Seco de Carne with Santiago Vargas

[00:00:05] [cooking montage].

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:00:06] This is Skillet at the podcast where we cook together and listen to each other. I’m Jen.

Cass Herrington: [00:00:10] And I’m Cass.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:00:11] And today’s episode is a little different. For one, we’re stepping onto a food truck.

Cass Herrington: [00:00:16] And that food truck is like a portal to Lima, Peru. The Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine food truck belongs to Santiago Vargas.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:00:25] He’s a chef who sharing flavors of home with hungry North Carolinians.

Cass Herrington: [00:00:28] He honors ingredients that date back to the ancient Incan civilization like choclo, big buttery kernels of Peruvian corn, and aji amarillo, a sweet and spicy yellow pepper.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:00:40] The potato also has a starring role. There are thousands of genetic varieties of potatoes in Peru.

Cass Herrington: [00:00:45] That’s a lot of potato. Lima is also an interesting case for culinary exploration because of the influx of immigrants from China and Japan in the past century. A popular national dish, lomo saltado, is a variation of stir fry influenced by the Chinese.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:01:01] Santiago brings his culinary influences to Asheville – a place that does not have a big Peruvian community.

Cass Herrington: [00:01:07] But it does have great appreciation for Santiago and the flavors that he’s brought from Lima.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:01:13] His food truck, Out of the Blue, can be found at breweries and other local hotspots almost every day of the week.

Cass Herrington: [00:01:19] And he’s thrown down at some local cook offs.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:01:21] His chicken wings are legendary.

Cass Herrington: [00:01:24] In fact, that’s how Santiago caught my attention. (My Kentucky is showing here.) I love fried chicken and I bought some of his wings when he was parked outside of a concert. Blew my mind. I had a sense something magical was happening inside that truck.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:01:39] And that’s a word that comes up a lot on this episode – magic. Santiago has a love for his craft and for his family which you’ll hear more about.

Cass Herrington: [00:01:47] We visited Santiago at his house on a leafy street tucked behind a busy thoroughfare. His food truck was humming in the driveway and his kids were outside playing and riding bikes.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:01:57] It was chaotic in a fun kind of way. Real life, am I right?

Cass Herrington: [00:02:01] Yeah. It felt that way. We stepped inside his blue food truck kitchen to make seco, essentially a beef stew. It’s a Peruvian dish that’s considered “comida criolla.” It includes Spanish and Arab influences combined with indigenous Peruvian ingredients.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:02:16] But Santiago is one of those people who puts excellence into everything so his version of seco includes many steps and extra touches of flavor. He slow cooks beans and beef on the stove and tops it off with homemade pickled onions.

Cass Herrington: [00:02:29] He had four pots going at once and artfully danced around his tiny truck kitchen as Jen and I tried to keep from tripping over our microphone cables.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:02:38] It was pretty fun and I think what Cass is trying to say here is that we want you to think of the cooking in this episode as less of a how-to and more of a soundtrack.

Cass Herrington: [00:02:47] Yeah thanks. What she said.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:02:49] In between the sizzling beef and the bubbling beans you’ll get to know Santiago. What brought him to the United States.

Cass Herrington: [00:02:55] And the piece of his heart he left behind.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:02:57] Santiago is a joy to listen to so we’ll let him tell his story from here.

Santiago Vargas: [00:03:02] I am Santiago Vargas. We’re making seco, a Peruvian dish. That dish is very traditional in our country. It’s kind of beef stew we call seco. I don’t know why.

Cass Herrington: [00:03:14] Seco means dry.

Santiago Vargas: [00:03:20] Yes, but it’s not dry at all. Long time ago in my own country like when Spain go to Peru and bring ingredients like cilantro from Spain. Black peppers, oregano. And then we use these dish the cilantro is the principal and then the base of peppers, Peruvian aji amarillo.

Cass Herrington: [00:03:42] You said the ingredients brought in from Spain.

Santiago Vargas: [00:03:45] Exactly. Then it’s like two different continents. This dish is so so delicious.

Cass Herrington: [00:03:53] Awesome. Well let’s go ahead and get started. Can you describe for the listeners what what you have laid out here. So we have the potatoes, peas and then what else?

