Afleveringen
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Aliza J. Sokolow, author of “This is What I Eat: Fun Activities for Mindful Eating.”
Sokolow, who is a private chef, food stylist and photographer, loves the change of seasons … and the fruits and vegetables that go with it.
“My eating and cooking and shopping is very seasonal,” Sokolow says. “Luckily in California we have microclimate, so we get the best of everything all year round.”
For Sokolow, the simplest thing is to go to the market and look around. Find a few things that look good, sample and eat them. When you buy great ingredients, you do not need to do a lot to your food.
One of her go-to farmers market recipes is a breakfast taco, made with local ingredients: tortillas (from local grain), eggs, avocado and limes. Sometimes she’ll buy salsa at the market or make it herself.
Sokolow wrote “This is What I Eat” as a way to get kids excited about healthy eating and cooking. The book is filled with activities - regrowing produce, food scavenger hunts - designed to make fruits and vegetables fun! Sokolow wants kids to build curiosity about produce through the lens of color, shapes, sizes and seasons.
“Cooking is daunting for many people, but it's really just washing and cutting things [and] not everything needs to be cooked; certain things you can eat raw,” she explains. “I just want to encourage eating things that you find at the farmers market or stuff that doesn't have a nutrition label, because it's [usually] pretty delicious; and if it's not, add a little bit of salt to it and it'll probably bring out the flavors.”
Sokolow talks about her love of produce - and what started it, some of her favorite spring recipes, and ways to have fun at farmers markets. She also shares her fail-proof vegetable puree recipe at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more at SokolowPhoto.com, @alizajsokolow on Instagram, check out her book “This is What I Eat,” as well as the This Is What I Eat Substack.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Ben and Max Berkowitz aka the Berkowitz Brothers. The award-winning producing and writing duo (NotABillionaire.com) co-wrote the graphic novel, “The Writer,” along with Josh Gad.
“The Writer,” illustrated by Marvel and DC Comics legend Ariel Olivetti (who they pitched via Instagram DM), is a four-issue series, to be released in trade paperback on April 22. The supernatural adventure comic - in the vein of an Indiana Jones story - follows Stan Siegel, a comic book writer whose life unravels when the fantastical worlds that he writes about start bleeding into reality.
“We also added a lot of our family stories into this as well,” Max explains. “We put our mom into the story; it's literally Josh Gad's character's mom.”
Adds Ben, “Our mother's character, Liz, in the book, is constantly pushing food on the characters.”
Ben and Max clearly have strong ties to food.
“ Our family, we always talk about the next meal, even when we're eating a meal,” Max says. “It's always on our mind.”
“For us, food has always been the connector, bringing people from walks of life [together],” Ben says. “When our dad helped build out the family restaurant business … it was made to bring people [together] to enjoy just good, simple fish dishes.”
Whether your family business is fish or creating content, you need to navigate what's most important for work and your home life.
“At the end of the day, what kind of solved most any argument was a great meal,” Ben says. “If anything, it stops people from talking because their mouths were too full of food.”
The Berkowitz Bros talk about how “The Writer” came together, their family food legacy, bagel and other eating habits, and more. They also share their father’s famous whitefish salad recipe, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Check out NABvid.com and follow @BerkowitzBros and @TheWriterComic on Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Known as “the kosher baker,” Paula Shoyer started baking at the age of five with her Easy Bake oven. At the time, she had no idea it was even possible to make baking her career.
A former lawyer, Shoyer’s decision to go to cooking school in Paris for fun evolved into an amazing career.
“I took all of those dairy pastry desserts, converted them into parve or dairy-free desserts, so that I could eat them with my shabbat meat meals,” Shoyer explains. “People started asking me to cater for them, and I started teaching cooking classes. She also edited cookbooks for others, before writing her own.
“I'm so happy in my kitchen, testing recipes over and over again, trying new combinations and hoping to avoid the bake and dump where something is a complete fail,” she explains.
