Afleveringen

  • “Not That Jewish,” Chopped Liver & Laughter with Monica Piper

    “Not That Jewish,” Chopped Liver & Laughter with Monica Piper

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Emmy award-winning and Golden Globe-winning comedy writer, actor, and comedian Monica Piper. After a smash-hit run off-Broadway, her one-woman show, “Not That Jewish,” returned to The Braid in Santa Monica for the show’s 10 year anniversary; it runs through the end of May.

    Piper was a high school English teacher, before she left to try comedy and eventually create this show. She has been a standup comic, a writer for “Roseanne” and “Mad About You,” and head writer on “Rugrats.”

    “Not That Jewish” is a love letter to being Jewish, as Piper tells stories of her family - particularly her funny father and passing on the humor gene to her son - and her foray into comedy.

    “Someone asked me what's my favorite thing about being Jewish 
 there's so many things, but right up there was food,” Piper shares. “They said, ‘Even gefilte fish?’ Yes, even gefilte fish.”

    In fact, a chopped liver sandwich, one of Piper's go-to comfort foods, is something she strongly associates with her Jewish identity.

    “Food is so much a part of life and Jewish life, but it's the comradery,” Piper says. “As a child, my memories [of Shabbat at my aunt’s home with] people talking and arguing and laughing is so much a part of me, so I associate that with food.”

    Monica Piper shares food memories, the importance of laughter, and her “Not That Jewish’” origin story, which came with encouragement and assistance from The Braid founder and artistic director Ronda Spinak. There are also tangents on the Instant Pot, goals, and a shared fandom of The Braid.

    Taste Buds host Debra Eckerling recently did a Sunday at the Braid event for her new book, “52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting,” via Zoom, hosted by David Chiu and along with Katie Chin and Elaine Hall, who are in the book. The Braid’s newest salon show, “For the Love of Animals,” opens next week.

    Learn more about “Not That Jewish” at The-Braid.org/Monica and the new show at The-Braid.org. Watch Debra Eckerling’s Sundays at The Braid conversation at @TheBraidStories on YouTube.

    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Saturday Sauce, Deli Food & Tunisian Tuna Toast with Amy Dell

    Saturday Sauce, Deli Food & Tunisian Tuna Toast with Amy Dell

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Amy Dell, founder of Sababa Foods, which produces authentic Middle Eastern foods with a modern-day flair.

    Dell's first product, Saturday Sauce, is her take on matbucha. It is a slightly spicy tomato-based sauce, like the base of shakshuka. It’s like the Jewish version of Sunday sauce.

    “Sunday sauce generally refers to [what] an Italian family’s grandma is making [on] Sunday,” Dell explains. “Tomato sauce, stewing for hours 
 [that] you use it in so many different ways and formats.”

    Both are good, simple red sauces that go with just about everything. Dell uses it for Moroccan fish, sheet pan chicken, so many different things.

    Dell grew up in the restaurant industry and is still deli-adjacent. Her father, who is from Israel, owned Mr. Broadway kosher restaurant in New York City. Her husband, Jake, is the third-generation owner of Katz’s Deli.

    “The first date that I went on with my husband, I was like, ‘Oh, you smell like pastrami, that's a familiar smell,’” says Dell, who is “Team Pastrami” all the way.

    “Pastrami just melts in your mouth,” she says. “But I will say my favorite thing at Katz’s, which might be controversial, is the turkey; the turkey is underrated and it's delightful.”

    Amy Dell talks about growing up in a deli, marrying into one, and creating Sababa foods. She also shares some of her favorite ways to use Saturday Sauce, including her recipe for Tunisian tuna toast, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

    Learn more about Amy Dell and Saturday Sauce at Sababa-foods.com and follow @Sababa_foods on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Saturday Sauce is now available in Erewhon stores.

    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

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  • NOOISH, Matzo Ball Soup & Latkes with Sarah Nathan

    NOOISH, Matzo Ball Soup & Latkes with Sarah Nathan

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Sarah Nathan, founder of NOOISH, a modern Jewish comfort food brand. Nathan has always been a huge fan of soup. Matzo ball soup in particular is well-known and beloved, so it’s no wonder instant matzo ball soup is NOOISH’s first product.

