Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Episode Transcript

Transcript edited by Hannah “Asher” Sham

 

Intro & Disclaimer

Kylo: You’re listening to Let’s Talk!. Let’s Talk! Is a digital space for students at PCC experiencing disabilities to share their perspectives, ideas, and worldviews in an inclusive and accessible environment. The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Portland Community College, PCC Foundation, or our community partners. We broadcast on our home website, pcc.edu/dca, on Spotify, on XRAY, 91.1 FM and 107.1 FM, and KBOO Community Radio, 90.7 FM.

Welcome & Meet Asher

Zoe: Hey, everyone. Welcome to our latest episode of “A Slice of Life”. Here with me today is our guest, who is Asher. Why don’t you introduce yourself?

Asher: Hi, everybody. My name is Asher. I am one of the Podcast Producers on Let’s Talk! Podcast Collective. I am usually behind the microphone, but this time I am in front of it with Zoe on “A Slice of Life”. It’s such an honor to be here, honestly, on this show. You’ve been working so hard for each and every single episode and it’s great to be able to join you in one of these episodes. I think it’s gonna be really exciting to make all these different dishes that we’re gonna do today.

Zoe: It’s easy to say, “work hard”. But, for me, I just really enjoy it. I love spreading that message, talking about culinary journeys and overcoming adversity. So, we have got for you a dish that is guaranteed to make you go, “Mm, mm!”. Well, it’s actually not just a dish. It’s actually a small collection. I hope you’re excited. Get those taste buds ready! But, before we do that, let’s get to know you a bit better, Asher. Where would you like to start? 

Asher: Oh, where should I start? I guess I could say that I was born and raised in Texas. Dallas, to be precise. I lived there up until I was nine years old with my Mom and Dad and an Older Brother, and I moved overseas to Singapore when I was around nine. I’ve lived there, in Singapore, up until I was around 20 or 21 years old and then I came back here to Oregon. It’s about the long and short end of my story kind of thing. Do you wanna get started with cooking while we talk? 

Zoe: Perfect! Yeah, let’s get it rolling! 

Asher: Awesome! Let’s do this! 

Today’s Menu

Zoe: Asher has brought a wonderful Banana Pudding Tiramisu and I have a Greek Feta Cheese and Tomato Roll-up with fresh Basil. On the side, we actually have a contribution from Kuma which is a wonderful Summer Salad with Feta Cheese; some cranberries and a sweet and sour balsamic vinegar drizzle. So, why don’t we get started? It’s almost like a full meal, you’d think!

Asher: Yeah! 

Zoe: In this meal, the Banana Pudding Tiramisu, actually, did you say it was no bake? 

Asher: Yep, it’s no bake and it has only very simple ingredients: Cream Cheese, Milk, Ladyfinger Biscuits, Caramel, and Bananas. I’m gonna grab my ingredients out. And I will need a bowl from you to get started. 

Zoe: Lovely! Then let’s get all our kitchen gear out. Now, we will have a list of ingredients, of course, for everyone. We will have a list of ingredients in the episode link. Before you make these, it’s always gonna be really nice to have your ingredients ready to go, refrigerated, so that when you’re starting to make it you can just get the tiramisu done, the salad done, and then the feta cheese rolls will hit the grill, come off, and be hot and piping ready to serve.

Making the Banana Pudding Tiramisu

Asher: Alright! So, to start off you’re going to need a mixing bowl. For ingredients you’re gonna need 16 ounces of cream cheese, 5.1 ounces of instant banana pudding, two cups of milk. If you’re gonna be using dairy-free milk, we would recommend a thicker option like “Ripple” or “Oatmilk”. One batch of homemade Ladyfingers Biscuits, four tablespoons of caramel sauce, and one banana, sliced. I prefer to add more bananas to each layer while making the tiramisu. But, that is all up to you. You can add them at the end at the very top, or you can add them in between layers. It just depends on how much “banana” you want in your- 

Zoe: I like to layer it ’cause-

Asher: Let’s do that!

Zoe: It’s a fun texture!

Asher: Yeah, for sure! All right! First off, in our bowl we’re going to add the cream cheese and beat it for a few minutes. So, a good thing about this is that I “cooled this down”. Not cooled down. 

Zoe: “Chilled”, yeah. 

Asher: Not chilled either, like it came cold. So, I had to bring it to room temperature, I guess. 

Zoe: Oh, “thawed”! Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Asher: Yeah. I had to bring the cream cheese to room temperature first, so it’s easier to work with.

Zoe: Get it nice and soft like butter!

Asher: I think this is a total of 16 ounces, probably. 

Zoe: Fabulous. Do you like your cream cheese thicker or just a little bit thinner and easier to spread? 

Asher: The cream cheese that I got is just a block here. 

Zoe: For me, ’cause like I’ve always argued with folks and whatnot. That’s like a nice soft cream cheese. I like my cream cheese nice and thick. 

Asher: Oh, yeah? 

Zoe: I have some friends who are like, “you’re wild for wanting it like that.”. 

Asher: I don’t have much of a preference. Yeah, no. I mean, cream cheese is cream cheese in my opinion, at least.

Zoe: True. For me, like one of my absolute favorite desserts, if I’m both bad and sad, is to take a bagel, toast it, and then, right out of the toaster, cream cheese on one side, marionberry jam on the other. Bam! Together! Eat it hot with the cream cheese chilled and the jam chilled! Amazing flavor, amazing texture!

Asher: Yum. Okay, I’m gonna need your help. I need a spoon from you.

Zoe: How big are we talking?

Asher: Let’s do a medium-sized spoon. 

Zoe: A spoon or spatula? 

Asher: Spatula’s work actually. I just need to try to get it out of the packaging. 

Zoe: Oh! Gotcha!

Asher: Thank you so much! 

Zoe: 100%. 

Asher: Yeah, so we just plop, or try to scrape, the cream cheese into the bowl.

Zoe: Worse comes to worst, you can always get your hands in there. We have paper towels. Just make sure to wash your hands and sanitize first. 

Asher: Yeah, no, exactly. I’m not gonna try to touch it now, because I just touched Tucker not too long ago when he greeted me at the door.

Zoe: Oh, yeah, absolutely. That’s what the sink is for. 

Asher: So, after you add the cream cheese you’re gonna wanna add the Banana Pudding Mix and a bit of Milk. So, I brought milk from home in a medium-sized water bottle, my own water bottle. Because, I made the mistake when I bought this milk from New Seasons Market. 

Zoe: Yeah? 

Asher: I had no idea there was a difference between “Organic Milk” and “Regular Milk”, and I ended up paying seven-something dollars-

Zoe: Oh, my!

Asher: For a gallon of milk. And I was like, “That’s ridiculous.” When I found out, I was like, “I’m not gonna go back and get another carton. That’s ridiculous.”. 

Zoe: I love organic milk, but when I can go to Costco and get five or six bucks for a ton of milk! 

Asher: Yeah, I only wanted to get like regular milk and that’s like only $2 for a gallon which is amazing.

Zoe: Don’t get me wrong, if I’m in a pinch and I’m also just like, “I want something just like vaguely flavored.”. I’ll be like, “let me bust out the Nesquik real quick.”. 

Asher: Well, the funny thing that you mentioned it is that this recipe actually calls for a bit of banana milk to soak the Biscuit Lady Fingers. Because, the biscuits that I bought are dry. They actually call for like softer form of freshly made lady fingers, but because I got it from the store, they’re pretty much hard. So, in order to counteract that, you wanna soak the lady fingers in some milk kind of thing. 

Zoe: That makes sense.

Asher: Give it some flavor. Yeah. 

Zoe: Flavor and moisture, yeah. 

Asher: Flavor and moisture. But, for our case, we’re just going to soak the Lady Fingers in a little bit of milk. 

Zoe: Okay, fabulous. 