Paula Shoyer talks about mistakes people make when baking, how to correct #bakingfails, and ways to level up and get creative with your recipes. She also shares her recipe for babka bites, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
“People make food to survive, but people bake to comfort, to celebrate,” Shoyer believes. “They're baking out of this great generosity of soul.”
Learn more at www.thekosherbaker.com, sign up for her newsletter, and follow Paula Shoyer on Instagram @kosherbaker and TikTok @chefpaulashoyer. Feel free to send a message to Paula, so she can answer your baking questions.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Joshua Silverstein, an award-winning actor, comic, writer, allergy-culture advocate and food lover.
Silverstein’s creativity clearly lends itself well to the kitchen, especially since he needs to work around his many allergies.
“My relationship with food has been challenging, it's been exciting, it's led to a lot of interesting stories,” he explains. The executive director of Cazadero performing arts camp, he is also a staple writer-performer at The Braid Jewish Theater Company. Silverstein’s The Braid’s shows include “True Colors,” “What A Surprise” and the upcoming “Hold Me, Heal Me,” as well as a solo show.
“Because I'm a father with a multicultural family that leaves room for a lot of experimentation [especially since] my children also have allergies,” he says.
Silverstein explains how he gets to be a “mad scientist” in the kitchen. Combine the mindset of exploration with being inclusive.
“The kitchen should be a place of play and fun, and that's a privilege,” he believes. “Keep trying new things [and] keep being curious about what's on the other side of people's palates.”
Joshua Silverstein talks about his upbringing, creativity in the kitchen, and how everything his family eats is a community project. He also shares about his grandmother’s latke recipe, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts. There are also shout outs to Natasha Feldman, NoshwithTash.com, author of “The Dinner Party Project.”
Learn more at JoshuaSilverstein.com and CazFamilyCamp.org. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chef Olivia Ostrow of Miami's Ostrow Brasserie. Her restaurant is the only kosher-French restaurant in the United States.
As a French person and a chef, Ostrow’s love language is food. “This is how we express ourselves,” she says.
Ostrow - who was born in Paris, moved to the States with her family in the 1990s, and spent time in Israel - grew up surrounded by a love and knowledge of food.
While she has helmed both kosher and non-kosher restaurants throughout her career, a few years ago, Ostrow decided it was time to go back to kosher. It turned out that the owner of the building happened to be Jewish and religious, so they decided to become partners.
“It was faith and fate,” she explains. Ostrow Brasserie opened in August 2023.
Most people do not associate kosher with French food, and there’s a reason: It's difficult. Not only is French cuisine butter based, everything needs to be made from scratch in order to actually execute a dish. There are so many kosher laws, besides not mixing milk and meat.
Also, French is usually associated with fancy. However, Ostrow calls her cuisine “fine comfort food.”
“The reason people outside of France don't associate it with [comfort food] is because they're not French,” she says. For Ostrow, beef bourguignon - a stew of short rib and braised with wine - was made from leftovers of the meat of the week. She would eat in front of the TV with mashed potatoes or pasta.
Olivia Ostrow talks about her restaurant and love-of-food background, along with kosher-French cooking and comfort food. And, since Ostrow’s restaurant’s Valentine's Day menu is inspired by the most romantic cities in the world - Paris, Venice, Rome and Kyoto - she also shares her recipe for Heart-Shaped Raviolo (ravioli), which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
When you celebrate love, it “should be said in every language and in as many ways as possible,” Ostrow says.
Learn more at OstrowBrasserie.com and follow @OstrowBrasserie on Instagram.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Rick Nahmias, founder and CEO of Food Forward. The nonprofit recovers surplus produce that would go to waste and distributes it to agencies who feed the hungry.
“We're the Robin Hoods of produce,” Nahmias explains. “We recover it, we refrigerate it, and then we redistribute it.”
While Food Forward is based in Los Angeles, their work reaches the entire Southwest. It launched in 2009. Nahmias, who walked his dog around his neighborhood in San Fernando Valley, says that as his dog got older, the walks got slower, and he started to notice all this fruit on trees that was going to waste.
“Maybe a few went to someone's office or the family that had the tree, but for the most part, it was going to squirrels, rats and under car wheels,” he says. Nahmias organized volunteers to harvest the fruit and donated the first few harvests to SOVA.
