Big Flavor and Bold Living with Claudette Zepeda

What makes dinner taste like it’s been cooking all day when you absolutely do not have all day? Chef Claudette Zepeda has a pantry full of answers—and zero shame about canned beans. This week, Catherine welcomes the chef and author of Cooking the Borderlands for a conversation about big flavor, creative freedom, and feeding a family when you’re stretched thin. Claudette shares how growing up between San Diego, Tijuana, and Guadalajara shaped her food, from the Asian pantry staples woven into her Mexican cooking to the smoke and community of carne asada. We talk about using miso, kombu, chicken bouillon, and chili oil to build flavor; the comfort of her mom’s albóndigas; and why a great meal can start with a few cans from the pantry. Claudette also opens up about her late AuDHD diagnosis, pursuing a creative life as a single mother, and honoring the generations of women who came before her. Plus: a refrigerator rearrangement that helps keep vegetables out of the “sludge of shame,” why music gets her cooking again, and how getting outside helps her calm the chaos. Not From Concentrate is produced and distributed by Catherine Smart, with audio and video production by Kevin O’Connell and Asia Garcia. Our associate producer is Allie Miller, and our theme music is by Kylie Daly.