Asher: Out of the two cups of milk that I brought. I don’t know if Tucker wants to lick the cream cheese off the wrappers, but… 

Zoe: We can set them to the side and allow him to decide later!

Asher: Because we do not wanna waste this delicious cream cheese. 

Zoe: True. No need to waste it. No matter what, you can always find a use for it. 

Asher: Yes, for sure. Okay. I am actually currently mixing the cream cheese, or beating. It says to beat it for a few minutes, but- 

Zoe: Ew. 

Asher: I’m not gonna beat this thing. I’m gonna grab my Jell-O, my “Instant Banana Cream Jell-O mix”, I guess is what it’s called. It calls for 5.1 ounces. Which this one is exactly 5.1 ounces. I love it when things are packaged perfectly as the recipe directs. That way I don’t have to try to measure things out.

Zoe: True…

Asher: So, I’m just gonna pour the whole thing in here. I’m just opening it up. Okay, I actually might need a cup, because I’m measuring out two cups out of the milk that I brought.

Zoe: Two cups, huh? Yes. I think we have some measuring cups in here. 

Asher: Oh, okay. I can take a look, yeah. I don’t see any measuring cups. I see a stainless steel cup in here. Well, this is just in milliliters. It’s fine. I’ll just use it as a cup. Yeah. It’s fine. I’m not gonna get technical about it. 

Zoe: We don’t need to be too technical. It’s not like it needs to be super, super exact. 

Asher: Yeah. I feel like this is very forgiving too. 

Zoe: Yeah. It’s about putting your own flair on it. None of these recipes that like are ever on the podcast or anything are set in stone. It’s about taking what you like and putting your own flair on things. So, with that said, are there any stories you’d like to share with us? 

Asher: I will share, but really quick; It smells very, very “banana-y”. 

Zoe: Yeah. I always ask. So, it smells “banana-y”. What other notes are hitting your nose? 

Asher: Ooh. Well, it’s not cream cheese per se, but it’s like a very creamy banana type of- 

Zoe: Yeah, so that creaminess, that creamy smell. 

Asher: Yeah. And I’m just trying to break apart the bits of cream cheese. So, it’s not like chunky type of thing right now while I’m mixing it.

Zoe: You want chunks, or you want texture, but you don’t want pockets where it’s just cream cheese. 

Asher: Yeah, I can tell you a little bit of stories at least about my journey coming here to the States.

Zoe: Sure, yeah. And we’ll illustrate while the tiramisu and the other dishes are going too.

Asher’s Story: Singapore to Oregon

Asher: Yes, for sure. Growing up, there was no really big concept about disability. I grew up in Singapore and there were disability related stuff that we talked about; people who are wheelchair-bound, who are blind, or who are deaf. But, it’s never really addressed and there’s not really a lot of advocacy stuff going on. I’m sure it must have changed since then, way back when, when I was in Singapore. But, for during that time, it was just not a part of the culture to talk about people having disabilities. So, it was never really brought up at all until I came here to the States, to Oregon. I started going to college and university and found out just how much disability is advocated in here and how important it is to advocate for those people who have disabilities. I think it was around that time where I found out a little bit about myself having ADHD in the first place. A couple of friends of mine asked me like, “Hey, it almost sounds like you have ADHD. Do you have ADHD?” I’m like, “Uh, no.” And it was one of those things where I don’t fully understand if the life that I’ve been living so far has just been normal or there was some sort of chemical stuff going on in my brain that just made things a lot more difficult. ‘Cause I’ve always struggled in school and I thought it was always just the, “oh, I just need to study harder. I just need to do more work. I need to put in more effort.”. But, it never really seemed to make a difference, no matter how much effort I put in. Then I got diagnosed with a high level of ADHD and I’ve just been trying to figure things out since then. I think it was also around that same time where I joined the Podcast Collective, discovered, started learning more about disability-related topics, and how to advocate for people with disabilities. So, this season has been a bunch of learning. 

Learning About ADHD

Zoe: Absolutely fantastic. For me, it’s an opportunity not just to spread a message, but also to connect with people. One of my dearest friends, Ryan, actually taught, has taught me so much about ADHD, about misconceptions and whatnot. From there we’ve talked- you’ve probably seen the, this entire shelf of movies and books. That’s all his.

Asher: Oh, wow! 

Zoe: So, he’s really, really knowledgeable and has taught me so much about stuff like how, for instance, OCD; the form that was like popularized by the TV show, “Monk”, that is for most people not it at all. He was talking to me and I was like, “I’m gonna be totally honest. The only form of figuring out ADHD is what I’ve seen in like movies, and whatnot.”. Ryan was like, “No, that’s wrong.”, and he showed me a video, this was the first video that he showed me, and he was like, “This is what it’s like to have ADHD.”. It’s a man that is getting dressed, getting his keys, getting ready to go to work, and there are eight different versions of his voice. They’re all just going, “Did I turn the stove off? Did I get my keys?”. 

Asher: Oh, so it’s like a “mental voice” type of thing? 

Zoe: Yeah, yeah, yeah! There are seven or eight of them going at once while he’s trying to do everything. 

Asher: Oh, yeah. That is the same way for me too. I’m sure there’s a term for it. I’ve not really ever discovered the term for it just yet, or I just don’t remember it. Another ADHD thing, that I forget about a lot of things basically!

Zoe: Is it “Stimming”? 

Asher: It’s not “Stimming”. It’s like I’m doing one task, and then I think of something else, and then I grab an object, and then I go do something else. Then it’s like, so on and so forth, kind of thing. So, I have all these incomplete tasks throughout my home as I’m working kind of thing. I’m like, “Oh, how did I get here?”. I was making lunch in the kitchen and all of a sudden I’m in the garden doing something else! 

Zoe: Yeah. I’ll totally feel that or I’ll talk to Ryan about it. It’s that feeling when you’re just like just doing something or just like knitting and all of a sudden you’re stuffing dryer sheets into your shoes. Because, that is also another way to freshen them up, but I’m like, “How did I get here again?”. 

Asher: Yeah. Okay. I’m trying to make this as smooth as possible, this texture of the cream cheese, milk, and banana pudding mix. It’s right now looking like egg salad with mayonnaise kind of chunkiness. 

Zoe: Would you like a fork or like a whisk to- 

Asher: I think a whisk will actually work very well. 

Zoe: Let me get you a whisk. 

Asher: Thank you. I was struggling a little bit while I was talking, but I was just like, “I’ll just take my time here. We got time.” 

Zoe: Yes, we do! 

Asher: I found the whisk.

Zoe: Oh, yes. I was looking to see if we had a bigger metal one, but that will work fine. 

Asher: This one will work fine? Okay. 

Zoe: Yeah. I think. 

Asher: Okay. I will try it out. 

Zoe: But, let me know if it doesn’t.!

Asher: Oh, no, no, no! It’s good! 

Zoe: I usually use that one for like really, really thin mashed potatoes, then I’m like, “Okay, I need to beat this up, but I do need to add like more potato.” So, yeah. Now we’re aerating it, getting those flavors all combining together wonderfully. The ingredients, that you mentioned, sound pretty economical from what you described. These sound like ingredients that you can have on hand or you can get from the store, no problem. Easy peasy. 

Asher: Yeah. I don’t know about the banana pudding mix. I’m not sure how common that is. But, cream cheese and milk, yeah, for sure. It is pretty easy to grab. You can even make your own caramel sauce. If you start with a simple syrup of one part water, one part sugar, you continue cooking it on a stove top on a pan until it browns up, then you add a little bit of butter into it. You could turn it into a caramel sauce. 

Zoe: Yeah, I guess you’re cooking it past like a sugar syrup until it browns and then add a little bit of like butter. Easy caramel sauce recipe! Bonus for you viewers out there! 

Asher: Yeah. So even if you don’t have caramel sauce; you don’t buy it like I did from the store, you can make it your own.

Zoe: True. But hey, listen; I think every household should have a bottle of caramel sauce. Because, vanilla ice cream without caramel sauce is not the same experience. 