“They took the produce and said, ‘Great, when's the next delivery?’” Nahmias recalls.
By the end of that first year they rescued and distributed 100,000 pounds of hand picked produce. By the second year, they rescued 250,000 pounds. Today, they move more than 250,000 pounds on a slow day.
What started by rescuing food from local fruit trees has turned into a bounty of abundance. Agencies get produce to give to those who are food insecure; volunteers get to participate in meaningful community service; farmers have less waste, which helps the environment. It’s the ultimate win-win-win situation.
Rick Nahmias talks about Food Forward and its evolution, the joy of sharing abundance, and his grandmother’s stuffed cabbage recipe, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
“I don't talk about a glass half-full or a glass half-empty,” Nahmias said. “When I talk about Food Forward, I come at it from a glass overflowing.”
Learn more at FoodForward.org.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Chef Elizabeth Mehditach, whose mission is to unite people through food. With a specialty in the fusion of California, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisine, Mehditach is all for eating healthy, as long as you remember that it’s okay to make exceptions.
“If you have a cheat day, just get back on [the wagon],” Mehditach says. “And the next meal you have, make it a healthy one.”
Studies show that most people ditch their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January. Regardless of the time of year, there are certain things you can do to incorporate healthier foods into your routine. One of the best ways to do that is alter your grocery shopping habits. Stay on the outer rims of the supermarket, buy whole foods - items in their natural state with nothing added to it - and try to avoid processed foods.
“A tomato off the vine with a little salt and olive oil [is] a great snack,” she expalins. “We've convinced our palates that just raw tomato doesn't taste as good as a potato chip.”
Mehditach talks about her background and what the Mediterranean lifestyle means. She also shares tips for shopping and eating healthy, along with her recipe for quinoa salad, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
“It's all about those textures and hitting those different notes of salty, savory and sweet, crunchy and smooth, cool and hot,” she says. “That keeps your tongue, your mouth, and your brain entertained; you think you're eating something exciting that's actually really good for you too.”
Learn more at LizaMichelleLifestyle.com and follow @Chef.Leza on Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chef and restaurateur Daniel Shemtob, whose home burned down in the Palisades fire. He is also one of many local chefs teaming with José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen (WCK) to feed those displaced by the fires and first responders.
'It’s been crazy, dealing with the consequences of losing your home, losing all your stuff, dealing with insurance, finding a new place to live and [having] a pregnant wife who is stressed out,” Shemtob says. “[I’m also] a business owner, [wanting] to give back to the community; I think that that's the necessary step in rebuilding.”
Shemtob is the all-star winner of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” with The Lime Truck, as well as the chef behind Downtown LA’s Hatch Yakitori, co-founder of Snibbs footwear company and author of “Food Truck Mogul.”
Four days after evacuating from the Palisades fire, Shemtob returned to his food truck, where he was greeted by Tyler Florence, host of “The Great Food Truck Race.”
“Tyler's kind of the people's chef,” says Shemtob, who worked with Florences on the line, serving 500 people in 90 minutes that first day. “We were serving delicious food … and I just felt that good energy of taking care of others; that felt really nice.”
Because of WCK and the chef corp, setting up around Los Angeles, people are getting nourishment, but also engaging, talking and commiserating.
“We're laughing and we're crying; it's all the things that you go through when you go through a shared tragedy with others,” he says.
Daniel Shemtob shares his experience with the fires and how he was able to bounce back. He also talks about the role of food in healing, the good work World Central Kitchen and the chef’s core is doing, and how people can help those impacted.
“If you have the capital, donate; if you have the time, volunteer, and if you don't have either of those, just send a nice message to someone affected by the fires,” Shemtob says. “I have [received] so many messages… it's so nice to know that so many people are thinking about me or I'm in their thoughts and prayers; it feels like a warm hug, even from afar.”
