George Michael would be so proud as we channel empowerment and celebrate freedom while preparing flaming feta cheese with fourth of July pyrotechnic flair. In this Feed Your Fire podcast episode, we explore the impact of personal agency while we heat things up in the kitchen.
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Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm Kim Baker, founder of Kim Baker Foods. In today's episode, we're not feeding the fire— we are the fire. Each of us has within us a powerful force of will. And in today's episode, we hope to set that ablaze. And we'll pair that with a meal as fiery as our spirit.
Maybe it's this heat wave we've had, or the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, but we are feeling the fireworks— beautiful display of power that comes from within. Now, being that this week, we'll be celebrating Independence Day, I've been thinking about that freedom and the agency that we have as individuals. Contrary to the independence that we'll be observing and celebrating this week, agency isn't something bestowed upon us by a government or given to us in some declaration. In fact, it can't be sourced externally from anywhere. It comes entirely from within. It's a will to choose based on our value system.
And really, this sense of agency is part of the American dream. Self-determination, being your own boss, living life on your terms.
It's also a very human need. That's part of our instinctual wiring. Just think about teenage defiance. Any parent can be a testimonial for that. The messy and sometimes painful emergence of self.
Now, even though agency is something that happens deep within each of us, it's an individual construct. Our environment can turn that heat up or down. We can have the ideas, the motivation, but lack the skills or resources to act upon them. Or we can have everything we need except the confidence. Those things can affect whether we live in to that power.
Having a support system that believes in us can help us not only tap into it, but stay true to it. We can think of this personal freedom and agency as an independent mindset, but it's full of dependencies.
I'll never forget a conversation I once had with my sister when I was facing a crossroad. It was a very difficult time in my life and the stakes were high. I was terrified and I knew what I needed to do, but I still felt a hesitancy to step forward. And my sister repeated back to me what I had said to her, only she used slightly different language, and that flipped the switch. It created a clarity and commitment to myself. And even though I did it on my own, I couldn't have done it on my own.
So consider us part of your support system, encouraging you along the way to step into that power so that you can make the choices in your life that feel right and authentic to you.
If you've ever built a fire outside, you know the pride that comes when you see a blaze, one that you created with your own hands. And that's what we're here to do today. Only this time, we're not using leaves and kindling. We're turning to our kitchen, and we're going to be making a flaming cheese inspired by saganaki. And since it's the 4th of July, we needed to have some watermelon. So we're going to pair the cheese with a fruit salad mixed with basil, some pistachios, and hot honey.
The first thing we're going to do is make our fruit salad. I'm using a combination of watermelon and peaches, but you could use one or the other. Cut the fruit into small cubes and place it in a bowl.
Feel free to add in some sliced blackberries or blueberries for some red, white, and blue flair. Then add in some chopped basil and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Set that in the refrigerator while we prepare the cheese.
For this recipe, I'm using a good quality feta cheese. You could also substitute halloumi. As I was making this, I was thinking about those girl dinners that were trending on the internet several months back. They were essentially these cheese and cracker platters that were really easy to make. Ladies, if you want to step it up a notch and give yourself some self-love, I suggest you fry some feta. It takes all of about 60 seconds, and it's truly outstanding.
Now, we're using a hunk of feta cheese. There are no crumbles here. I'm taking about a half-inch slice of this feta, and I'm going to rinse it under cool water just to rinse off that brine and then pat it dry with a paper towel.
Then I'm going to dredge it in flour that I placed in a small bowl, and I'm going to place the cheese in a saute pan that I've heated up with some avocado oil. You can probably fit four cheese slices in the pan at one time, depending on how many people you're feeding. Once it forms like a golden crust on the bottom, you're going to want to flip it over, and you're going to let it brown on the other side.
Now, take the pan off the heat and pour out any excess oil that's on the bottom, and very carefully keeping the pan away from any flame on the stove, I'm going to pour in a little bit of a high-proof liquor, something like brandy is great. I have this Belle Isle Honey Habanero Moonshine that's local here to Richmond, that is the perfect addition here. So, I'm going to add in a little bit of this moonshine to that fried cheese, and it's very important to do that while it's not over a flame, because this puppy will ignite.
Now, I'm adding just an ounce, maybe two, of the moonshine here, and as soon as that pan comes in contact with the flame, there will be fireworks in your kitchen. It is very dramatic, and the flames will subside as soon as all that alcohol is burned off. Now, if you're afraid of doing pyrotechnics in your kitchen, or maybe you live sober, feel free to skip that step. We love the drama and metaphor, but the recipe is outstanding with or without the flame.
Pop it on a plate and top it with that fruit salad that we made. Sprinkle on some chopped pistachios and drizzle hot honey, and be prepared to be blown away. It is absolute perfection. The cheese is creamy and salty. The fruit salad adds a freshness. There's crunch. There's sweetness. There's heat.
If you're hosting a Fourth of July party, you will be a total badass with this dish. And the same is true for anyone acting with agency. It takes courage to light that flame, but it also requires a plan and tools and resources and knowledge to execute it safely and effectively.
And even though my smoke alarm goes off every time I make this dish, we're not trying to burn the house down. We're trying to ignite something very organic within us, so that it can burn bright, so that we could feed off of that flare. That agency is linked to our sense of self, and tapping into it connects us to our purpose.
And when brought in the collective of a society, it can shape the zeitgeist of that time. That light is already inside of you, and we hope it burns as brightly as the meal we made today. Until our next episode, we say so long.
Feed Your Fire, where food nourishes growth.