Emma Rose Cohen is a wild woman. Whether she’s hiking up a mountain on skis while pregnant, leading a weekly hot yoga workout that will break you down and then build you back up again, or trying to rid the world of single-use plastic, I have always loved her energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humor. She loves to forage for mushrooms in the mountains outside Santa Fe, makes her own goat cheese, and is always on the hunt for food without plastic packaging. Since launching her company FinalStraw in 2018, they have prevented approximately 100 million single-use straws from entering the environment.
Emma has an 18-month old daughter so we decided it was easier if I interviewed her in person, coincidentally around dinner time. The result is a very charming, sometimes chaotic conversation with her, which you can listen to below. This is also the first audio version of Tastes Good so apologies for the poor sound quality at times, and me saying “that’s great” way too often. Let me know if you like this format!
If you prefer to read the interview, you can find an edited and condensed version of our Q+A below.
What was your first memory of cooking and what did you cook?
My first food memory has got to be matzo ball soup with my mom. She truly does make the best matzo balls. I think that the cooking around Passover seems like my first memory because we have repeated it every year for my entire life.
What is your food philosophy when it comes to feeding your 18 month old daughter?
Fresh, local, pronounceable ingredients that are clean, healthy, and made by farmers that we know. Which is the ideal and not 100% of everything. But we certainly try. We go to farmer’s market every Saturday and get our meat from the Co-op. And then in the hard moments, we just eat pasta. But it’s Italian pasta that’s organic and really delicious. So ya know, we do a lot of that, too.
I’ve also been getting creative when it comes to getting her all the nutrients and healthy foods. I make these sticks for her where I blend up chicken and vegetables and bone broth, and then add flour. It’s kind of like bread meets a chicken stick, and they are pretty good. Anything I make for my kid, I also want to enjoy because I’ll be driving home and it’s 3pm and I haven’t eaten, and I’m like well, guess we are having sticks. She also really loves pâté so I’ve been making a lot of that for her. I love experimenting with new foods and trying to find things that she loves. It’s so fun to watch her experiment and discover new tastes.
What is your favorite food for post-exercise recovery?
I’ve been really into comfort foods lately. So pretty simple foods. Like a really nice quality baguette with chevre that I make from milking goats. I’m finding my palette in the last few months has really been craving really simple, whole ingredients, almost a little bit bland foods. Post-workout, I definitely go for a protein shake with berries, spinach, banana, some protein powder, creatine and supplements. Or a turkey reuben from the Co-op Market.
4. When was the first time that you realized food came from the earth? How does your eating and your environmentalism intersect?
I remember on our property we had a cherry tree growing up, and I was so enamored by it, that you could go and pick these amazing little balls of sweet deliciousness. So that was the first time I realized that. And then it became my first hustle—I would go around the neighborhood and collect fruit from the neighbor’s trees and sell it at farmer’s market. I don’t think we had a name for our business. I just remember my sister and I had these cute little baskets, and we filled them with plums and cherries from around the neighborhood.
As to the second question, I would say that the more I’ve delved into my pursuit of sustainability, the more I’ve realized that food is one of the biggest factors around that because where we source our food, what type of foods we are eating, has a huge impact. It’s one of the few ways we can actually reduce our impact. In so many other ways, the corporations are completely in control but when it comes to where you buy your food, reducing meat consumption, and knowing where your food comes from is so important. I feel incredibly privileged that I live somewhere and have the economic reach to be able to meet my farmers and know who’s growing my food, which is actually pretty rare these days. I feel very lucky and grateful that I have the ability to do that.
5. What has food taught you about love?
First of all, I will never love a man (or a woman) who doesn’t go mmmmhhhmmm when they eat something delicious. I think the way people experience food is also how they show up in love, and if you aren’t expressive and having a full body experience with food, you’re not for me. When it comes to food and love, I think they are deeply tied. I can pretty quickly decide if I’m gonna vibe with someone based on how they eat a hamburger. Two hands. Ketchup all over your face. And making a lot of noises.
What is a time-consuming and complicated dish that you only prepare for special occasions?
Well by the number of times I’ve eaten pasta this week, everything. You are talking to someone with like three working brain cells who’s slept like a total of four hours for the last two months. But I’d have to say duck enchiladas. I would make that before my baby. It takes a couple days to make the duck, stewed in a crock pot, with turmeric, chile powder, lots of garlic. Then a bunch of other veggies—zucchini, corn, beans. Lots of cheese and a ton of green chile. Corn tortillas. If I’m getting super involved, I’ll make the tortillas from scratch with some blue corn masa. So that was Emma two years ago.
What food would you gladly eat off someone else's body? What makes this food so sexy and enticing?
Funny you should ask. The answer is pancakes. It wasn’t too long ago that I experienced this. Lots of maple syrup and whip cream and berries.
If you had to eat food from only one country for the rest of your life, where would you choose and why?
Ok that’s pretty easy for me. I would definitely say Thailand. I’m obsessed with Thai food. I went there for three months, and the day I got back I went to a Thai restaurant. I only wanted Thai. I love it because it’s spicy, but also fruity. They don’t do a lot gluten, its a lot of rice and my body loves rice. It’s really easy to be vegetarian there. They have the best flavors. But I love food everywhere I go. So Thailand is the top, but every single place I’ve ever traveled, I experience the country through the food.
Imagine your recipes being used 100 years from now, which one's do you want to live on? Were any of these passed down to you?
Well, the pasta with butter is an Emma classic right now. I would definitely hope it’s passed down. It’s simple, it’s delicious, it’s comforting. But no, joking aside, I would say that one of my favorite recipes passed down to me is kasha varnishkes, it’s a toasted buckwheat grain mixed with a bowtie pasta. So, I guess we’ve got the pasta theme still going…
My other classic meal, which is the Fall In Love With Me Meal—I make it when I want someone to fall in love with me—and it always works—is spaghetti squash, pesto, and elk meatballs.
Any food questions that your followers frequently ask you?
I get a lot of questions around sustainability and food. I think that depending where you live and your income, your access is gonna be really different, so it’s hard to say an answer that feels really inclusive. Which is really important! I think we need to acknowledge that access to healthy food is not anywhere close to universal in the United States, that it’s definitely a privilege. But when it comes to reducing your impact and food, the best thing you can do, if you can, is buying local, and trying to reduce your red meat consumption. And being aware of the packaging. Bring your own bags to the farmers market, and do what you can to reduce your single-use plastic.
Find more of Emma and plastic-free tips on her Instagram, or get your own reusable straws and utensils at Final Straw.
Who should I interview next? Send me an email at ginarae@substack.com
Lots of love,
Gina Rae
Thanks for reading Feed Me Figs!
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