For those who want to learn more - whether you need help, want to help or both - follow @wckitchen and @damiel.shemtob on Instagram. You can also email [email protected]. Read more about Shemtob and WCK at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Suzy Sapir, founder of the Hippy Pilgrim Helpline. Every night, between 4 pm and 6pm PT, Sapir, who also owns the Hippy Pilgrim gourmet seasoning company, takes calls on her private cell: 781-291-0264. People around the world ask her cooking questions or just call to chat.
Los Angeles, where Deb and the Jewish Journal are based, is currently dealing with the wildfires, evacuations, and the resulting trauma. Organizations, restaurants, and individuals in the LA community have been great about offering meals to those displaced by the fires. However, sometimes people want that normal feeling of cooking, whether they are at a hotel, an AirBNB or sharing a space with others.
“Nothing tastes so good as that first meal that you make in that crisis or in that moment,” Sapir says. “It fosters true appreciation for the family meal … breaking bread together.”
Crisis cooking requires some creativity. However, the kitchen basics - you want a can opener, strainer, and compact, countertop electronic devices, like a crock pot, air fryer, rice cooker, and teapot - are relatively easy.
The next step is to be strategic about what food to buy.
You want small quantities that are portable, along with shelf stable foods. This includes freeze dried powdered milk, canned protein (meats, tuna) and vegetables, dried fruit and little pouches of rice, noodles and instant mashed potatoes. If you want fresh produce, get whole foods, such as potatoes, carrots, apples, bananas and/or oranges. Anything with a peel or coating will stay fresh for an extended period of time.
“You're going to curate a time-efficient, space-efficient pantry in whatever space that you're in,” she advises.
To compose a meal, start with the starch and decide what protein to put with it. Then decide what sauce would bring the ingredients into a meal. Be sure to add vegetables and fruit to finish things off.
In moments of trauma, it comes down to self care. And the best way to take care of yourself is to eat.
Suzy Sapir gives recommendations for tools and small appliances, along with tips for shopping and cooking, in crisis. She also shares her recipe for brisket, which you can easily make in a crock pot wherever you are. Get the recipe at JewishJournal.com.
Learn more about Suzy Sapir at HippyPilgrim.com and follow @HippyPilgrim on Facebook and @hippypilgrimgarlicsalt on Instagram. For personalized answers to any kitchen or food related questions, the Hippy Pilgrim Helpline is open daily from 4 to 6 pm PT: 781-291-0264.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Annie Kantor, owner of Modern Metal, about decorating with entertaining in mind. The key is to create a beautiful space that exudes warmth and encourages conversation..
“I don't really have doors on the whole main floor of our house because … I wanted to encourage socialization,” Kantor explains. “And we designed [the kitchen] in a way so that people could really gather, because everybody ends up in there anyway.”
She adds, “One of the first things I bought when we started our remodel was a [10-foot long] antique table … it embodies everything I want when I think of entertaining [with] a design element.”
You also want to add touches that reflect your personality; it’s what makes your house feel like a home.
For instance, on the wall of photos in Kantor’s foyer, she does not display the best, frame-worthy pictures; she selects the ones that highlight memories.
“One of the pictures is a photo of my [two] daughters’ feet, wearing these Roman sandals,” she says. “Our whole family knows, when we see it, it captured a moment on a family trip to Rome [where] my girls had a massive, three-day fight over Roman sandals.”
Annie Kantor talks about the origin of her love of entertaining and how redesigning her home led to her business: Modern Metal. She also shares ways to add personal touches to your home and gatherings, along with her friend Anne Schmitz’s kugel recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more about Annie Kantor at ModMetalDesigns.com. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chocolatier and chocolate educator Ruth Kennison of The Chocolate Project.
Honey represents a sweet Jewish New Year! Why not kick off the calendar year by indulging in chocolate. Just make sure it’s the good kind.
“When you're using really good chocolate, it just elevates everything,” explains Kennison, who turned a life-long love of chocolate into her fourth career.
“I thought I'd never had any artistic bone in my body; I was an organizer and a production assistant and all sorts of things,” she says. “And I realized, this form of art combines food, chocolate, and art.”
