Michael Pollan. Photo: Alia Malley/michaelpollan.com

Listen to the Story from KQED’s Forum:
Original Broadcast: Thursday, May 16, 2013 — 10:00 AM

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest:

• Michael Pollan, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and author of “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation”

More info:

• MichaelPollan.com
• Some of My Best Friends Are Germs : NYTimes.com
• Fire, Water, Air, Earth: Michael Pollan Gets Elemental In ‘Cooked’ : NPRFood via BAB
• ‘Cooked’ by Michael Pollan : BostonGlobe.com
• Senate Agriculture Panel Approves Farm Bill : TheHill.com

Excerpted from COOKED by Michael Pollan. Reprinted by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copyright (c) Michael Pollan, 2013.

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco tape the sixth episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED.
Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Check, Please! Bay Area’s sixth episode of Season 8 airs on Thursday May 16 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website provides restaurant information not specified on the show and you are free to share your opinions on the restaurants featured. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will continue to share wine (and spirits) tips with each episode.

The sixth episode of Season 8 features these restaurants: Hunan Home’s Restaurant (San Francisco), Radius Restaurant and Café (San Francisco) and Guerilla Café (Berkeley).

Fun in the greenroom after taping the sixth episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED. Lyrics Born autographs Leslie’s foot. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Watch Leslie Sbrocco share her Wine Tips about Santa Barbara County Wines:

View more Wine Tips at Check, Please! Bay Area.

Vegetables. Photo: Getty Images

Six years ago, Mark Bittman was a full-time omnivore. But then a doctor told him to turn vegan for health reasons, and suddenly Mark found himself facing a world void of meat, dairy, or processed foods. So the New York Times food writer decided to personalize his vegan diet and allow for some cheating. He called it “Vegan Before 6,” or “VB6,” and says it helped him improve his health and focus on cooking at home. Mark Bittman talks about his new book, and how a full-time meat lover adapted to part-time veganism.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest:

• Mark Bittman, food writer, columnist for The New York Times, and author of books including “VB6: Eating Vegan Before 6,” “Food Matters” and “How to Cook Everything.”

More info:
• Next Meal: Engineering Food : A half-hour documentary from KQED Science
• VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good : amazon.com

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco tape the fifth episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED.
Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Check, Please! Bay Area’s fifth episode of Season 8 airs on Thursday May 9 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website provides restaurant information not specified on the show and you are free to share your opinions on the restaurants featured. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will continue to share wine (and spirits) tips with each episode.

The fifth episode of Season 8 features these restaurants: Bocanova (Oakland), Willi’s Wine Bar (Santa Rosa) and The Rotunda of Neiman Marcus (San Francisco).

Watch Leslie Sbrocco share her Wine Tips about Wines of Washington State:

View more Wine Tips at Check, Please! Bay Area.

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco tape the fourth episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED.

Check, Please! Bay Area’s fourth episode of Season 8 airs on Thursday May 2 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website provides restaurant information not specified on the show and you are free to share your opinions on the restaurants featured. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will continue to share wine (and spirits) tips with each episode.

The fourth episode of Season 8 features these restaurants: Pompei’s Grotto (San Francisco), Lillie Mae’s House of Soul Food (Santa Clara) and SPQR (San Francisco).

Host Leslie Sbrocco and guests from Check, Please! Bay Area relax in KQED’s greenroom

Watch Leslie Sbrocco share her Wine Tips about Napa Valley Wines:

View more Wine Tips at Check, Please! Bay Area.

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco tape the third episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED.
Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Check, Please! Bay Area’s third episode of Season 8 airs on Thursday April 25 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website provides restaurant information not specified on the show and you are free to share your opinions on the restaurants featured. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will continue to share wine (and spirits) tips with each episode.

The third episode of Season 8 features these restaurants: Maverick (San Francisco), Izakaya Yuzuki (San Francisco) and Souk Savanh (Oakland).

Watch Leslie Sbrocco share her Wine & Spirits Tips about Sake:

View more Wine Tips at Check, Please! Bay Area.