Santiago Vargas: [00:04:05] We have a lot of things here right now. Like we have our beef: local organic. We have carrots. We got potato we have yellow pepper. Garlic onions aji amarillo is like a red pepper.

Cass Herrington: [00:04:21] Red chili paste?

Santiago Vargas: [00:04:21] Like chili base but dry. Because of pinto beans, cilantro, corn. And, well, our magic of my soul, no? [laugh].

Cass Herrington: [00:04:35] Lots of magic in this dish.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:04:35] My magic is my energy I put in my dish all the time, you know. Let’s do first, step by step on the gas.

Cass Herrington: [00:04:46] We are maneuvering our way through a very narrow truck kitchen.

Santiago Vargas: [00:04:50] Yes. OK on the gas right now.

[00:04:55] [clank of pan].

Cass Herrington: [00:04:55] And then I have oil in my wok to sear my beef.

Cass Herrington: [00:04:55] You’re using a wok. Is that traditionally Peruvian?

Santiago Vargas: [00:05:07] The Peruvian use of the wok for a lot of things to make the fire in. So it’s one of my secrets of this dish. I mix techniques.

[00:05:22] [sizzle of oil].

Santiago Vargas: [00:05:22] I grow [up] in Peru When I was 12 years old, I went to Mexico. I grew up 12 to 18. Yeah. And then I moved to Peru back. Yeah. Grow to Peru and Mexico, both. Maybe 25 years ago, everybody cook. No, not right now, we don’t have time. Change a lot. So usually they cook like four times in a day. Like my grandmother had like eight kids and then they stay all day in the kitchen. Cooking with different dishes: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Then between the lunch and dinner, you have something too, bread, coffee time. 6:00 and then dinner at 8:00. But different dishes like so every day different. And they changed a lot. My mother make one time and they put in the freezer and then ready to go. You know I mean like OK. We don’t have time. [laugh] But you see our traditions is coming from our grandmother as my mother like cook everything.

Cass Herrington: [00:06:36] I think that’s kind of a narrative that people can relate to here in the United States. I mean I learned cooking from my grandmother because my mom, no offense mother, [laugh] she would take a box of this or a can of this just because time wasn’t on her side.

Santiago Vargas: [00:06:53] Here in South, Southern, here in America. Like you feel like love in the dishes. So it’s why I like this place because you can introduce these Peruvian dishes for people like you like maybe sometimes they eat tongue here in Southern and so there you know like OK. I like it, too, but I don’t like too much.

Cass Herrington: [00:07:17] So you find that people in the South are, their their tastes are compatible with Peruvian cooking.

Santiago Vargas: [00:07:23] Yeah, they have more love inside in the dishes.

[00:07:29] [sizzling oil].

Santiago Vargas: [00:07:29] So one of my kids like to cook so, hey, it’s time to work, no? But like a funny time. How to cook how to feel how to use a knife. My father taught me like you need to use this.

[00:07:47] [knife chopping].

Santiago Vargas: [00:07:47] I never listened to him. I just cut myself a lot. But he always have knife skills. But slowly you know be careful. I’m the opposite of him. [laugh]

[00:08:01] [knife chopping].

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:08:01] Would he have looked at the way you’re chopping the onions and say, “oh my gosh!” Would he have been shocked and say, “slow down, slow down?”

Santiago Vargas: [00:08:07] No right now, but yeah, it’s like, when I grow [up] like yes. I always told me, hey, slow down. You cut yourself all the time. But you know, you need to learn. Like my people here when you cook tried to show this skill like how to cut the onions without looking so say you need to feel the onions because they grow from the universe. Doing these, the onions, that produce. They take it off for the earth. You connect with that ingredient with your hands so you close your eyes. You feel it. And you, trust me, you going to have good skills.

Cass Herrington: [00:09:06] ¿Puedes decir esto en español, para que yo puedo pensar un poco más?

[translation: could you say it in Spanish, so I can think a little more?]

