Bath makes pizza in a cozy backyard kitchen
Bread expert Kathy Lehr built her own clay oven

A Northeast Ohio baker is the first in the state to be certified as an expert in Pizza Napoletano. In Naples, Italy, they’re strict about the process which requires a wood-fired oven. So the artisan baker built one with her own hands. In today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman checks it out.
(more )

Ohio students are staging a food revolution in their own cafeterias
A student-run nationwide movement challenges campus dining services to buy from local and sustainable sources

College students are mobilizing to change America’s food system, starting with their own cafeterias. A nationwide movement aims to shift university food budgets away from big distributors and towards local, organic suppliers. In today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman reports Ohio students are joining in the Real Food Challenge.
(more )

A Medina farm girl's culinary adventures in Senegal
Liz Schmidt mastered Senegalese cuisine when she took time between high school and college to live and learn in West Africa

A Northeast Ohio farm girl has returned from sub-Saharan Africa, in love with its cuisine.  After Highland High school and before Kent State, she spent eight months in a remote village in Senegal, cooking over coals.  In today’s Quick Bite, she shows WKSU’s Vivian Goodman what she’s learned.
(more )

Kent and Akron archaeologists celebrate the birthplace of beer
The drink the ancients brewed in Mesopotamia inspires archaeologists in Northeast Ohio

Archaeologists in Akron and Kent might still be sobering up after partying like it was 3500 BC.  A gathering earlier this month featured sumptuous food, lively entertainment, and a great deal of beer.  As WKSU’s Vivian Goodman reports in today’s Quick Bite, the fun event also served a scholarly purpose.
(more )

Why a chef cares that a pig gets to roam
Sustainable agriculture benefits and chefs think diners do, too, from pasture-raised pork

The words “grass-fed “and “pasture-raised” are showing up more on local menus. Chefs increasingly are leaving their kitchens to find  inspiration down on the farm. In today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman follows one chef in search of good-tasting hogs.
(more )

Getting a taste of farm life in a Geauga County barn
A farm-to-table event at Maplestar Farm for chefs, foodies, farmers, and supporters of organic agriculture

Northeast Ohio’s small family farmers aren’t smiling much as they go to harvest. Farm work is never easy, but this growing season a cold start, wet June, and dry August made for an even harder slog. Still, in today’s Quick Bite, WKSU’s Vivian Goodman finds optimism about the local food trend, and the links it’s forging between the region’s chefs, farmers, and foodies.  
(more )

Former food biz analyst tells Clevelanders why she crusades against GMOs
Robyn O'Brien found her mission when her child fell ill

Today’s Quick Bite addresses the issue of GMOs, those genetically modified organisms in our food, from a concerned parent’s perspective. The big food companies claim that tinkering with the genes of seeds will help feed the world with no impact on human health. But a former food industry analyst started having doubts about that when her own child suffered a life-threatening illness. WKSU’s Vivian Goodman spoke with Robyn O’Brien earlier this summer when she visited Cleveland.
(more )