After her pastry certification and the decision to focus on chocolate, Kennison took a trip to Paris, which led to an origin trip to Mexico. There, Kennison met farmers, saw cacao trees and learned how chocolate was processed from bean to bar.
“Chocolate comes from a fruit [that] grows only 10 to 20 degrees above and below the equator … so it grows in West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America and Mexico,” she explains. “When you open it, [the] white stuff is fruit and it tastes like lychee, and then inside of it are the little cocoa beans that need to be fermented to be made into chocolate.”
The craft chocolate and bean-to-bar movement have made good chocolate more accessible than ever.
“Bean-to-bar makers [are] roasting the beans very low and slow, so you're getting the pure natural flavors of the bean, similar to wine,” she says. “And when that batch of cacao goes away, you'll never have that exact bar again.”
Once you have quality chocolate, there are plenty of things you can make. Kennison likes to use all parts of the cacao, which includes the cocoa nibs. For instance, Kennison loves vanilla soft serve ice cream with homemade caramel sauce, cocoa nibs, and sea salt. She also makes double chocolate chip cookies, and dark chocolate truffles, which you can adapt by adding different flavors.
“It can be a coffee chocolate truffle by steeping coffee in your cream,” she explains. “I just made a London fog truffle with Earl gray and vanilla.”
Ruth Kennison talks about her chocolate-centric career journey, the Jewish-chocolate connection, and the basics of the bean-to-bar movement. She also shares tips on how to identify quality chocolate, as well as some of her favorite chocolate recipes, including dark chocolate truffles, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Go to Chocolate-project.com to learn more about Ruth Kennison and her in-person and virtual chocolate classes and events, including ones at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica. Follow @ChocProject on Instagram and Facebook.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, Debra Eckerling hosts a special Hanukkah panel with authors Eitan Bernath (“Eitan Eats the World”), Joan Nathan (“My Life in Recipes,” “A Sweet Year” and many others) and Beth Ricanati (“Braided: A Journey of A Thousand Challahs”).
Holidays are all about uniting friends, old and new. What better way to honor Hanukkah than to bring together three previous Taste Buds with Deb guests for a conversation about food and family traditions.
Eitan Bernath, Joan Nathan, and Beth Ricanati talk about what they love about Hanukkah and ways to lean into the light of Hanukkah this holiday season. They also share advice for entertaining, options for sufganiyot (fried donuts), and latke recipes and tricks.
Get Joan Nathan’s apple latke recipe, Eitan Bernath’s Brussel sprout latke recipe, and Beth Ricanati’s tips for making a latke board (a reimagined cheese board) at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more at EitanBernath.com, JoanNathan.com and BethRicanatiMD.com.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Yuliya Patsay, author of “Until the Last Pickle: A Memoir in 18 Recipes.”
A Soviet-born, San Francisco-raised storyteller, Patsay started this project as a collection of family recipes; it turned into a celebration of her past and a legacy for the future.
The first two recipes Patsay collected were her grandmother's blinchiki, which is crepes, and her dad's borscht, a popular Ukrainian soup with beets and cabbage and potatoes. She also asked them questions like, ‘Where did you learn to cook?’ ‘How did you first start making this?’ and ‘What's your favorite thing to cook?’
“As I did that, I realized I wanted to talk about my relationship to having grown up in the former Soviet Union and then immigrating to the United States, to San Francisco,” she explains.
This gigantic culture shock, particularly in terms of the food, also led to a greater appreciation of the foods she grew up with. There was a nostalgia of having certain foods at every holiday meal and family gathering. For instance, mashed potatoes and pickled herring were non-negotiable; they were always on the table.
One of her favorite, easy recipes is from her mother-in-law. It’s called sirniki, but is basically fried cheese.
“That's a hit in the house, especially with the kids,” she says. “[They are] these little very fragrant, delicious little balls of fried cheesy dough.”
Yuliya Patsay talks about her, her book’s, and its title’s origin stories, along with holiday traditions, family favorites, and the importance of hospitality. She also shares the recipe for sirniki, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Subscribe to Yuliya Patsay’s Substack, Buckle Up Bubelah, and learn more about “Until the Last Pickle” at YuliyaPatsay.com.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with David Chiu, communication manager at The Braid and producer of their new video series, “Tastes of Tradition.”
