Not From Concentrate

What makes dinner taste like it’s been cooking all day when you absolutely do not have all day? Chef Claudette Zepeda has a pantry full of answers—and zero shame about canned beans.
This week, Catherine welcomes the chef and author of Cooking the Borderlands for a conversation about big flavor, creative freedom, and feeding a family when you’re stretched thin. Claudette shares how growing up between San Diego, Tijuana, and Guadalajara shaped her food, from the Asian pantry staples woven into her Mexican cooking to the smoke and community of carne asada.
We talk about using miso, kombu, chicken bouillon, and chili oil to build flavor; the comfort of her mom’s albóndigas; and why a great meal can start with a few cans from the pantry. Claudette also opens up about her late AuDHD diagnosis, pursuing a creative life as a single mother, and honoring the generations of women who came before her.
Plus: a refrigerator rearrangement that helps keep vegetables out of the “sludge of shame,” why music gets her cooking again, and how getting outside helps her calm the chaos.
Not From Concentrate is produced and distributed by Catherine Smart, with audio and video production by Kevin O’Connell and Asia Garcia. Our associate producer is Allie Miller, and our theme music is by Kylie Daly.

Feeling overwhelmed by your garden? Garden coach Jess Zander of You Can Do It Gardening joins Catherine to make the whole thing feel more manageable—and much more fun.
Jess explains how to prioritize garden projects, tackle invasive plants before they spread, choose native plants without becoming dogmatic, and make smart decisions about where and what to plant. She also shares why buying small plants can save money, how to divide perennials without being too precious, and why fall is one of the best times to plant.
Plus, Jess offers a refreshingly low-effort approach to fall cleanup, explains her delightfully simple method for planting bulbs by the shovelful, and talks about how gardening can calm a busy brain, spark creativity, and connect us to our communities and the people we love.
Find Jess, her virtual garden coaching, classes, guides, and newsletter at You Can Do It Gardening.
Not From Concentrate is distributed by PRX and produced by Catherine Smart, with audio and video production by Kevin O’Connell and Asia Garcia. Our associate producer is Allie Miller, and our theme music is by Kylie Daley.

What if the best thing you could bring to family dinner wasn’t a perfectly cooked meal, but a better mood?
Chef, cookbook author, and TV host Noah Galuten joins Catherine to talk about his new cookbook, Grill Time!, and why the grill deserves a place in your weeknight cooking routine. They discuss shopping according to what’s on sale, salting chicken or steak now and figuring out dinner later, and setting up groceries so they’re easier to use when your busy brain needs them.
Noah also gets honest about cooking through creative ruts, feeding young children, and the impossible pressure to make a nutritious family dinner without making everyone miserable in the process. Plus, he shares how he balances books, television, and his Substack—and how a YouTube project that didn’t take off ultimately helped lead to Barbecue: Smoke Out on Netflix.
It’s a funny, candid conversation about grilling, parenting, creative work, and letting go of perfection in the kitchen.
Find Noah on Instagram at @galuten and subscribe to his Substack, I’m Legally Required to Feed You. You can watch Barbecue: Smoke Out on Netflix.
Not From Concentrate is distributed by PRX and produced by Catherine Smart, with audio and video editing by Kevin O’Connell and Asia Garcia. Our associate producer is Allie Miller, and our theme music is by Kylie Daley.

Back-to-School Lunches, Sheet-Pan Dinners, and Finding Joy in the Kitchen with Hillary Dixler Canavan
Hillary Dixler Canavan returns to Not From Concentrate as the show’s first repeat guest! Nearly one year after her first appearance, Hillary joins Catherine for a timely conversation about feeding our families, and ourselves, during the back-to-school rush.
They talk about letting go of picture-perfect lunchboxes, choosing foods children will reliably eat at school, and adding joy without adding much work. Hillary shares her genuinely life-changing trick for assembling and freezing sandwiches in advance, plus easy ways to bring protein and variety into packed lunches.
The conversation also ventures into cooking with kids, why project-based kitchen activities may be more manageable than everyday “help,” and the value of teaching practical cooking skills when children are ready.
Then Hillary previews Sheet Pan Month in her newsletter, What Are We Having? She and Catherine even develop a Green Goddess chicken, gnocchi, and broccoli dinner in real time. Finally, they discuss finding creativity through constraints, clearing physical clutter, and using audiobooks to make cooking feel restorative.
In this episode

Why a successful lunch is one your child can actually eat within the school’s allotted time

Letting go of elaborate, photo-ready lunchboxes

The difference between “school foods” and foods children will eat at home

Easy protein ideas, including mini Chomps, cheese, hummus, and beans

Low-effort ways to make lunch feel special with food picks, stickers, and notes

Finding genuine points of connection based on the interests you share with your child

Why cooking with kids can be easier as a planned project

Teaching age-appropriate kitchen skills without rushing the process

Establishing helpful structure around meals and snacks

Hillary’s forthcoming Sheet Pan Month

Developing a Green Goddess chicken, gnocchi, and broccoli sheet-pan dinner

Why a delicious sauce can make a simple meal feel restaurant-worthy

Making and freezing school-lunch sandwiches in advance

Using themes, limitations, and what you already have to spark creativity

Decluttering the kitchen before the school year begins

How audiobooks can transform dinner preparation into something worth anticipating

Hillary’s freezer-sandwich method
Assemble sandwiches in batches, return them to their original packaging or place them in a freezer-safe reusable bag, and freeze. In the morning, put a frozen sandwich directly into an insulated lunch bag. It should thaw by lunchtime while helping keep the rest of the lunch cool.
Freezer-friendly combinations include:

Ham and cheese

Turkey and cheese

Bagel with cream cheese

Cream cheese and jelly, with optional chia seeds

Peanut butter and jelly, where permitted

Audiobooks mentioned

Yesteryear

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Ruth Ware’s mysteries and thrillers

The Searcher by Tana French

Find Hillary
Subscribe to What Are We Having? at whatarewehaving.substack.com.
Follow Hillary on Instagram at @hillarydixlercanavan.

What does it actually take to make local food more accessible, sustainable, and financially viable for the people who produce it?
Catherine talks with Erin Baumgartner, founder of Family Dinner, a farmers market delivery service that grew from bringing groceries to seven friends out of Erin’s Somerville apartment to serving 120 Massachusetts communities. Erin explains how Family Dinner uses data and predictive analytics to help farmers plan what to grow, reduce food waste, and reach more customers—and why buying local can have such a meaningful impact on the communities where we live.
They also talk about balancing our food ideals with real-life budgets and limited time, building a mission-driven business without outside investors, resisting shiny objects, and breaking intimidating goals into manageable steps. Plus: feeding kids without expecting perfection, making dinner from whatever is languishing in the fridge, and why creativity sometimes requires doing absolutely nothing.
Not From Concentrate is distributed by PRX and produced by Catherine Smart, with audio and video production by Kevin O’Connell and Asia Garcia. Our associate producer is Allie Miller, and our theme music is by Kylie Dailey.