Asher: Oh, I’m more of a chocolate sauce type of gal. 

Zoe: See, specifically, I like chocolate sauce on strawberry ice cream. 

Asher: Oh. 

Zoe: Yeah. 

Asher: That’s different.

Zoe: Although, I’m odd. I like my caramel sauce on vanilla, ’cause I grew up only ever eat this one brand called like Breyers. The favorite which we’d eat all the time growing up was this Dulce De Leche. 

Asher: I tried making it by myself at one point too, just like a homemade style ’cause I couldn’t find any in store. 

Zoe: Oh, yeah! So, for me, it’s chocolate syrup on strawberry ice cream and strawberry syrup, specifically- Can you guess? This is interesting. Can you guess what it’s on? 

Asher: No, what is it on? 

Zoe: Pistachio ice cream! 

Asher: Ooh! Actually, that sounds really good! 

Zoe: Yeah, that’s my favorite. Oh. It’s like hits the spot for me.

Asher: Super good! Yeah. Okay. Right now I am opening up the Ladyfinger Biscuits. Have you ever had Ladyfinger Biscuits before? 

Zoe: Ladyfinger biscuits are fabulous. Yes, I know what they are. But, for our viewers, what are they? Could you describe them? 

Asher: Yeah. So, they are long form biscuits, basically, and they’re used mostly in tiramisu or in layered type of pudding cakes or no bake cakes type of thing. They come in plastic wrapping and they’re just little slots of biscuits. You do not wanna bite into one of these, right off the bat. 

Zoe: Oh, no way! Yeah. 

Asher: They do not taste good on their own like this.

Zoe: Yeah, please don’t!

Asher: You need to either soak them in coffee, like you would make in tiramisu, or, in our case, we’re gonna soak it in a little bit of milk before we place it into our pie dish, which I’m gonna have you grab, Zoe- 

Zoe: okay… 

Asher: while I prepare to soak the ladyfinger biscuits. 

Zoe: Yeah. Would a glass baking dish work?

Asher: A glass baking dish is perfect because we’re gonna do little layers and stuff. 

Zoe: Okay. Yeah. 

Asher: And, I guess it depends on how big your dish is. If you’re gonna use this dish; it is a… I can’t measure… It’s a dish! 

Zoe: Yeah, it’s a dish. I’d say it’s like two quarts? A quart and a half? Two quarts? 

Asher: Two quarts, yeah. I would say you just need a sleeve and a half of the ladyfingers, or even less than that. 

Zoe: Yeah. I have bigger ones if needed, too. 

Asher: Yeah. ‘Cause these ladyfingers are pretty big, I feel like we’re only gonna be able to do like two layers on this thing. 

Zoe: Yeah. You know what? Let me get a bigger plate. Let me get a bigger pan then. 

Asher: Yeah, I think it needs a shallower. We need a shallower Pan.

Zoe: A little nice shallow pan. 

Asher: Yes. 

Zoe: I’ve got the drill. How’s this? 

Asher: Oh. Oh, that’s perfect. It’s big! 

Zoe: Yeah. There we go. 

Asher: This is really long one, then we’re gonna probably just use… I don’t even think we have enough ladyfinger biscuits for something this big, but it’s okay. We’ll figure it out! 

Zoe: We’ll figure it out, yeah. 

Asher: So, how I usually do it, and if you don’t wanna use as many, like, pots, pans, you don’t wanna clean a lot of dirty dishes, I guess, is that I just layer the ladyfingers into your pie dish, or whatever dish you’re gonna use, and pour just a little bit of milk on it just to soak it through kind of thing.

Zoe: That makes sense, yeah. 

Asher: So, you’re not transferring it from one plate to another. I’m gonna go ahead and start. I don’t think we have enough. 

Zoe: Which is totally fine. We can crumble them or just layer them loosely. 

Asher: Yeah. These ladyfingers, they’re- here, if you wanna touch one. 

Zoe: Yeah, sure. 

Asher: It’s basically like a log kind of deal. 

Zoe: Yep, yep. 

Asher: And it’s hard to break apart and make it nice in the pie dish itself. 

Zoe: Oh, yeah. We can just layer them like logs, too. And they’re, like, nice and light, but for that reason they don’t particularly by themselves have a whole lot of flavor. 

Asher: Yes. 

Zoe: You’re really using them for texture and to soak up some of the flavor in this dish. 

Asher: Oh, yeah, for sure. I’m gonna pour a little bit of milk on top of each of them.

Zoe: Fabulous. 

Asher: Milk left over from my Organic Milk mishap. So, I am very sparingly using this gallon- of milk because it cost me $7 to buy it! yeah, I’m very carefully just using what I have left for this banana pudding, yeah. 

Zoe: Oh, fabulous milk. But, yes. 

Layering & Chilling the Tiramisu

Asher: So, I have the first layer down, and you’re just gonna keep on layering it. So, you’re gonna wanna line the dish with your ladyfingers, and then pour half the cream mixture on top. I’ve tried to make this texture as smooth as I can. My arm is hurting now…

Zoe: I’m sorry. 

Asher: No, it’s good. It’s fine. I’m just weak in general! This is my first time making this recipe, honestly. I’ve seen a video of someone making it and I’ve had it in my recipe list for a long time of wanting to make.

Zoe: That just means that now everyone gets to see us do it for the first time! 

Asher: This is the first time for me too! So, if you’re gonna make it, I would say try to make your cream cheese even more room temperature. ‘Cause I think I just took mine out of the fridge not too long ago. Just an hour ago. So, I feel like maybe you might want to have your cream cheese out a little bit longer. But, make sure don’t have it out too long. Have it out at a recommended time where it’s not gonna spoil. Food safety first and all that. 

Zoe: 100%!

Asher: Okay, I’m gonna mix this a little bit up more, and then I’m just gonna call it done. We’re not eating with our eyes here. We’re gonna eat with our mouths. 

Zoe: Oh, absolutely, yes.

Asher: And if we get a mouthful of cream cheese, all the better! 

Zoe: If we get a mouthful, then it just happens! 

Asher: It just happens, yeah. But, I mixed it to the best of my ability. So, there’s no chunks of banana pudding powder or just a bit of milk here and there. It’s pretty mixed through. It just has a little bit of chunks here and there of the cream cheese kind of deal.

Zoe: Again, it’s all about texture for me, oddly enough. I like my mashed potatoes not too smooth, but just a little chunky, with small little potato chunks in there. ‘Cause it gives a wonderful texture. If I do it smooth, it’s usually ’cause I’m adding in mixed vegetables and little smokies. It just tastes divine. I know it’s kinda odd, but it tastes divine. 

Asher: Whatever you like. So, I am not gonna question it!

Zoe: I mean, it’s the little smokies with the cheddar cheese. So, the flavor really seeps into the mashed potatoes. 

Asher: So, we’re putting in half of the mixture in there. I don’t know what I did. What did I do wrong? How do I turn this thing off? 

Zoe: Oh, the hot water? 

Asher: I don’t know. I turned the lever. 

Zoe: Oh, I know. Yeah. This sink is-

Asher: Oh, okay. Thank you . 

Zoe: No problem. 

Asher: I was like, “What did I do wrong?”. 

Zoe: You just gotta press hard. 

Asher: Press harder. Okay. Good to know. 

Zoe: This kitchen is not perfect. 

Asher: Oh, No kitchen is perfect, I feel like.

Zoe: Yes. 

Asher: Yeah. It’s great to have you here to walk me through just your own kitchen kind of thing. 

Zoe: My own kitchen. And yeah, I know these recipes will be provided by me. But, if possible, I’ll direct and if you could be my eyes and hands, and I’ll step in when needed for the record.

Asher: Oh, yeah. So, I’m layering the cream cheese mixture on top of these ladyfingers, and I’m hoping that we have enough. 

Zoe: Yeah. 

