There's something truly special about recipes that get passed down with a made-up name attached. This week we talk about Lithuanian meat dumplings. The story starts with a recipe name that doesn't quite match the dish.

Our guest, Tiffany Yepsen, grew up eating what her family calls "bon-dukies." It sounds like a real Lithuanian word, and it almost is. Bandukės is a traditional Lithuanian dish. But when we dug into what Tiffany's family actually makes, the dish itself is closer to koldūnai, a dumpling made with a thin sealed dough and a seasoned meat filling.

The name stuck from one dish, and the technique came from another. Sometimes this happens when a recipe travels through generations and is adapted to what ingredients are available to the family.

Tiffany is the Executive Assistant at VisitSI, one of our local tourism bureaus. She told us about her grandmother's dumplings on a road trip to the Midwest Travel Network annual conference. We had such fun talking about this that we knew she had to be on the podcast.

In this episode, Tiffany walks us through the dough and the meatball-style filling. She tells us how her grandmother taught her to roll, shape, and seal each dumpling, and how the family serves them at the table.

If you've got a dish in your family with a made-up name or a name that doesn't quite match what's on the plate, we want to hear about it!

Website: https://visitsi.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisitSI

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast

On this episode of The Recipe Box, we sit down with homesteader Jennifer Webb of The Bee Charmer to talk about sauerkraut. We get into how cabbage and salt turn into this tangy, crunchy staple through fermentation, and Jennifer shares how her German roots in Southern Illinois shape the way she makes it.

If you've ever wanted to try fermenting at home but didn't know where to start, this might be your gateway conversation. We talk through the continual-batch method, ways to cook with sauerkraut, how to can it for later, and easy ways to start experimenting in your own kitchen.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theBEEcharmerOG

Website: https://thegreenweasel.wordpress.com/

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast

On this episode of The Recipe Box, we talk about home canning with local expert Cheryl Hughey. The conversation starts in a familiar place for a lot of us: someone in the family who canned because that was simply how food was put up for the winter. We walk through how canning shifted over the past century, from practical necessity to something people now choose to do.

Cheryl explains the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning in a way that makes both feel manageable. She talks about the recipes she returns to every year, especially tomato products and pickles, and the small safety habits that keep us safe. Things like using new lids, skipping rusty rings, and sticking with tested recipes. You’ll feel like you’re sitting at the kitchen table with someone who has done this for a long time and wants you to feel confident.

We encourage beginners to start small. Refrigerator and freezer methods are a great way to learn the rhythm before committing to full canning. Cheryl also points listeners to local extension classes and Ball’s trusted resources, which are still the best places to learn the fundamentals.

National Center for Home Food Preservation

Ball Mason Jars - A beginner’s guide to home canning

Amazon Link: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast