In medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add walnuts. In large mixing bowl, blend the butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and blend well. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture, blend well, add half the chocolate chips to the butter mixture and blend well, add the last of the flour mixture and blend well, add the last of the chocolate chips and blend well. Spoon onto baking sheets, leaving an inch or two in between for the cookies to spread as they bake.

Welcome to the very first episode of Real Life Cooking, a podcast about spending less but eating well. Thanks to Richard E. for that tag line! In this first episode I’m going to give you some information about how the podcast will be structured and what my goals are, and then we’ll make chocolate chip cookies. This will involve learning how to measure flour and brown sugar, and how to soften butter.

My name is Kate Shaw. I also make Strange Animals Podcast, if my voice sounds familiar. I got the idea for this podcast a few weeks ago and thought it filled a gap. At least, I haven’t been able to find anything like it. My goal is to not just present recipes, but to go into clear detail about how to make them. The recipe will be in the show notes and if you’re an experienced cook that’s all you really need. But if you’re someone who’s new to cooking, or if it’s a type of recipe you’ve never tried before, the episode will walk you through the steps in as much detail as I can manage.

My recipes are all fairly ordinary, many of them ones I make for myself frequently. Before I put together an episode, I’ll have recently made the recipe so that every step is clear in my mind so I can share it with you.

Some episodes will be actual recipes, maybe for a cake or a pie where there are certain ingredients and certain processes you need to follow closely. Other episodes will be how to use a particular ingredient or how to cook something basic that doesn't require a step-by-step recipe, like how to roast a chicken. If you use Metric measurements for cooking, be aware that you'll need to translate any measurements to metric to use these recipes. When a recipe calls for, say, two cups of flour, the cup is a special measurement, not just any old drinking glass.

In some episodes, I'll describe techniques that apply to many recipes, such as this one that explains how to measure flour properly. Then in future episodes I'll refer back to that episode when a recipe calls for the same technique. That way you won't have to listen to 900 episodes where I explain how to measure flour.

If your podcatcher doesn’t download show notes, you can go directly to Anchor podcasting to see them.

The recipe, photos, and a show transcript will be in the show notes so you can refer to everything without needing to re-listen to an episode or frantically try to take notes.

I do sometimes use alcohol in cooking, but when I do, I’ll always indicate if the alcohol is optional. If it’s not I’ll provide a second recipe for something similar that doesn’t call for alcohol.

I also have food preferences and dislikes, as everyone does. I'll try to be fair and mix things up, but you can expect a lot of recipes that call for citrus of various kinds, zero recipes that call for mushrooms, and lots of southern U.

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