Asher: This is a pretty big pie dish, I’m just realizing. 

Zoe: No worries. I love layers. And you know what else has got layers? It’s big, green, and similar to an onion… A “cabbage”! 

Asher: Oh, “cabbage”! 

Zoe: No, it’s “Shrek”! 

Asher: I was gonna say! It’s like- “Cakes! Cakes have layers!” 

Zoe: Cakes have layers! Everybody love cakes! 

Asher: Everybody love cakes! It looks like we’re actually using the entire sleeve of ladyfingers. Yes. I placed it alternating for each layer, so hopefully it’s more than enough. 

Zoe: It’s like a big old lasagna but, no bake, and you can chill it and get it going. When you’re ready to serve those ladyfingers, I bet, will be much more like moist, have texture to them and people will be fawning over it.

Asher: I just used the perfect amount of milk in there. That’s the last of it kind of thing. I feel like you would, for those of you who are cooking this recipe at home, you wanna actually like completely soak your ladyfingers, that way they’re nice and soft. But, for our sake, because I came over here not wanting to carry a whole gallon of milk with me; I just used what I had, and I feel like it’s gonna be good. 

Zoe: Oh, absolutely! 

Asher: We’ll see! We will see…

Zoe: You know what? Do you think if you soak the ladyfingers like beforehand?… 

Asher: I think that would’ve been a good idea, but I don’t know how it would’ve turned out. Because, you don’t want it too soggy. 

Zoe: I’m thinking about other flavors that folks would be interested in. Do you think like maybe a little bit of banana and maybe a little bit of like cinnamon would go well in that milk that you soak it with? 

Asher: I don’t know. That’s a good question. If you’re brave enough to experiment, like Zoe is, go for it. I’m not very much of an adventurous type of like experimenter when it comes to food. Especially, if I’m gonna be the one eating it. 

Zoe: That’s fair. I used to do this thing where if I was like oddly hungry, I’d just take two cans of soup, or something, and I’d just be like, “You know what? I’m not even gonna try and read what they are together. I’ll just combine them, give it a quick stir, and then put it in a pot and just heat it up.”. You’d come up with some amazing like combinations, ’cause I’d check afterwards. I’d be like, “What did I just eat?” ‘Cause. I would always eat it first and then check after. You would get good ones, like a vegetable medley, or a vegetable soup, combined with a beef soup.

Asher: Yeah. I completely forgot to add bananas in the layers, in between, so I’m gonna add it now. We’ll have an even bite for each bite. I guess as far as, in terms of softness of banana, if you want it a little bit softer for your recipe, that’s totally fine. Yeah. Like maybe if you’re gonna make a banana loaf, or something; around that softness. Or if you don’t want it too soft and you actually want a bit of bite, that’s totally fine too. 

Zoe: Yeah, I like that. 

Asher: Like using bananas that are still a little bit not as ripe and it’s a bit firmer side. 

Zoe: Yeah. I’ve used like bananas going a little bit brown and I’ll be like, “I wanna actually use these, but I don’t wanna eat them right now.”. It’s a little bit spotty, right? Little spotty. Not like brown, brown. 

Asher: Yeah, not brown, brown. 

Zoe: And what I’ll do is I’ll freeze them and then use them later for banana bread or other things like that. So, when you freeze them, the bananas will turn brown. That’s not a bad thing. That’s just how bananas are. They’ll still be fine. Don’t look at the brown banana in the freezer and be like, “Ugh, what’s this?”. No, those bananas are totally fine. That’s just what happens.

Asher: This is taking a little bit more time than I thought it would. 

Zoe: There’s plenty of time to go around, so take your time. 

Asher: Just preparing the ingredients and everything. Going back to just the whole story, I’m so used to, since I’ve come here to the States, just cooking for myself. I make very fast and easy meals. Like maybe something I just throw in the rice cooker. I’m not just standing there and doing a lot of prep work. I prefer quick meals or a meal that I could throw in an air fryer or rice cooker, and then I can go about my business until lunch is ready.

Zoe: Yeah, the rice cooker’s so nice. You put your raw vegetables and maybe a little bit of flavoring in there. Then you can set it down. Once they’re done, the vegetables will be cooked and ready to go. If you’re using frozen, or frozen mixed vegetables, you can microwave them or steam them and add them in at the very end. Allow them to warm up with the rice. They’re good to go. 

Asher: Oh, yeah. No, exactly. It’s my favorite thing. So, my current favorite meal so far is that I get these chicken drumsticks, and I marinate them. And then I throw them into the air fryer, and while that’s cooking, I make some rice and some hard-boiled eggs with it.

Zoe: That’s amazing. One of my favorites, which I’m gonna teach to Kuma, is steamed basmati rice, in the rice cooker with the rice, add your steamed vegetables, raw vegetables; some bean, maybe some green beans, some carrots, and whatnot. Maybe some broccoli. And, for the flavoring, if you’ve ever been to Fubon; I will slice diagonally these Chinese Sausages. 

Asher: Ooh! I love Chinese Sausages! 

Zoe: Yeah, they’re so good! Give them a diagonal slice. It doesn’t have to be too thin, and I’ll just layer that into the rice. As it boils and cooks the sausages retain their flavor but also flavor the rice wonderfully. 

Asher: That sounds really tasty! 

Zoe: Yeah. No need for any extra salt or pepper or anything. It’s just rice, vegetables, sausage. You’ve got a great meal right there. 

Asher: Oh, yeah! For sure! All right! Final layer I’m gonna put on here. Then we’re gonna layer the top with banana. We’re also gonna finish it off with caramel and fresh bananas at the top. 

Zoe: Yeah, so like a caramel banana top.

Asher: Yes. 

Zoe: It seems like it has so many wonderful flavors, the caramel for that richness, banana-y, of course, the milk, the dairy. Of course, you can always substitute the caramel or other things for like monk fruit sugar, or for, in case of the dairy, you can always substitute with lactose-free milk. Cream cheese, there’d be a substitute somewhere out there. I’m sure there are lactose-free cream cheese. Or something like that.

Asher: I don’t think there’s enough cream cheese for the top! 

Zoe: We’ll do our best, and that’s the best anyone can ask for! 

Asher: It’s gonna look a little bit strange, but It’s okay. We’re gonna be fine! I’m trying to figure out what other stories I can tell you. Yeah, what do you wanna know, Zoe? 

Life on a Different Timeline

Zoe: Well, let’s see here. So, you’ve already told me a little bit about coming back to the States. A little bit about your journey. Though, can you tell me a little bit about what it was like knowing that you had ADHD and the adjustments that you made to try to deal with it as best you could? 

Asher: Yeah. So, I didn’t know about having ADHD until I came here to the States, like I told you. I think by the time I found out that I had ADHD, everything started to make sense from just not doing well in school and just struggling, in general, with a lot of different subjects, like relationships, and all sorts of stuff too. I think when I found out that I had ADHD, it changed the view of how I saw myself in a timeline of life. For example, you start a business when you’re this age, and then you get married when you’re this age, and then you work until you’re retired at this age, and you hopefully get a family by then kind of thing. It changed that view for me, because I’ve never been on that timeline so far. I’m 27 right now. I’m single, and I’ve just started my career in podcasting and multimedia stuff. You would think by this time, “Oh, you’re engaged,” or, “Oh, you’re soon to be married,” or, “Oh, you’re already established in your career”, kind of thing. But, no. I took at least six years in college and university and I was struggling in school during that entire time; when, normally, you would only take about four years in school or in higher education, per se. So, that definitely changed just my worldview of, “Okay, I’m not on the typical timeline for myself. I go at a slower pace.”. Since then, it’s been a lot of firsts for me of learning how to navigate this world of ADHD and I’ve found a lot of cute little quirks of mine and I’ve also found that some things that I don’t like about myself. For example, I get very frustrated or a little bit startled whenever I’m in the zone– I’m working on something– and someone comes along and taps me on the shoulder. I jump and I get very frustrated because, “I’m in the zone. I was working and I had this idea, and everything, and now it’s gone!”. That and among other things of “I can’t work in a very messy environment. I have to clean up stuff first.”. I’m also notoriously terrible at cleaning up my own space! So, there’s a lot of things I’m still learning. For listeners, once again, I’ve only found out that I have ADHD about two years ago, so this is all pretty fresh and new, for me, and still just taking each day a day at a time, learning more and more about myself, and it’s been great, honestly. I love learning about people with disabilities. I love learning in general. I feel like that’s a trait that I’ve had throughout my life. You’re never too old to learn something new. You’re always a learner at heart every single day. You’re gonna learn a lot of things throughout your life.

