Stirring the Pot with Linda Nygaard

05/22/2026

We had a field trip! Selin Demir posted this after our fabulous trip to Koza Cafe in Kirkland, WA. Read on for details! It was one of the most delicious adventures I've ever had!

Stirring the Pot with Linda Nygaard: Field Trip to The Koza Cafe
Today’s Stirring the Pot episode was all about Turkish food, hospitality and the perfect place to experience both: Koza Café.
(Link to listen our episode is on the comments)
I first caught up with Yalcin & Meltem at TurkFest 2026, where he mentioned they’d be serving lahmacun with a new chef. That was all I needed to hear. I was already due for a trip (and running low on Turkish tomato paste anyway 😄. When I told Linda & Heidi, we knew it was time for another Koza field trip; this time with our friend Sharon joining in.
The result? A day full of joy, laughter, and incredibly delicious food:
Ramazan usta makes an amazing traditional döner used in iskender kebab or wraps - straight from the streets of Istanbul
Hamza usta - aka the “dough whisperer” - turns out fantastic pide and lahmacun
But Koza is more than a café - it’s a community. From the boncuks (evil eye charms) lining the walls to Turkish books you can borrow, Yalçın & Meltem have created something really special.
Their vision is simple and powerful: serve the food they grew up eating - not a modified version. And they are absolutely delivering.
If I lived closer to Kirkland, I’d be there every week. If you haven’t been yet, I can’t recommend it enough: you’ll love the food, the people, and the warmth of the whole experience. And don’t forget to stop next door at KOZA TURKISH AND MEDITERRANEAN GROCERY & DELI to pick up some goodies from Türkiye 🇹🇷
I created a little video but it turned out to be 7 minutes since it includes my laughs and videos from the kitchen. I am also including the pictures for those of you who don't have time to watch the video so you can oooh and aaahh on the food. See less

04/22/2026

We had such an insightful and informative chat yesterday! Emily Scott, Executive Director of the Vashon Food Bank, brings levity, the art of story, and personal history to the table. Along with her love of all things food related, Emily shares experiences most of us don't realize she's had! I hope you will tune in for a look at life from her perspective.

https://voiceofvashon.org/episode/stirring-the-pot-guest-emily-scott-from-vashon-maury-food-bank/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRVzOFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFRWm5EYUc4azlLUWlrcW03c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrR9kbE5UD36hOCAXWMVl_0-ljU6Vx7dhXrM-CIKtUAVhpKYC-m08FgpLmgt_aem_KsgOpRt_PShhd6lAPjKpIg

03/25/2026

Ohhh it was a fun show today! I hope you'll have time to give it a listen. You'll laugh and maybe, along the way, learn a thing or two about life on Vashon, food centric topics including some interesting coconut chat....and, of course, general camaraderie. Tom Conway and Linda Nygaard co-hosted a rollicking show!

https://voiceofvashon.org/episode/stirring-the-pot-coconut-cream-pie-and-cakes-oh-my/

11/26/2025

It's dessert season! Yesterday's Stirring the Pot with Linda Nygaard was sheer fun with much good information. I hope while you are preparing for tomorrow's big meal, you can tune in and have a few laughs with Tom Conway and me with our trusty side-kick Truman O'Brien.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope it's a splendid day with no stress, lots of love, and some great food!

The recipe we promised for semi-fredo is in the comments.
https://voiceofvashon.org/show/stirring-the-pot/

11/12/2025

Stirring the Pot! Co-host Selin B Demir and I had so much to talk about yesterday, so many recipes to share, and ideas for autumn comfort with friends and family. Tune in to find some ideas around High Tea, Chile Verde, homemade tortillas, easy fixings for breakfast and some personal stories. We had a great time and I hope you can tun in. You can also find our show on Spotify. Click on Voice of Vashon, Stirring the Pot, and there you have it!

Do you like to eat? Cook? If either answer is yes, then this show is for you! Stirring the Pot with Linda Nygaard, Tom Conway and Selin Demir brings food, history, and culture together in a kitchen table kind of chat. Linda’s background as a food and travel writer ignited her love of food as it re...

10/30/2025

Back by popular demand, here is the apple recipe we've talked about a couple of times. Some listeners/readers have had a hard time finding it! Enjoy this lovely cake with coffee in the morning or for dessert.

Inga’s Norwegian Apple Cake
(from my friend Dana whose grandmother brought the recipe from Norway in the late 1800’s)

You’ll think I’m kidding about this recipe. There is very little batter, and it's very sticky, but you must trust me.

Here you go:
4 - 5 apples sliced or quartered (I use 5)
4 Tbsp SOFT Butter
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 Cup flour
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp (and a little titch more) Vanilla

A little cinnamon and sugar, sprinkled on the top

Mix all the ingredients in the order given, except for the apples--just make the dough. Stir stir stir. Don’t cream the butter and sugar. Just stir it all up together till it is mixed. Then add your apples. There won’t be much batter, as I said, but just keep stirring till all the apples are covered. I cut the apples in quarters or a little smaller, but not thin like pie apple slices.

You can use a buttered 9x13 or, as I did, an 8” or10” springform pan with buttered parchment paper.

Bake at 400 for about an hour till the apples are done.
I served it with powdered sugar on top, just for effect. And a drizzle of cream
because....cream. Or serve with whipped cream. Or ice cream. Or nothing!

10/29/2025

Here's the latest episode of Stirring the Pot! It's apple season! We discussed lots of other things like kitchen hacks, favorite silly sandwiches, Vashon centric food ideas, and autumn favorites. Tune in and you'll have a laugh or two, along with maybe learning something new.
ALSO (drum roll, please) we are now officially a podcast on Spotify! To find us, just search on Spotify for Voice of Vashon and within that is Stirring the Pot!
https://voiceofvashon.org/show/stirring-the-pot/

10/28/2025

It's that time again! Stirring the Pot will air live, 3PM, on KVSH-101.9 FM with Tom Conway and yours truly. Today's episode will be filled with autumnal suggestions for easy food, delicious pancakes (new recipes!), Polenta Apple Upsidedown Cake, Inga's Apple cake from the 1800's, and talk of whatever else comes to mind. I hope you will join us. If you can't join live, you can always find us at Voice of Vashon website.
Also, we have a big announcement. Ummm...something to do about a thing called "Podcast".
So, pull up a chair, peel some apples while you listen, and let us entertain you for a fun hour about food, Vashon centric eats, a little levity, and some good kitchen hacks for easy food. (please excuse the repeat photo, but this is Inga's Apple Cake and it's worth the repeat. My very favorite apple cake EVER!)

10/23/2025

Autumn planning for Stirring the Pot! Tom baked us a cornmeal apple cake that was delicious beyond compare. We'll have the recipe for you on Tuesday's show at 3PM, KVSH 101.9 FM, Voice of Vashon. Or, you can look it up in the Grand Central Baking cookbook which is a joy in itself. Either way, I hope you will pull up a chair, tune in, and join the discussion of autumn foods, favorite hacks, and some personal anecdotes. See you there!

09/25/2025

Tuesday's episode of Stirring the Pot was all about autumn's bounty, and the beauty of pears, apples, peaches...and Tom made a cake! Besides that, we had lots of laughs and I think you will, too.

Please tune in!