Santiago Vargas: Cuando una corta, cuando uno corte, cuando ellos les enseño a mis niños acá a cocinar, a tener más skills.  A saber a cortar cebolla, la digo, la uníca para que tengas conexión con la cebolla es unirte como las personas van, siembran ese producto, tiene su tiempo, amor, no? Para que despues lo saque, pues se vaya tu cocina, y tu lo cocines, y tu lo prepares algo maravilloso. Esa conexión es una energía propia. Cuando tu sientas esa energía, conexión con la tierra, tu puedes cerrar los ojos y vas a cortarlo de una forma increíble. Y lo han hecho. Y asi, lo que hago.

[Translation: When you cut, or when I teach my kids how to cook, to gain more skills, I tell them to know how to cut an onion, you have to have a connection with the onion. It’s connecting yourself with the people who sow that product, who put their time and love into it, no? So after they pull it out (of the ground), it goes to your kitchen, you cook, it and you make something marvellous. That connection is an energy of its own. When you feel that energy, that connection with the Earth, you can close your eyes, and you are going to cut in an incredible way. And that’s what they’ve done, and that’s what I do.]

Cass Herrington: [00:09:06] You’re saying a lot of things right there – I’m going to unpack this and then correct me if I’m wrong. You’re saying that, first of all, your employees when they’re cutting an onion they are, they have a connection, a shared connection with the person who picked that onion as well as with the earth. And it sounds like you see this as something spiritual almost.

Santiago Vargas: [00:09:29] Yeah. Of course. Your energy bring your in the dish. No, makes sense? Why why When will your mother cook with love and try to impress everybody you like, wow, that love you feel it. In the restaurants, sometimes not. And sometimes yes because you have a lot of people cooking the same time with different souls. Sometimes mad. Sometimes not. Sometimes I have different, you know, energies, so it’s though the same dish, you don’t feel the energy. Sometimes. When you go to the restaurant.

Cass Herrington: [00:10:05] So like you can tell if someone was angry when they were making your dinner.

Santiago Vargas: [00:10:09] Yeah I was angry when I cook in the corporate. I was working in Long Island. In the Lombardi’s [corporate restaurant group]. They have like seven restaurants – Italian. I work like ten years doing everything. Yeah. And my energy was no good when I cook. I feel it. I learned a lot but I never cooked Peruvian food. Is one my frustrations. It’s kind of the same thing. I cook like my mother show me – with love. That’s it. That’s my secret.

[00:10:48] [water washing rice].

Santiago Vargas: [00:10:48] Cook the rice. Right now it’s cooking. Let’s start the rice.

Cass Herrington: [00:11:06] So we have more garlic.

Santiago Vargas: [00:11:08] More garlic. I like garlic.

Cass Herrington: [00:11:20] So now we are making seco. But did you say your take on seco is a combination of four ingredients – four recipes, rather.

Santiago Vargas: [00:11:30] Four recipes. You have the rice – garlic and rice. You have the beans and you have this stew, and I have a pickled onions on top. Is a lot of things it’s four things.

Santiago Vargas: [00:11:45] The rice with the juice is most important. And the beans. You to try after this how you feel this food, this stew, the combination. Like a kind of Mexican too, no? Have rice and beans, you have stew.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:12:02] It seems like for many of the people we’ve talked to, rice and beans are kind of the heart of their cuisine, too. And it kind of spans all different cultures, when you come down to home cooking and what people really enjoy eating. Do you see similarities between what you do and other cultures when it comes to rice and beans?

Santiago Vargas: [00:12:21] In my country, we use rice and beans but no like, in some dishes. Yes recipes like I think so is Latino. It’s coming from the beans, the beans coming from Spain. Yes. Coming from Spain and then spread with beans around.

Santiago Vargas: [00:12:45] And I want to make the. I know I want to make the base of the pinto beans.

[00:12:59] [chopping onion].

[00:13:00] Mix the flavor of the meat, bring the beef to cook the onions and the garlic for the base. So I have more flavor in the beans.

Cass Herrington: [00:13:10] You can already smell and see that like there’s a whole layer of flavor. You have meat, you have herbs – so there’s a little bit of freshness and lightness. And then all the spices.