Zoe: “True master admits that they’ve never truly mastered their craft.”. 

Asher: Exactly. Yeah. Even after you master your craft, there’s like more to learn.

Zoe: Yeah. I can sympathize. For me, I wasn’t ever on that same schedule either. I started higher education in the summer of my fifth grade. 

Asher: Oh, wow! 

Zoe: Yeah. I obtained my honors GED and actually was admitted to honors college in eighth grade. But, right now I’m also just a few classes away from a bachelor’s and I have a great master’s program lined up when I go back. I’m discovering who I am as well. I’m twenty-six, but I started doing this podcast and working around like March, I think. So, I’ve been wanting to do editing, really jump into it, and it’s been like a process of what works for folks with disabilities? How will I do this? This is a wonderful way to start everything off and to connect with people, talk about wonderful, fresh experiences, and move past some of the, sometimes, unpleasantness of the past. 

Asher: Oh, yeah. For sure. Well, I have finished the dish and we’re gonna pop it into the fridge if there’s room in your fridge.

Zoe: Let’s see if there’s room. If not you can like make some space. 

Asher: All right. Let’s pause real quick on the recording.

Kuma’s Summer Salad

Zoe: All right. We’re back and we have just taken our banana pudding tiramisu, covered it with aluminum foil, and set it in the fridge just to chill while we get our next dishes ready. 

Asher: Yeah. What are we gonna do next, Zoe? 

Zoe: So, this is a dish that was provided to us by Kuma. Currently, we actually don’t have all the ingredients per se, but we are going to do our best with what we have.

Asher: Okay. 

Zoe: So, this is a Summer Salad and we have a base usually of Spinach or Arugula. Right now we’re using like just some Mustard Greens, and we are going to dress it and add in sliced peaches, raspberries, the sliced almonds, and some of that wonderful crumbled feta cheese. We are going to dress it with a very simple mixture of a little bit of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, and just like a hint of lemon juice and salt and pepper. 

Asher: Okay! Sounds good! What do we start with first? 

Zoe: Could you slice those peaches for me? 

Asher: Yeah, of course! How would you like them sliced? 

Zoe: Any way you like it! 

Asher: Okay! 

Zoe: Any way you want it! That’s the way it’s gonna be in the salad! 

Asher: Okay. I’ll slice it in slices. So, I found your cutting board here, and I’ll need a knife. Let’s see. I’m gonna look for one. 

Zoe: One of the ones on the right. ‘Cause the ones on the left are Kuma’s. 

Asher: Right. Okay. I’ll just use this one. Small enough fruit knife. 

Zoe: Yeah. Nice and small.

Asher: Do I just throw it into the bowl here or?… 

Zoe: Yeah, yeah. You can just throw it into the bowl once it’s been sliced.

Asher: Okay. Yeah, I can get to that. Let me wash it first. These “peaches” are a little bit on the harder side. Not “peaches”… “Nectarines”! 

Zoe: No, that’s totally fine. As long as this exposed to the air just a little bit. By the time you get home, they’ll be nice and soft. Plus sometimes you can take the topping and instead of using greens, you can do it over steamed rice. The steam will help make the, will help steam those nectarine peaches very slightly, right over steaming hot rice. It’s really good too! If the knife’s too small, you can always grab a bigger one. 

Asher: That’s not the problem. It’s more of, because there’s a seed in there it’s a lot harder… 

Zoe: It’s a lot harder, yeah… I do actually have an interesting question for you. 

Asher: Okay. Yeah. Go for it. 

Zoe: So, now that you’ve come back to US and we’ve talked a little bit about your experiences coming back, learning about ADHD, becoming a part of the podcast collective, learning about “the schedule” in life. You’ve talked a little bit about this already; how has cooking, the ease of cooking and learning recipes that work for yourself, how has that helped shape your life, influence your life? Sometimes, it might feel like, too difficult. But, how has that really helped throughout your life.

Cooking, Baking & Gift Giving

Asher: Yeah. So, cooking in general, I’ve not done it a lot through my life. I have learned how to cook from my parents themselves. But, I feel like my cooking habits changed when I started living by myself and along with having ADHD and not having the attention span to stand and cook for a long period of time, unless I have some sort of music on, or I’m listening to something, or I’m talking to somebody, or something like that. Like we’re doing now kind of thing. That’s been a difficult part of my life. I would say cooking isn’t necessarily a big hobby of mine. Baking definitely has been. Cooking, in general, has just not been big. I’ve not been big upon it. 

Zoe: What sorts of things do you like to bake? 

Asher: So, since I was young, me and my brother, we used to make Tiramisus, actually.

Zoe: Ooh, okay! 

Asher: So, during the holidays and stuff, we would make these little jars of Tiramisu and actually give them to our neighbors as a sign of goodwill and ministry. So, it was nice. I really enjoyed doing that. Now as an adult, I love making brownies, cookies, puddings. I’ve dipped a bit more into Asian type of desserts. Recently, I actually made egg tarts by using the ingredients I have here in the States. It didn’t turn out the best. Because, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge and know-how on how to bake these egg tarts in the first place. But, I learned, and I feel like that was the big thing about it. Once again, always learning, always constantly taking things in as you do stuff. 

Zoe: Yeah. That’s an interesting thing. Are you familiar with the history of egg tarts? 

Asher: I’m not, actually. Will you just school me on it? 

Zoe: Me neither, actually! I’ve always been wondering. ‘Cause, they always seem so Chinese. But, then I looked it up and I didn’t have the heart to look anymore, ’cause it said that they were invented in the UK! 

Asher: Oh! I didn’t know that! Huh! So, they’re originally from the UK? 

Zoe: Yes. 

Asher: Wow. Kudos to any UK listeners out there! But, what was your question again? I’m sorry. Um- 

Zoe: Oh, no sweat!

Asher: Going different channels here while I’m cutting these Nectarines and not trying to cut myself!

Zoe: How has cooking been like an outlet in your life whether it’s relief, something that you can do to just do with your hands and decompress, or has it been something bigger in your life that has really influenced it?

Asher: I would say it’s definitely helped with my “gift giving”. We talk about “love languages”, kind of thing. “Gift Giving” is not necessarily my own Love Language. I love doing “Quality Time” with people, and “Physical Touch” is my other love language. But, I realize that other people have the Love Language of “Gifting”. Which, whenever you’re in a relationship, you always want to reciprocate with the other person’s love language. So, because I’m very terrible at picking gifts for people, I tend to bake and cook for people instead as my act of giving, if that makes sense. 

Zoe: It does. ‘Cause, that’s exactly… I think you and Kuma need to meet each other. You two would make fast friends! That’s exactly Kuma’s mindset! 

Asher: Yeah. I’m very terrible at Finding gifts for people. It’s always a nightmare during Christmas or holiday season. 

Zoe: That’s fair! I usually either ask the person directly, “What do you want for your birthday or Christmas?”. 

Asher: Yeah. “What do you want for your birthday?”.

Zoe: ‘Cause I don’t know otherwise. I’m shopping for a birthday, I go to the employee and I’m like, “I’m shopping for a birthday for a friend, and they’re this kind of person, and they like this. Do you have any ideas that spring to mind?”. 