“One thing that we at The Braid notice is that food and storytelling, especially for us Jews, are inseparable,” Chiu explains. “Food is as much about the people you're sharing it with as the recipes themselves.”
In their snackable videos (they are about two-and-a-half minutes each), “Tastes of Tradition” invites the audience into the kitchens of five diverse Jewish families.
Featured in the series are Instagram chef Sivan Kobi (Sivan’s Kitchen) and her Iraqi Jewish mother, Yafa, who prepare kitchri, and Chinese-American celebrity chef and cookbook author Katie Chin and her teenage daughter Becca, an Asian American Jew, who make latkes with Asian-inspired dipping sauces.
Also, graphic novelist Emily Bowen Cohen, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation member, joins her son Maccabee and mother-in-law Beth to make fry bread for Hanukkah; award-winning comic and educator Joshua Silverstein, who is black and Jewish, and his 16-year-old stepson, Ami, make allergy-friendly hamantaschen for Purim; and Kimberly Dueñas, co-founder of Jewtina y Co, and her father Solomon, a crypto-Jew from El Salvador who kept his Jewish identity hidden for years due to the legacy of the Spanish Inquisition, prepare challah.
The series is on brand for The Braid, a vibrant cultural hub for connection, creativity, and stories that reflects the diversity of the Jewish experience. And food is frequently part of the mix.
“To me, the most powerful thing about food is that it's passed down,” Chiu explains. “Even if you don't pass down Shabbat traditions or other religious things, there's something that you take from your family related to food.”
Chiu, who is a Chinese American Jew, says he finds that also true on the Chinese side of his family. When he went off to college, Chiu wrote to his dad, asking him how to cook.
“He sent me all these recipes, which was hard for him because he's an immigrant and he never wrote anything down,” Chiu explains. “But his recipes became my way of connecting with him and his culture.”
David Chiu shares the origin story of “Tastes of Tradition,” the different ways The Braid integrates food into their offerings, and how he developed his love of cooking. He also shares Katie Chin’s recipe for double happiness latkes with Asian dipping sauces, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more about The Braid’s “Tastes of Tradition” video series at The-braid.org/tastes.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with New York teen Steven Hoffen, founder of Growing Peace Inc. The organization installs hydroponic systems in communities in need, so that they can grow their own fresh produce.
“Growing Peace is really about trying to give back to the world, to my community, and trying to help it out and make the world a better place,” he says. “Whatever little I can do is going to be helpful.”
Hydroponics produces food efficiently and sustainably; plants receive nutrients through nutrient rich water, rather than through soil. It uses 80 to 90 percent less water, uses up less space and doesn't use pesticides or chemicals.
The wheels were set in motion in the summer of 2019. On a trip to Israel, Hoffen visited a non-profit organization, called Sindyanna of Galilee, where Arab and Jewish women work together to try to create peace within their communities through engaging activities. The following summer, Hoffen learned about Sindyanna’s hydroponics project and created a film, called “Growing Peace in the Middle East.” This led to him creating Growing Peace Inc.
“Learning about the way that Sindyanna was using hydroponics and growing produce to help people [is] what inspired me to think I could potentially do the same in my own community,” he says.
Hoffen has since installed seven hydroponic systems: one at a food pantry in Tel Aviv and the rest in the New York City area, including systems at Hope House in the Bronx, Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility, and Queensboro Correctional Facility. Each tower yields a bounty of five to ten pounds of nutritious, organic produce every month. Hoffen volunteers each week at one or two of these communities.
“I do love getting on the ground and helping out to maintain the hydroponic systems, because getting that hands-on experience is what's really fun to me,” he says.
Hoffen shares what led to the launch of Growing Peace, his interest in sustainability, agriculture and food insecurity, and plans for the future. He also talks about his favorite Jewish foods, tips for giving or starting a philanthropy, and more.