Santiago Vargas: [00:13:22] This is very aromatic. Very aromatic. So when I cook the carrots.

[00:13:37] [Sizzle of carrots].

Cass Herrington: [00:13:37] The seco is almost ready.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:13:39] The beef is fragrant. The rice is getting fluffy and the beans are simmering away.

Cass Herrington: [00:13:44] It smells really good. So don’t go anywhere.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:13:47] Coming up, Santiago shares his journey from Lima, Peru to Asheville, North Carolina.

Cass Herrington: [00:13:51] And we meet someone very special in his life.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:13:54] Stay with us. We’ll be right back.

[00:14:01] [music].

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:01] Skillet it’s brought to you by you!

[00:14:03] Thank you dear, dear listeners.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:05] If you’re enjoying this episode please share it on social media.

Cass Herrington: [00:14:09] And consider making a donation at www.skilletpodcast.com.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:13] We’ve been sending out thank you notes to our donors this week.

Cass Herrington: [00:14:16] It’s been fun writing out your names, putting on a stamp, and just saying thanks. Is that weird?

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:21] Not at all. Let’s be pen pals. We’d love it if you kept in touch with us, too. Let us know who you would like to hear on Season Two of Skillet.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:28] Favorite chefs, neighbors, and friends – people who share culture and improve communities through food.

Cass Herrington: [00:14:34] You can send us your nominations on social media or shoot us an email.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:38] Our email address is on our website – www.skilletpodcast.com.

Cass Herrington: [00:14:41] And while you’re there consider making a donation.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:44] Thanks friends. On with the show .

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:14:48] Santiago Vargas is 21 years old living in Lima, Peru. He loves cooking, but becoming a chef and opening his food truck – Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine – is still a distant dream.

Cass Herrington: [00:14:59] He decides to turn his passion for food into a career.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:15:02] Luckily Le Cordon Bleu just opened a culinary school in Lima.

Cass Herrington: [00:15:06] The perfect place for Santiago to hone his skills.

Santiago Vargas: [00:15:09] Right now everybody wants to cook in my country. They love to cook. They’re proud to cook. Like, oh yeah, I’m a good cook. We have a good city to promote. So everybody proud of dishes. I’m glad, you know, to be Peruvian. [laugh]

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:15:25] But in 2008, he followed his ambition and decided to leave Lima for another culinary capital – New York.

Santiago Vargas: [00:15:31] So I just come here to the United States, give me the opportunity to work. In Long Island. And. Learn about American New Cuisine. In New York and then, yeah, just jumping up and down and working. Learn English and then the next year, have the sous chef position and then another year have the chef position and then keep going and then let’s do it – another challenge in my life. Let’s do it and then learn fast.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:16:02] But like Santiago said before, the corporate New York restaurant world wasn’t a good fit for him. He wanted to cook Peruvian food and share it in a small city surrounded by farmland and fresh ingredients.

Cass Herrington: [00:16:14] He was drawn to Asheville, North Carolina, he says, because of its magic. And he’ll tell you why he and his young family have made this mountain town their home.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:16:22] But first he talks about someone close to his heart his daughter from his first marriage who stayed behind in Peru when he moved to the United States.

Cass Herrington: [00:16:30] Was it hard for you to leave your country and your family and your heritage and all that you’d built up and start over here?

Santiago Vargas: [00:16:38] Well. It’s hard to me right now. Was hard. I feel bad, you know, like my daughter. Yes, was hard. Taking my most important thing in my life. But I come back the next year and I see her. And my soul doing something here, promote my name, my food. Go back to Peru and say. “Hey, I’m here.” Never late, but yes.

Cass Herrington: [00:17:13] Yeah. So your daughter is still in Peru. How old is she now?

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:17:18] She’s, yes 16. Going to be 17 soon. Yeah she’s coming soon. Then this week. Yeah. This Friday, Saturday. Coming to Florida. Yeah I see her all the time like two times every year I go back and forth. Yeah. She’s my daughter. I love her. Yeah, she’s coming with the family. The next week. Yeah, I’m so happy.

Cass Herrington: [00:17:48] Yeah. Yeah.

Santiago Vargas: [00:17:50] She is my motivation here, my inspiration. Yeah. Prove to her like I come here for something, not for nothing. You know what I mean? And plus, now I can do a lot of things here without my country. Because it’s hard to do your own business. Growing your name. You know here, the United States, where you have a lot of problems here too. Yes, hard decision but I think so. She, she understand right now. She knows. I have contact with her every time so. No. I’m good of that part. You know, I mean, I don’t feel guilty. You just keep going.

Cass Herrington: [00:18:37] Well it’s apparent that you love her very much.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:18:43] Yeah, all my kids, too. All my kids, I have four kids.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:18:45] At that very moment Santiago’s youngest daughter, Kassandra, opens the door to the food truck.

[00:18:50] [door opens].

Santiago Vargas: [00:18:54] There’s Kassandra. There she is!

Santiago Vargas: [00:18:55] Ah, mi amore.

Cass Herrington: [00:19:01] Do you like your father’s cooking?

Kassandra Vargas: [00:19:03] [nods head yes]

Cass Herrington: [00:19:06] What’s your favorite thing that he makes?

Kassandra Vargas: [00:19:10] Chicken wings.

[00:19:12] You and me both sister.

Santiago Vargas: [00:19:15] She love chicken wings. OK. Let me check that [food]

Cass Herrington: [00:19:23] We get the sound of cooking, the kids in the background.

Santiago Vargas: [00:19:28] [laugh]. This is my life here in the truck, you know?

Cass Herrington: [00:19:30] And it sounds like a family kitchen.

Santiago Vargas: [00:19:32] Yeah that’s true. If you want to go inside my house, gonna be more loud.

Santiago Vargas: [00:19:42] Like I just come here to cook alone. Sometimes, yes. It’s like my spiritual room by myself. Music, me, the food. The perfect thing. When I prep alone for maybe 100 people. Just doing for myself. Music and loud music in three hours before – bum, bum, bum, bum, bum – finished.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:20:06] What’s your favorite music to listen to?

[00:20:08] Yeah. I love reggae. Yeah.

Cass Herrington: [00:20:11] I love this. Your food truck is a little sanctuary where you can step outside and just prep.

Santiago Vargas: [00:20:18] Let’s do it. Okay. It’s ready, I believe. Want to try?

Cass Herrington: [00:20:22] Yes.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:20:22] Yes please.

Santiago Vargas: [00:20:30] We are serving the rice. Then I want to put the beans. Beans, beans, beans. The pickled onions, but they’re picking onions are just 100 percent lime juice, salt pepper, onion.s.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:20:58] No vinegar?

Santiago Vargas: [00:20:58] No no no. It’s like I like my civeche. So this is my onion civeche. I like very sour. So with this meal, I love this.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:10] It adds so much color. It’s hot pink. Hot pink.

Santiago Vargas: [00:21:14] Ok, you give it a try. OK. It’s time.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:22] Are you going to have some?

Kassandra Vargas: [00:21:25] Nuh-huh. I’ll just eat chicken wings.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:21:28] Just chicken wings.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:33] Dad, you’ve got to go make chicken wings.

Santiago Vargas: [00:21:33] Let’s go outside. So. Let’s try.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:38] Buen Provecho!

Santiago Vargas: [00:21:39] After two hour, we need to try what’s going on here, no?

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:21:41] Yes, oh thank you.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:44] Thank you.

Santiago Vargas: [00:21:45] You’re welcome. I appreciate that.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:21:46] Mm hmm.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:50] So, do you have memories when you eat this?

Santiago Vargas: [00:21:55] Oh yeah. You close your eyes. Like hmmm.

Cass Herrington: [00:21:56] What do you think about?

[00:22:01] Eating with your family. All together. Old traditions, memories. Yep, that’s my food.

Cass Herrington: [00:22:13] It is so good.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:22:14] So good. Mm hmm. All the flavors come together so nicely – balanced. A lot of balance.

Santiago Vargas: [00:22:21] Good thank you. Thank you.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:22:24] So your wife is Peruvian, but do you know a lot of other people from Peru in [Asheville] North Carolina.