Asher: Yeah. It’s either that, or I just get someone a Card. 

Zoe: Yeah, a Gift Card. 

Asher: And I don’t like that. I’m very intentional when gift giving and it takes me forever to find a gift. I don’t find joy in that kind of thing. 

Zoe: Yeah, that’s the same for me. 

Asher: It takes me forever to find a gift, and then by the time I find it, it’s been two years since I was supposed to get the gift!

Zoe: For me it’s gotten to the point where I’ve just given up. If I ask you and you’re like, “Oh! You can just get me whatever.”. Last person that said that to me got a Plunger Hat for Christmas! 

Asher: That’s funny!

Zoe: Yeah, and I was like, “You said get you whatever, and this is what I got you! So, if you’re not gonna tell me, this is what you’re gonna get.”. You’re gonna get Fart Spray Perfume in a bottle! You’re gonna get Plunger Hats! You’re gonna get Glitter Bombs! These are the things you’re gonna get unless you tell me what you want!

Asher: If you ever do get a gift for me; I actually prefer stationery, or “useful gifts”– is what I call them. Something that I would use in everyday life; whether it’s a pencil, or a nice pen, or tabletop stuff. A Fidgeter, or something. I always use Fidgeters. I use fidgeters all the time. 

Zoe: Me too, I love Fidgeters! 

Asher: I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve worn through at least three Fidgeters and I’ve started to play with my own Headphone Wire. Which is not safe, by the way! 

Zoe: Oh, yeah!

Asher: Don’t do it! 

Zoe: Yeah, don’t do that. I have a fidget that’s my favorite, but I can’t really fidget with it in public. 

Asher: Oh?

Zoe: It is a Butterfly Spoon. But, people get scared ’cause they think it’s a knife! 

Asher: Oh!

Zoe: ‘Cause I will pull it out and do the tricks and flick it around. But, people think it’s a knife even though it’s got a flat head with the- 

Asher: They get scared, yeah. 

Zoe: Yeah, even though it’s got like the spoon head. It can’t be too deep of a spoon. Because of how the knife works. It’s a really funny thing for me to fidget and play around with. But, people are like, “What is that?”, when they see it in public. So, I’m like, “I’ll pass.”. Ooh, were those just the peaches? 

Asher: Yeah! I’m just eating the core. I’m done cutting. I’m sorry! I’m very hungry! This is what I do too. Being completely real with my listeners. Whenever I cook or take a long time to cook stuff; I graze when I’m cooking. 

Zoe: Me too! 

Asher: Which completely destroys the fact that I’m actually making food. I’m going to eat it, but it ruins my appetite for food afterwards. 

Zoe: Slightly. For me, I get paranoid. ‘Cause, if I have a little bit of this, I gotta even it out across the other ingredients. 

Asher: Oh! All right, what do I cut next?

Zoe: So, we got the peaches. What other ingredients do we have on this plate? 

Asher: We got our peaches in our bowl. We got Basils, we have raspberries, and we have tomatoes, we have the Almond slices, we got the sauces, and the Pita Bread.

Zoe: What kind of tomatoes are they? 

Asher: They are Roma Tomatoes. So, I bought these because Roma Tomatoes are a lot easier to slice, and they’re not as juicy, so they’re perfect for wraps, and stuff.

Zoe: Yeah! Are the Roma tomatoes for the wrap or the salad? I can’t remember right now. 

Asher: I don’t know. It’s one of them.

Zoe: Yeah. It’s for the flatbread, but you know what? Do you like tomatoes in your salad? 

Asher: I love tomatoes. 

Zoe: Let’s wing it! Let’s add some tomatoes in here!

Asher: Okay. 

Zoe: Yeah, we’re winging it. We’ll have an official recipe. But, right now we’re winging it and we’re just having fun with this salad. All right. So, all that we need sliced now, could you give me the tomato, like the Roma tomatoes in, not, too thick but just thick enough, slices. And, for the salad? You can just slice it whatever you want. 

Asher: Okay, yeah. Sure! I’m just gonna go wash my hands real quick. 

Zoe: Yeah, the medium slices are for the feta rolls. The other slices are for the salad.

Asher: All right. So, the basil leaves, did you say you want it ripped apart? 

Zoe: Just shredded and torn apart. Yeah, you can just shred it with your hand and add it in there. 

Asher: Okay. 

Zoe: It’s just to add a little bit of that wonderful fragrance.

Asher: How much basil are we talking, like a handful? 

Zoe: Just a handful. Yeah. 

Asher: A handful? Okay. We’ll do a handful of basil then. Ooh, this is very strong basil! 

Zoe: Yeah, it’s for that wonderful fragrance! 

Asher: I don’t think I’ve ever had basil before, honestly. It’s like one of those things, like cilantro, that I don’t really have because the taste is too strong for me. 

Zoe: Oh, really? Yeah, we don’t have to do that whole handful then. Just a bit of basil.

Asher: Okay. And then let me cut the tomatoes. 

Zoe: Yeah! 

Asher: Cut it into slices. 

Zoe: Again, two slices per flatbread. I don’t know how many wraps we wanna make, but at the very least two wraps.

Asher: And do we want this separate from the salad bowl or what? 

Zoe: You can add the slices for the salad just right into the salad bowl. Okay. The other slices for them, you can set to the side. I’ll grill those later. 

Asher: Okay, cool. I’ll cut one Roma Tomato for the salad. So, I’ll cut these a little bit smaller just so it’s proportionate with our other ingredients. 

Zoe: Yeah, a big juicy tomato. 

Asher: It’s not too big. It’s medium-sized for those of you who don’t know; Roma Tomatoes, how different they are from regular tomatoes. The regular tomatoes are bigger, I would say. Roma tomato is their “baby cousin”.

Zoe: True. It’s nowhere near a beefsteak tomato. 

Asher: It’s not a “beefsteak” size. Yeah, no. 

Zoe: Yeah. Beefsteaks are huge! 

Asher: They are huge! I don’t think a regular tomato is the size of a beefsteak. You could probably make two big regular tomatoes as a beefsteak probably. Okay. All right. That is one for the salad, and then we’ll do slices for the- 

Zoe: Wrap… 

Asher: Wrap!

Zoe: So, we are using like a big bottle of olive oil today. This is a extra virgin olive oil that I have I’ve just taken a big bottle and I’ve put into it some stalks of fresh thyme, i’ve grated the zest of one big lemon in there, and I’ve added in like a clove of crushed garlic and a few whole peppercorns. Over the top of all that, I’ve poured some olive oil and just let it all infuse together. This is wonderfully flavored oil and you can use it for so many things, so I got a big bottle of it. But, it’s infused for about a week. And then I ended up, putting it through a strainer, just filtering out the peppercorn, all the zest and whatnot. ‘Cause we’re gonna be grilling. We don’t want some of this stuff to burn or anything like that. Now I’ve got a clean bottle of olive oil that we’ll be using for our recipes today. 

Asher: Okay, cool. I got all the ingredients at least cut.

Zoe: Right now we can go ahead and add the almonds and these lovely dried cranberries, almost like these Craisins that we have. 

Asher: Into the salad? 

Zoe: Right into the salad, yeah. 

Asher: Okay. Let’s do this. How many almonds do you want? Do we want a handful? 

Zoe: For people that like almonds, you can add a good amount. I know for folks that don’t like almonds too much, just like a little bit, honestly. So, just a little bit. 

Asher: Yeah. There we go. I think I added at least half the can, but- 

Zoe: Now we add the cranberries. 

Asher: Okay, awesome. Dried cranberries open this without help. Nope. 

Zoe: Need a knife? 

Asher: Maybe need scissors if you have it. Oh! Actually, no, I got it. Never mind! 

Zoe: Yay! 

Asher: Okay. I’m gonna mix this salad all up! 