“If you're not interested in pursuing something that's super large … try and help out other people who do have their own initiatives,” he says. “Or you can just do something more local, donate to your food pantry, give to charity, tzedakah, that sort of thing.”
He adds, “Whatever you can do and whatever you're capable of, if it seems like it's the right thing to do, it probably is.”
Learn more at GrowingPeaceInc.org and JewishJournal.com/podcasts. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jessie-Sierra Ross, founder of Straight to the Hips, Baby, and author of “Seasons Around the Table: Effortless Entertaining with Floral Tablescapes & Seasonal Recipes.”
Ross took the leap from prima ballerina into the food and cooking world, after she retired from professional dance.
“I started cooking at my mother's side at six or seven years old, just fascinated by not only the chemistry of bringing food together and the sort of food is love aspect, but also just spending quality time with my family,” Ross explains. “That passion for food continued to grow with me, even if I couldn't always indulge: my daily staples were yogurts, oranges and bowls of chicken soup, but that didn't stop me from the occasional cocktail and slice of brie.”
Once Ross’ blog took off, she started doing food photography and styling, magazine articles and TV work. Her recently released cookbook, “Seasons Around the Table,” covers the four seasons, and melds garden, home decor, lifestyle and food and drink. The linchpin is entertaining: inviting people to the table and creating beautiful tablescapes for people to enjoy.
“There's nothing better than a little coffee, a little cake and a little kibitz,” she says. “We eat to remember, we eat to connect, we eat to nourish, we eat to love.”
Jessie-Sierra Ross talks about her backstory and how it led to “Seasons Around the Table,” along with tips for simplifying the entertaining processes, creating showstoppers, and bringing family history to the table. She also shares her recipe for apple and pear crumble, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
“It doesn't have to be a special occasion to make a special meal,” she says. “Focus on the flavors, focus on the food and obviously the guests.”
Learn more at StraightotheHipsBaby.com and follow @StraighttotheHipsBaby on Instagram and Jessie-Sierra The Last Bite on Substack.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chef Or Amsalam, a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist and founder of Lodge Bread Co., which has three locations in Los Angeles.
Amsalam, who served in the military before pursuing his culinary dreams at Le Cordon Bleu, says he has always been obsessed with bread.
“Bread has always been a staple in my household,” Amsalam says. “Growing up in an Israeli Moroccan family, we ate bread with virtually everything: we ate bread with rice, we ate bread with potatoes, [we ate] bread with bread.”
He continues, “Towards the end of my cooking career, I started doing some private cheffing and I just couldn't find the type of bread that I wanted, so I just started making bread.”
Just as good bread has the power to elevate a dish, the opposite is also true “If you're eating shakshuka, and the bread is no good, it just kind of dulls it all down,” he explains.
Or Amsalam shares his love of bread, bread making tips, and his thoughts on the value of failure. He also shares his shakshuka recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more at LodgeBread.com and follow @LodgeBreadCo on Instagram. Lodge Bread has locations in Culver City and Woodland Hills; the Pico bakery and cafe closes November 17. The new location in Beverly Hills opens November 22.
* National Homemade Bread Day is November 17. For more on baking bread at home, Amsalam recommends “Tartine Bread” by Chad Robertson and “Josey Baker Bread.” *
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with author, food writer, and recipe writer Aaron Hamburger. His novels include “Faith for Beginners” and “Hotel Cuba;” which is based on his grandparents’ immigration story. Hamburger also developed the babka recipes for Lesléa Newman’s children’s book “The Babka Sisters.”
While food informs all of his genres, cooking has not always been his thing.
“I could barely boil water for a long period of my life,” Hamburger explains.
Around the time his first book, a short story collection called “The View from Stalin’s Head,” came out, Hamburger’s publicist went on vacation to cooking school. He liked that idea, and decided to attend the Institute for Culinary Education in New York.
Once bitten by the cooking bug, Hamburger started taking as many classes as he could, collecting cookbooks, and learning through trial and error. After a while, he decided to combine the two interests.
“Food's [even] been present in all of my fiction, just in different ways, often depending on the places or topics that I'm writing about,” Hamburger says.
Hamburger also believes that food writers, fiction and nonfiction, tend to over-write the food description.
“Fiction writers tend to … describe [food] in lofty, elevated terms, rather than just dealing with it frankly and head-on, like what kind of food is it and how it functions in this world," he explains.
So, if you're writing about food, either fiction or nonfiction, be direct, specific, and accurate.
Hamburger talks about the advantages of being a former non-cook; the impact of food in history, relationships, and conversations; and how to really examine food, especially when you plan to write about it. He also shares his love for baking - particularly seven-layer cake and cookies (“almost anything can be made into a cookie”) - along with his recipe for mojito cookies, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Learn more about Aaron Hamburger and his books at AaronHamburger.com. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with actress Yael Grobglas. Grobglas, who played the series regular dual-roles of ‘Petra’ and ‘Anezka’ on “Jane the Virgin;” Hallmark Channel’s “Hanukkah on Rye;” and recently started an arc on the new “Matlock,” believes food is magical.
“It can heal you, it can make you happy, it can bring people together,” she says.
Grobglas was born in France and grew up in Israel, and loves the cuisines from both. Some of her happiest memories involve holidays and food.
“You all sit at the table together, you sing songs and you eat,” she explains. “And the kids run around under the table and between everybody's legs, [while] the parents try to keep some sort of adult conversation going.”
Grobglas, whose mother and father are wonderful cooks, was destined to love food. When she moved out on her own, Grobglas knew she had to learn how to cook, so she could continue to eat good food.
“Luckily I'm pretty creative,” she says. “I cannot follow a recipe to save my life [but] I have so many cookbooks … I'll look through them for inspiration. I feel like I'm making art.”
When asked how her training as an actor influenced her creativity in the kitchen, Grobglas said it made her trust herself, and the creative process, more.
“If you botch a take, it's fine; you do another one,” she explains. “You make mistakes, that's how you learn. It's okay, you get better.”
On “Matlock,” Grobglas plays a jury consultant aka human lie detector. She previously worked with “Matlock” showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman on “Jane the Virgin,” which Urman created. “It was incredible to work together again,” she says.
Yael Grobglas talks about her earliest food memories, how she creates in the kitchen, and the amazing craft (food) services on Matlock. She also shares the recipe for her mom's signature dish: lentil salad with apples and red onion, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
Follow @YaelGrobglas on Instagram and watch her arc on “Matlock” on CBS; her character arrives on episode three.
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chef, cookbook author and dinner-party aficionado Jake Cohen. The author of “Jew-ish” and “I Could Nosh,” Cohen believes cooking should be easy, fun, and shared with others. That message comes out loud and clear in his new show, “Jake Makes It Easy” on the FYI channel.
“Going to the gym is difficult, but the hardest part is showing up, and I think it's the same thing when it comes to cooking,” Cohen explains. “The hardest part is deciding you're going to cook, and then from there, the rest is pretty easy.”
In each half hour episode of “Jake Makes it Easy,” Cohen provides a step-by-step process for creating a main course and dessert that go together. He also gives tips on the order of preparation, rounding out the meal with a salad or a side and how to turn it into a dinner party.
The show really exemplifies Cohen’s relationship with cooking, the importance of cooking with love, and the blessing of cooking for others.
“It's why I love baking bread or desserts or cakes, because these are things that feel like alchemy,” he explains. “You're taking something - and you're truly just making it from the wildest things that should not turn into the final product - and all of a sudden people are eating something that you made with love.”
Jake Cohen talks about what led to his love of cooking, the backstory behind “Jake Makes It Easy,” and how Fran Drescher inspires his contribution to the Jewish conversation. He also shares tips for making cooking easy and adding love to your meals, as well as his recipe for date brownies, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.
“Jake Makes It Easy,” premiering on the FYI channel on October 28, is a part of A+E Networks partnership with Rachael Ray’s Free Food Studios. Follow @JakeCohen on Instagram and TikTok and find Jake Makes It Easy on the FYI channel, the FYI app and FYI.tv. #JakeMakesItEasy
For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.
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