Santiago Vargas: [00:22:33] Around here? Well, not a lot of people. It’s like our community for no people like me, no more than 20. We don’t have population here in North Carolina. How many Peruvians are in Asheville or Buncombe County? Like none. Like you Google, no population. It’s not like Mexican, like thousands, no. It’s like hard to build the business without your population to help you to grow.

Cass Herrington: [00:23:03] So why did you, why do you decide to stay here.?

[00:23:07] The energy of Asheville is magical. And a lot of people come here from different countries, my country, like wow, something magical here. Yes. That’s what attract me – the magic of here, in this location. Like, oh. And it’s good to grow. You have the people, the natural farming, local, they grow together. That – love it. You know, it’s like, we miss in my country, in New York, in big cities, like they don’t have that.

Cass Herrington: [00:23:38] Is the climate at all similar to Peru with the mountains?

Santiago Vargas: [00:23:42] Yes yes, kind of similar. Rainy, forests.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:23:42] So now what? What do you see as the future for you and your family and your business?

Santiago Vargas: [00:23:52] Oh, future. Good question. Well, one of my future, my vision, big vision on this truck. Is. Doing this truck in United States, in different states. Sharing my business, with people want to work with passion. And doing my dishes over there and then promote the Peruvian food around the world. Here in the United States. In Peru, too. So this truck, my next step, is going to Peru. And doing my business, the same business, in my country, a real Peruvian chef. Yes. And then keep going.

Cass Herrington: [00:24:31] Thank you Santiago. It was a pleasure. And I’m going to be quiet so I can eat now.

Santiago Vargas: [00:24:36] Yes. Oh good. Please enjoy the food. OK. She’s done.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:24:44] [laugh] Thank you so much.

Santiago Vargas: [00:24:45] Me too. I’m hungry too. OK. Thank you for coming to my truck and give me the opportunity to show my food.

[00:25:00] [music].

Cass Herrington: [00:25:00] Thanks for listening to Skillet. We are so glad you joined us at the table today.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:04] We’d like to thank Santiago Vargas for sharing his food truck sanctuary with us.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:10] His seco was truly buenisimo.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:12] Dang – that beef, the beans, the rice.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:15] And those zesty pickled onions.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:18] Santiago shares Peruvian dishes like this one, and his famous chicken wings.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:22] Did we mention he’s a returning champion at the Asheville Wing Wars?

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:27] It’s true! His wings and other Peruvian-inspired bites mumble around town in his food truck – Out of the Blue.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:33] Find out more about Santiago and the food truck in our show notes.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:38] Our theme song is by Poddington Bear and our ad music is by Ketsa.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:42] If you like this episode share it in your social media feeds. As always we are @SkilletPodcast on Facebook and Instagram.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:50] Stop by our website for a transcript and behind the scenes photos.

Cass Herrington: [00:25:54] And while you’re there consider making a donation.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:25:57] We’re gearing up for season two and we would love your help. Our website is www.SkilletPodcast.com

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:03] Coming up next time on Skillet…

Cass Herrington: [00:26:05] You probably don’t know her name…

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:06] But you’re going to love Rosalind Scott.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:09] She’s a grandma, a great cook, and has quite a sense of humor.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:12] Here her school us on how to make a Lebanese delicacy.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:16] Spoiler alert: we had varying levels of success.

Rosalind Scott: [00:26:20] Would you girls like to try one?

Cass Herrington: [00:26:22] Yes.

Rosalind Scott: [00:26:23] Okay.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:24] Are you going to grade me?

Rosalind Scott: [00:26:26] Okay. First of all you’re holding it wrong.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:28] [laugh]

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:28] We were all giggling by the end.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:30] Because Ros isn’t afraid of a little dirty joke.

Rosalind Scott: [00:26:33] Make a little circle – just with a tip. Don’t go too deep.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:41] Just the tip!

Group: [00:26:42] [laugh].

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:42] The last episode of Season One is pretty silly.

Cass Herrington: [00:26:45] Hit subscribe now so you don’t miss it.

Jen Nathan Orris: [00:26:47] And come on back in two weeks for another serving of Skillet.