This Week on Good Food: Soviet Food Memories, Salt Block Cooking, Deborah Madison

Anya Von Bremzen grew up in the Soviet Union, and her book Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a history of the Soviet Union through the experience of her own family, and in particular her mother. This week on the show she shares her food memories of growing up in the U.S.S.R. Antonio Medina is the chef and owner of the Gastrobus food truck; he fondly recalls the food of his homeland – Ecuador. Jonathan Gold reviews Girasol, the new restaurant from Top Chef alum CJ Jacobson and Deborah Madison stops by to discuss her 2012 release Vegetable Literacy, a book that examines twelve plant families and includes 300 recipes that honor the strengths of each plant. Mark Bitterman, owner of The Meadow and author of Salted, is enamored with salt. His latest book Salt Block Cooking offers 70 recipes that utilize Himalayan salt blocks for grilling, searing, chilling, and serving. Plus, Kevin Sinnott tells us about Italian espresso, Turkish coffee, and Vietnamese coffee. At the market, Laura Avery talks to Alex Weiser, the farmer behind Weiser Family Farms who grows three varieties of sunchokes.