Dressing the Salad

Zoe: Yes. We will add our greens and we will give the salad a good mix and toss. Now, to dress the salad, of course; you have the olive oil there. So, we are going to get it, put in, about a tablespoon and a half to two tablespoons of olive. Give it, just give it a good drizzle. Then a bit of balsamic vinegar just for that sourness.

Asher: Okay! 

Zoe: The recipe does call for a little bit of lemon juice, actually. 

Asher: Ooh, do we have lemons? 

Zoe: We don’t have lemons right now, but- 

Asher: We have lemon juice? 

Zoe: Yes, we do! 

Asher: Oh, I remember it from the last episode! 

Zoe: Yes. All right. Here, go ahead and give that just a quick shake in there. 

Asher: All right. I did a small circle of balsamic vinegar. 

Zoe: I can take the vinegar for you. Okay. 

Asher: Oh, yeah. Here’s the vinegar. 

Zoe: Thank you. 

Asher: There you go. Sorry, how much lemon juice again? 

Zoe: Just a shake. 

Asher: Just a shake. 

Zoe: ‘Cause we already have the balsamic vinegar in there. It’s mostly just for that acidity and just like bringing things together- 

Asher: Just a splash of lemon juice. Too much. Come on, come out. Oh, okay. That was a bit too much. It’s fine!

Zoe: It’s okay! Yeah! So- 

Asher: It’s gonna be extra sour, guys! It’s fine! 

Zoe: We have the craisins in there. We got the saltiness and the wateriness from the tomato coming through. Then, of course, that sourness is going to be offset by our lovely- 

Asher: Feta Cheese!

Zoe: Feta Cheese! This is it, right? 

Asher: Yep, that’s the one! 

Zoe: Now, however much you wanna use, is up to you. Go ahead and give that a sprinkle of however much you like. 

Asher: Yeah. I bought “Athenos” brand Feta Crumbles that apparently have olive oil in them too. But, you can use whatever kind of feta cheese you want. 

Zoe: Yeah. Normally this recipe would have some grilled chicken in there. Right now we’re just giving a lighter option for folks. If you like, you can always put in some grilled chicken or use whatever greens. We will have a standardized recipe down below. But, for now; I know there’s not too much smell, but if you give it a whiff after that feta, how does it smell? 

Asher: Oh! Well, I can just smell the Feta right now. I can definitely smell the greens, and it’s just a very earthy smell. I’m not sure if I’m getting the notes of the Vinegar or the Olive Oil that you used. 

Zoe: Because it’s cold, you won’t get as much. But, it’ll come out much more in that taste! 

Asher: Yeah. Or, maybe it’s the Balsamic Vinegar, but it looks really, really tasty. I might add more feta cheese on my own. 

Zoe: We love feta cheese! Just leave enough for some wraps! I have plenty and I, personally, like snack on just straight Swiss Cheese.

Asher: It’s good. It’s all mixed up now. We got it! 

Zoe: Fabulous! We can just set that to the side while we go ahead and prepare for our next part of the dish, next part of the meal! 

Asher: Yay! The wraps!

Greek Feta Cheese Rolls

Zoe: Our Greek Feta Cheese Roll. In a pan, on the stove, over medium-low to medium heat; I’ve got some olive oil just warming up, that wonderfully infused olive oil. On our cutting board we are going to assemble our first Feta Roll. So, go ahead, Asher, if you could take a pita. We have this wonderful flatbread, like this pita bread. Go ahead and take one out. 

Asher: I will take one out now. What are we gonna do once we get the pita bread out? 

Zoe: We are gonna take that pita bread and we’re gonna fold this over. So, place these ingredients on the left or right side if you can. We’re gonna put one slice of tomato first. 

Asher: One slice of tomato first. Got it.

Zoe: On top of that we’re gonna put down some feta cheese crumbles, which are just gonna melt and bring the whole thing together wonderfully.

Asher: Okay. Let me grab the feta cheese. All right, feta cheese in. 

Zoe: Perfect. Now, on top of that, another tomato slice. 

Asher: Oh, wow, okay. 

Zoe: Yes. This is a wonderful and simple, but these are just easy ingredients that you can get at home. 

Asher: Okay. 

Zoe: On top of that tomato slice, just a little bit of fresh basil.

Asher: Fresh basil. 

Zoe: Just a little bit, yeah, just a little bit. Just shred it up a little bit. 

Asher: I put the basil away. Let me grab it. 

Zoe: No worries. We pretty much got it assembled. On top of that, just a single shake of salt, just a little bit. A good sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper. 

Asher: Ooh, black pepper. All right, that’s it. 

Zoe: All right, we’re gonna fold that over. If you have a cocktail stick, you can pin it. We’re just gonna do our best with what we have right now. We’re going to go ahead and take that. How’s our pan? Is it heated up? 

Asher: It’s nice and hot! 

Zoe: Go ahead and take it and lay that flatbread onto your grill. 

Asher: Okay, cool! Always safety first, guys. Don’t put your electronics near the stove. 

Zoe: That is correct! That slight sizzle that you get there. 

Asher: I’m using one hand to hold the pita bread down and to make sure it’s nice and flat. So, it’s not- 

Zoe: I can grab a chopstick that you can stick it with if you want. 

Asher: Actually, I think a spatula would be a good idea. 

Zoe: A spatula.

Asher: Would you say a panini press would work even good for this one too? 

Zoe: A panini press would work really well as well. Right now, we’re just using the pan, ’cause that’s what we’ve got. 

Asher: That’s what we’ve got. So, use what you got.

Zoe: Just go ahead and cook that there for about two or three minutes. After that, we’ll flip it over and cook it on the other side. Give it just a brush of olive oil. Oh. And yeah, everything will be ready to taste. 

Asher: Ooh, I’m so excited!

Zoe: Once we finish this roll, we’ll taste everything, and then we’ll sign off. But, while it’s all cooking down, any words of wisdom for our viewers? Or, any advice that you wanna give them from your journey through life? 

Words of Wisdom

Asher: Words of wisdom, for sure. I would say don’t be afraid to admit that you want to learn, or don’t be afraid to ask questions. I would say, “there’s no stupid questions, just people who don’t wanna ask questions.” 

Zoe: Don’t be afraid to ask. 

Asher: Don’t be afraid to ask. It just proves that you’re learning. 

Zoe: It proves that you’re curious and inquisitive. It proves that you’re curious- 

Asher: It proves that you’re curious and inquisitive, and you wanna learn, and that’s amazing in my book. I wanna learn. I love to learn. So, thank you so much, listeners, for coming along on this journey with us– as a collective– of learning and discovering from many different people in many different walks of life; as we discover more about disability and accessibility for people around the globe.

Zoe: Absolutely. Yeah, it truly is a wonderful journey and it’s been so great to hear stories from people and how they’ve adapted. Like for you, learning eventually that you had ADHD and then how to deal with that. Finding where you are in life and being proud of yourself because this schedule that we follow; at the end of the day- oh, that’s a great sizzle! 

Asher: That’s a great sizzle! 

Zoe: Yeah! That means that’s toasting! 

Asher: Yes! 

Zoe: At the end of the day, it’s about who you want to be and what makes you happy. Now what you can do is you can turn the heat off. 

Asher: Okay. Off the heat. 

Zoe: You can do this in a regular pan, but right now we have a nice grill pan. The residual heat is gonna do the rest of the cooking. You can take that off the heat and onto another burner. While that’s cooling down, why don’t you go ahead– I’ll get you a small plate– and taste the tiramisu, some of the salad, and the roll, and please let us know what you think.

The Taste Test

Asher: I’m so excited! 

Zoe: Here is a plate. 

Asher: Thank you! Okay. Let me grab a little bit of that salad first. 

Zoe: Yes. 

Asher: I’ll leave the banana tiramisu for last. A little bit of everything here.

Zoe: Then you can scoop the Feta Cheese Roll onto your plate. It’ll cool down in the time that you’re ready to get your tiramisu.

Asher: For sure. That is an amazing looking dish right there I really wish you listeners could see this.

Zoe: What does it look like for our viewers at home? 

Asher: It looks very colorful on the plate. So, the salad, it has pops of green and orange and red with a little bit of white from the feta cheese and the balsamic vinegar, a little bit brown in there. The cranberries, almonds are all in there. Then the wrap on it is perfectly grilled on that plate. It looks like a classic amazing Mediterranean Dish right here on this plate, and I am so excited to dig into this! 

Zoe: You’ve got your Banana Pudding Tiramisu as well? 

Asher: I will get into it later. 

Zoe: No worries. But, how does the wrap smell as it comes drifting up? 

Asher: It’s just smells like the Olive Oil and fried bread, honestly. I think I’m getting a few notes of the Tomato and the Feta Cheese and the basil leaf mingling together.

Zoe: ‘Cause we’re not trying to really cook down, we’re warming everything together and bringing those flavors together. 

Asher: I’m gonna go ahead and try to have a bite here. Let me try the salad first.

Zoe: What is of the salad?

Asher: That’s so good! 

Zoe: It’s divine, yes! 

Asher: I did not expect ” apricot” to be so good in a salad, honestly. 

Zoe: The “peaches”? 

Asher: The “nectarine”- The “peaches”, or the “nectarines”. Sorry! 

Zoe: Yeah. It provides- 

Asher: It’s “nectarines”, folks. It’s not “peaches”! 

Zoe: Texture, a balanced sweetness to offset that sour and that juiciness too. You get some from the tomato, but the juiciness from the nectarine, to die for. 

Asher: I’m just trying to get a piece of everything. It’s really hard on this fork!

Zoe: No worries! 

Asher: I think the Balsamic and the Infused Oil really bring everything together. 

Zoe: Yeah. That oil, again, it’s just extra virgin olive oil with a wonderful infusion of flavors, and you can just strain it out and keep it in a big bottle.

Asher: Mm. Let me try the roll now. 

Zoe: Yes, this wrap.

Asher: Hang on, I got a big bite of the roll rather than the inside part- 

Zoe: Ah, the inside part. 

Asher: No, it’s okay. Let me take another bite. That way I can get the actual inside of it. I got the tomato. I got the basil and the feta cheese. 

Zoe: Yeah. That bit of salt and pepper to just bring it all out too. 

Asher: Mm-hmm. 

Zoe: Perfection! 

Asher: I do feel like– and maybe some listeners would agree with me– that, if you want, you can add a little bit of yogurt in there at the end. 

Zoe: Yeah! That’s totally- 

Asher: Or some like sauce. 

Zoe: Sour Cream, yeah! 

Asher: Sour Cream, or if you wanna add a little bit more of that infused Olive Oil into there. 

Zoe: You can give it a drizzle of that olive oil.

Asher: Try it, yeah!

Zoe: Just a small drizzle. A little bit. Okay, not that soaking. It adds that wonderful nutty flavor with a bit of spice. Oh, to die for! 

Asher: Yes. Let me try it out now.

Zoe: I hate to say that I’m thinking of one thing in particular; ’cause Kuma would roast me forever if I recommended it. I do have a sauce that you might enjoy on there. 

Asher: What is it? I’m curious what you would recommend. 

Zoe: This is the “Squeezy Gochujang Sauce”. 

Asher: Oh… I mean, I’ll try it! Why not? I’ve had Gochujang Sauce before. 

Zoe: Well, this is not the cooking gochujang. This is kinda like just the squeezy gochujang. 

Asher: Yeah, I’ve had this before, honestly. While I was camping out in Australia with a couple of friends. We had a Korean friend who always carried a Gochujang Bottle with her around. And she would put it with everything! It actually tastes best with Fried Rice.

Zoe: This is a nice subtle flavor that the Gochujang will just really help accentuate. We’re innovating! 

Asher: I’m salivating! 

Zoe: Gochujang on this wonderful feta, tomato, basil roll

Asher: let’s try it! 

Zoe: Sorry, Kuma! If you’re hearing this right now, I’m so sorry! 

Asher: We’ll see if it’s actually good. I’m gonna try it out. I don’t think it will be bad. I mean- 

Zoe: I think it’ll add just that wonderful bit of spice to flavor.

Asher: It’s spilling out the sides. Hang on. 

Zoe: It’s a good saucy wrap. What do you think? 

Asher: It’s actually okay. 

Zoe: Ha. 

Asher: It’s a little bit spicy. It’s a bit too spicy for me! 

Zoe: Yeah. We always less than of the Gochujang. You need some water? 

Asher: Um… Ah! Ah! 

Zoe: Are you good?! You have your Sprite?! 

Asher: I got my Sprite! That was good though. Don’t put so much. I put a huge glob in there… I don’t know why I did that! 

Zoe: You know what’ll cool you down? 

Asher: “Milk”. 

Zoe: “Banana Pudding Tiramisu”. Yeah. That’s got milk in there! Yeah, go ahead! ‘Cause, I don’t know we have any milk at home right now! 

Asher: I’m gonna take another bite of this, because this is actually really good.

Zoe: Oh, the salad, right? 

Asher: No, the wrap.

Zoe: You’re gonna go back in for another bite?! 

Asher: I like it!

Zoe: You wild for that one! 

Asher: I’ll probably eat it if I’m very very hungry, which is right now. 

Zoe: It’s supposed to go well with the salad and with the Tiramisu. So, it’s a nice basic wrap. You can add in other seasonings that you want. You know what one of the things that one of my friends likes to do, whenever I make these, she actually likes to give it a drizzle of the pineapple juice while it’s grilling. 

Asher: Yums. Okay. Let me clear out some space on the counter here, and I can take out the Banana Tiramisu. All right. It looks good, actually. I’m not gonna put it on that plate ’cause that’s full of gochujang.

Zoe: No worries, no worries.

Asher: That’s tasty! 

Zoe: What are the flavors like? 

Asher: So, definitely wanna like actually soak the lady fingers in milk. 

Zoe: And they’ll still soak more, yeah.

Asher: Yeah. It was a little bit on the crunchier side, but the cream cheese, banana, caramel; it was perfect. It definitely offset that gochujang. 

Final Thoughts & Goodbyes

Zoe: That gochujang, yeah. Yeah. So, there you have it, folks. We got the Wrap as your base, like plenty of flavor bursting through, and you can always add sauce. We got our lovely flavored Salad. Then, if you’re like me and a dessert eating first kind of person, you got the Banana Pudding Tiramisu to wash it all down. All you need now afterwards is just a good glass of Cranberry Juice.

Asher: Or a Sprite, or a Coca-Cola. 

Zoe: True. You’ve got a Tropical Feast to die for. 

Asher: It’s perfect for the summer! Definitely make it for your friends, if you have a summer gathering. 

Zoe: Oh, absolutely. Asher, thank you so much for sharing with me and for helping me with all these recipes, going through the steps on how to make them. Thank you so much for sharing your story, your perspective, and your journey through life.

Asher: Well, thank you so much, Zoe. I appreciate you and appreciate all the stuff that you do for our collective, too. Making all these wonderful recipes. Every single time I see an episode, I’m just like salivating! I wanna eat this right now! Definitely just continue learning, keep learning out there, stay safe, stay cool this summer, and I will see you on the other side of the microphone!

Zoe: Sounds good! See ya! See you later, everybody!

Asher: Take care everybody. Thank you.

Outro & Credits

Asher: Thank you for listening to Let’s Talk!, Portland Community College’s broadcast about disability culture. Find more information and resources concerning this episode and others at pcc.edu/dca. This episode was produced by the Let’s Talk! Podcast Collective as a collaborative effort between students, the Accessible Education and Disability Resource Department, and the PCC Multimedia Department. We air new episodes on our home website, our Spotify channel, XRAY, 91.1 FM and 107.1 FM, and KBOO Radio, 90.7 FM.