ChopChop Podcast

Do you like soup? We like eating it, but we love making it even more. In this episode, Stella and Harry imagine their perfect soup recipe. Plus, we hear from listener Kai about his favorite type of soup: Ramen. If you want to see full recipes and more, check out this episode’s companion piece at chopchopfamily.substack.com . Music in this episode includes modified versions of: “Kitchen” by The Mar...

If you were President, would you ban the foods you don’t like from the White House? This week Harry and Stella speak with Eddie Gehman Kohan. Eddie is a photographer and writer who worked closely with the Obama Administration studying all things food. Plus, we learn about Presidential likes and dislikes, from the founding fathers to modern Presidents. If you want to see full recipes and more, chec...

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we’re celebrating by imagining an entirely red dinner menu. Then Nidhi joins Stella and Harry to tell us why some foods have a deep red color, and what that means for their nutritional content. If you want to see the full recipes, check out this episode’s companion piece at chopchopfamily.substack.com . Music in this episode includes modified versions...

What would you do if you got snowed in? In this episode, Stella and Harry explore their kitchen pantries to see what kinds of meals they could make. Plus, they share their favorite pantry snacks, and Stella recommends ”The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats . If you want to see the full recipes, check out this episode’s companion piece at chopchopfamily.substack.com . Music in this episode includes mod...

This week we’re talking Lasagna. Stella and Harry discuss their favorite ways to eat this comfort food and try pulling cheese to see which types are the stretchiest. If you want to see the full recipes, check out this episode’s companion piece at chopchopfamily.substack.com . Music in this episode includes modified versions of: “Kitchen” by The Marian Circle Drum Brigade as well as “Cheesy Radio B...

This week we’re talking all about Chili. Chili is a great cold-weather stew that’s very flexible: you can make it more or less spicy, combine meats or leave them out entirely, or switch up the beans. We also discuss how we plan recipes, and play a round of our “Mystery Sound” game. If you want to see the full recipes, check out this episode’s companion piece at chopchopfamily.substack.com . Music...

Happy New Year! It’s the last dinner of 2025, so we’re planning a nice set of recipes. We’ve got Risotto, Roasted Broccoli, and Garlic Bread. Along the way, we learn some kitchen science about Maillard reactions. Finally, we go through a writing exercise where we talk about the best ways to teach a skill to someone else. If you want to see the full recipes, check out this episode’s companion piece...

This episode is all about a bread called Matzo. Also spelled Matza, Matzoh, Matzot, or Matze, it’s often eaten around this time of year in Matzo Ball Soup. Harry and Sally discuss the history of this dish and their favorite ways to prepare it. We also hear from Stella and her sister, Lola, who tried a mindfulness exercise with one of our all-time favorite ingredients: eggs. If you want to see the...

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at ChopChop! To celebrate, Harry and Sally chat with Stella and Matt about our holiday traditions, favorite foods, and what we're thankful for this year. We also talk with author Jenny Shea Rawn and her daughter, Lexi, who have  co-written the New England Kids Cookbook, which will come out next Fall. Together we learn about Cranberries and some of their favori...

This week we finish out our series about pumpkins with the Great Glass Pumpkin patch which takes place at MIT. Every year the students make and sell more than 1800 pumpkins to fund the glass laboratory. Plus, Nidhi is here to tell us about pumpkins and nutrition, and we have a recipe for all those pumpkin seeds you’re bound to have when carving pumpkins.  Salt and Pepper Pumpkin Seeds Here are two...

This week we talk about Halloween and how it has different meanings to different people. Sally shares a story from her childhood and Harry and Sally talk about Pie! Does your family have a food that you only eat at certain holidays or specific times of the year? Write to us at podcast@chopchopfamily.org to let us know! Our featured "Check It Out" books are Amara’s Farm   by JaNay Brown-W...

This week we speak with Pumpkin Professional George Nickolopolous who is in charge of the Roger Williams Park Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular. He has great tips for us about how to carve and get the most from your pumpkins this Halloween season. You can learn more at rwzoo.org.  Music in this episode includes modified versions of:  "Cheesy Radio Ballad" by Lisa Hammer . Thank you to Frank and...

