EP. 18: Dragged Through the Garden: Thai Food and Chicago Hotdogs with Heidi Ratanavanich and Family

Heidi Ratanavanich invited their mom, Mae Sue, and aunties Na Na, Na Urm, and Na Toy from Thailand and Chicago to cook traditional Thai foods together for their Philadelphia friends and family and to visit their traditional foods growing at our farm. We were also able to talk about the family hotdog stand, Al's Drive-In, which serves hotdogs and Thai-inspired Chinese food. We are grateful to have recorded these beautiful moments with them for this episode!

Heidi is a visual artist, carpenter, and educator. Heidi is interested in the intersection of food sovereignty, Thai/Chinese diaspora, ecology and economy. They are involved in the collectives FORTUNE and Television. Heidi apprenticed at Truelove Seeds for a season, tending to Thai and Chinese based plants with a special focus on Kra Praow (Thai Holy Basil) saved from their mom's home, Sappaya, Thailand. They were also part of a team that re-opened a small take-out corner store in West Philly called Golden Dragon. Golden Dragon will be closing its doors this month, though Heidi plans to continue their food sovereignty work and personal journey with ancestral food, including growing a Chicago-Style hotdog garden in 2023 with Zhong Shu Tomatoes, Thai white cucumbers, Chinese Celery, Sport Peppers, and more.  

SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:

Introduction:

• Milkweed
• Efo Shoko
• Callaloo 
• Coral Sorghum
• Couve

Heidi's Seed Stories:

• Krapao (Thai Holy Basil)
• Celtuce (Chinese Stem Lettuce)
• Prik Chi Fa (Pepper)
• Lemongrass
• Makrut Lime Leaves
• Moringa
• Eggplant
• Culantro/Recao/Foreigner Cilantro/Saw-Toothed Cilantro
• Rice

MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Goodbye Golden Dragon, on Bunny Hop Instagram
• Fortune
• Heidi at Truelove
• Al's Drive-In
• Al's on CBS News
• Al's in New York Times

ABOUT:

Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.

trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio

FIND OWEN HERE:

Truelove Seeds

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FIND CHRIS HERE:

Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden

THANKS TO:

• Heidi Ratanavanich
• Mae Sue
• Na Na
• Na Urm
• Na Toy
• Cecilia Sweet-Coll
• Ruth Kaaserer