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco tape the second episode of Season 8 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Check, Please! Bay Area’s second episode of Season 8 airs on Thursday April 18 at 7:30pm on KQED 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website provides restaurant information not specified on the show and you are free to share your opinions on the restaurants featured. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will continue to share wine (and spirits) tips with each episode.

The second episode of Season 8 features these restaurants: Zaré at Fly Trap (San Francisco), Barrio Fiesta Restaurant (Milpitas) and Flora (Oakland).

Watch Leslie Sbrocco share her Wine & Spirits Tips about Whiskey:

View more Wine Tips at Check, Please! Bay Area.

Mary Roach. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

How does saliva work? Why doesn’t your stomach digest itself? And did constipation really kill Elvis? In her new book “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal,” Mary Roach chronicles the surprisingly exciting journey that food undertakes in the human body. Roach joins KQED’s Forum to talk about everything you ever wanted to know — or might be disgusted to know — about the digestive process.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest:

• Mary Roach, author of “Gulp” and other books including “Stiff,” “Spook,” “Bonk” and “Packing for Mars”

More info:
• About Mary Roach (MaryRoach.net)
• Mary Roach on NPR’s “Fresh Air”

A precociously independent toddler packs a healthy homemade lunch and heads off to snack in Bernal Height’s Holly Park in San Francisco.

This seriously cute video is the promo for author and BAB blogger Kim Laidlaw‘s new book Baby & Toddler On The Go: fresh, homemade foods for a busy life.

The book will be available April 30 and offers up 75 simple-to-prepare and easy-to-transport recipes made with fresh ingredients for the busy 4-month to 3-year-old child.

Kim Laidlaw took some time out to share information about her new book.

The toddler in the video is your daughter. How have you introduced her to your world of cooking and food?
Laidlaw: She has been watching me cook and bake since she was born, and now that she’s a bit older she is starting to “help” me cook and bake, which is a lot of fun. I also take her to the farmers’ market every Saturday morning and we talk about all the seasonal fruits and veggies and we try lots of samples. Oh, and we set up a little play kitchen in the kitchen so we can cook together.

What motivated you to write this book?
Laidlaw: I had just started to feed her solid food when I started writing the book, so I “learned” how to feed her by doing all the research and writing all the recipes for the book. Plus lots and lots of input from my mom and friends.

The book is designed to feed 4-month to 3-year-old children. How did you tailor your recipes nutritionally and tastewise to this age group?
Laidlaw: I did quite a lot of research, and also used the sister book Baby & Toddler Cookbook as my starting point. Then I just tried to get as many age-appropriate veggies, fruits, meats and dairy into the recipes to keep them healthy but friendly.

Author Kim Laidlaw and her daughter

Economically speaking, how do costs compare preparing fresh foods for kids versus buying healthy store bought alternatives?
Laidlaw: Well, I think if you can buy seasonal fruits and veggies you will save a lot of money, and many of the purees and minis can be made in bulk and frozen. Making your own food is definitely cheaper than buying individually-sized pre-packaged foods.

Sometimes kids are picky about eating diverse types of healthy food. What are 3 tips you can share with parents about teaching kids to be food-curious.

Laidlaw:
• Take your kids to the farmers’ market or the grocery store and let them help you pick things out that look good to them.
• Then, let them help you cook so they can see you making the things you picked out together.
• Finally, eat together at the table as much as you can (my daughter always wants to eat what I’m eating).

Take a Sneak Peek and Get Recipes

Disclosure: In addition to Kim Laidlaw being a BAB blogger she and her daughter are personal friends.

Red Wine. Photo: Getty Images

Are you easily intimidated by snobby sommeliers? Flummoxed by phone-book-thick restaurant wine lists? Help is on the way. KQED’s Forum convenes a panel of Bay Area wine connoisseurs to talk about how to pour and taste wine, and how to select the perfect bottle at a store or restaurant.

Host: Scott Shafer

Guests:

• Debbie Zachareas, owner/partner of Ferry Plaza Wine and Oxbow Wine Merchant
• Doug Tomlinson, CEO of Vino Volo airport wine bars and shops (serving SFO), headquartered in San Francisco
• Jon Bonne, wine editor for The San Francisco Chronicle

More info:
• Wine Tips from Leslie Sbrocco (Check Please! Bay Area)