Have you ever considered what it takes to grow a giant pumpkin! In this episode we hear from Ron Wallace of Wallacewow.com who grows champion giant pumpkins weighing more than 2000lbs! We fit in a few fun facts and stretch our math muscles trying to figure out what to do with all that pumpkin!  Here's this week's Kitchen Math questions: Let’s say you have a 16 pound pumpkin. Generally sp...

This week we're sharing an episode from another podcast we think you might enjoy. Big Emotions: Kids Listen Mashups is a 7-part audio adventure where creators from the Kids Listen community come together to explore feelings in all their shapes and sizes. This episode covers jealousy and openness and the ChopChop Podcast has been featured in it! Each episode pairs two related emotions, sharing...

The main topic this week is Harry’s interview with Liam Cromie, a 17-year old in Rhode Island who started harvesting invasive Green Crabs when he was 12. He started a business to sell them, called Point Judith Green Crabs , and eventually worked to change the law in his state to make it easier for kids like him to harvest and sell these delicious invasives. Also, Nidhi stops by to give us a last b...

Finally we dig into the meat of the matter or, really, the fruit! This episode is all about cooking tomatoes. Stella shares a great recipe for Shakshouka with us and our pal Gail Arnold give us some great tips for serving tomatoes in a salad.  Follow us on Instagram for your chance to win Joy Howard’s fantastic book Tomato Love . Music in this episode includes modified versions of:  "Cheesy R...

This month we’re learning about one of our favorite vegetables (or fruits?): tomatoes! This week we hear more from Devan Ferreira, of Russell Orchards , who was the winner of the 2024 Massachusetts commercial tomato growers competition . This episode has great facts about tomatoes, and some geography for you.  Music in this episode includes modified versions of:  "Cheesy Radio Ballad" an...

This month we’re learning about one of our favorite vegetables (or fruits?): tomatoes! We speak with Devan Ferreira, of Russell Orchards , who was the winner of the 2024 Massachusetts commercial tomato growers competition . She gives us some great tips about growing your own tomatoes. We also share a cool science experiment you can follow along with at home! We’ve switched the podcast from once a...

This month we’re feeling gourd-geous and heading into the garden to talk about the most bountiful, bodacious cucurbit around: zucchini! Whether you grow it yourself or find it left in your car by your neighbors this episode has something for you!  We hear from a Mother/Son team growing Trombocino, hang out with Katherine Pryor, author of Zora’s Zucchini and check in with Chris Powell, one of the o...

This month we are putting on our protective gear and heading to the hives to check in on some of Mother Nature’s hardest working insects! We talk with Sally’s local beekeeper about honey and learn all about keeping bees from Akeem, who is an 8 year old beekeeper with his Dad Kamal at Sankofa Farms in North Carolina. Plus, our friend Nidhi stops by to share some valuable information all about the n...

This month on the ChopChop podcast we dig deep into… Compost! What is it? Why is it good for your plants? We are joined by Jayne Merner of Earthcare farm to talk about tips for home composting. Check out Jayne’s show The Composter wherever you get your podcasts. We also speak with Georgia, a fifth-grader who noticed a lot of food scraps in the garbage at school, and decided to do something about i...

This month we’re talking about fish and fishing. We hear the story of Gail and Luke, who have a special friendship all because of their shared love of fishing. Kate Masury from Eating with the Ecosystem stops by to tell us about her work. Fish is super easy to cook, fun to catch and we hope you’ll learn a little more about that this episode.  This month’s recipe: Fish Tacos !  Our featured "C...

Here we are at 15! ChopChop has turned 15 and we’re celebrating our accomplishments and accolades as well as all the fun we’ve had over the years. We are joined this episode by Ryan from Ryan’s Recycling to hear more about his story and why recycling is so important. We have party ideas and lots of singing! We’ve got Strawberry pie on order instead of cake and you’ll hear about the history of the...

This episode is all about school food! More than 5 billion (with a B!) lunches are served in school across the United States every year. This food helps kids learn, helps the local economy and is integral to a day in the life of a kid. Tune in to hear from Mara Fleishman, the CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation , who align with our mission at ChopChop by working to provide fresh, healthy, delicious, co...

This month we’re focusing on oranges and other citrus fruits, because wintertime is when they are at their finest and most abundant. Most people eat oranges out of hand, but we also like to use them in salads, smoothies, and here, “sorbet.” We also learn from Olgo Russo, the former owner of Russo’s Market in Watertown, MA. Olgo knows a thing or two about every fruit and vegetable we can think of,...