    “[With soup] you get this melding of flavors and that warmth in your heart,” Nathan explains. “We call it a hug in a cup for a reason.”

    NOOISH’s matzo ball soup, which uses clean, high-end ingredients, is similar in format to Instant Ramen. “Just add water and microwave for two and a half minutes, and you get a really delicious steaming fresh bowl of matzo ball soup,” she says.

    And even though you get instant gratification with this matzo ball soup, it still counts.

    “I get comments online all the time: ‘My grandmother would be turning over in her grave; if you're not making it from scratch, it's not real,’” Nathan explains. “Well, I'm making it from scratch, so you don't have to.”

    The brand, however, is about more than soup. NOOISH’s mission is to elevate and make Jewish food accessible to everyone.

    Nathan has been in the culinary space for a while, and was a producer on the Great Big Jewish Food Fest at the beginning of the pandemic. During that time, she noticed how everyone was seeking comfort and connecting through food. Then, after the pandemic, Nathan noticed a gap. Others were still elevating their own culture's food, but nobody was really doing that for Jewish food, outside of the kosher aisle.

    And now there is!

    Nathan shares the NOOISH - and her own - food origin stories, her love of Jewish comfort food, and the recipe for one of her favorites: New York Shuk’s Jerusalem latke, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.


    Learn more at NooishFoods.com and follow @NooishFoods on Instagram and YouTube. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Hannah’s Kitchen, Uncomplicating Cooking & Strawberry Ice Cream with Hannah Sattler

    Hannah’s Kitchen, Uncomplicating Cooking & Strawberry Ice Cream with Hannah Sattler

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Hannah Sattler, owner of Hannah's Kitchen, a Jewish-focused catering business and cafe in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sattler prides herself on nourishing the soul, preserving tradition and creating meaningful connections through food.

    While Sattler always loved food and cooking, she started off as an engineering major, ended up in the financial industry (“I’m a numbers cruncher”), and then took time off to be a stay-at-home mom to her three daughters. She ended up running her synagogue’s kitchen, starting as a volunteer, before being hired as their kitchen manager.

    About 10 years ago, when her life went through some changes, Sattler started Hannah’s Kitchen.

    “I've always been really organized and [that applies] especially in the catering world,” she explains. “You really need to not just know food, but how to organize and delegate.”

    It may have taken a while to get to her destiny, but she ended up in the right place.

    Hannah Sattler talks about her childhood food memories and career journey. She also shares tips for not overwhelming yourself when cooking, whether it’s for the family or a larger occasion, as well as her grandmother’s recipe for parve strawberry ice cream, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

    “Not everything, culinarily, has to be complicated,” Sattler says. “You can make some easy meals and [then have] quality time with your family.”

    Learn more at HannahsKitchenmke.com and follow HannahsKitchenMke on Facebook and @Han_kit_mke on Instagram.


    For more from Taste Buds, go to TasteBudswithDeb.com, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Accidental Talmudist, “When Do We Eat?” & Sal-Mon with Salvador Litvak

    Accidental Talmudist, “When Do We Eat?” & Sal-Mon with Salvador Litvak

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with filmmaker, Accidental Talmudist and longtime “Jewish Journal” contributor Salvador Litvak. Litvak’s Passover classic, “When Do We Eat?” stars Max Greenfield, Ben Feldman, Shiri Appleby, Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Lerner, and Jack Klugman. Litvak directed the film that he co-wrote with his wife and partner, Nina Davidovich Litvak.

    The Litvaks’ second movie was “Saving Lincoln.” Their new film “Guns & Moses” is out this summer.

    “The perennial fifth question of the Passover Seder is, ‘When do we eat?’” Litvak, who is also the author of “Let My People Laugh: Greatest Jewish Jokes of All Time,” says. “There's all these holiday movies
 but there was no Passover movie.”

    When the Litvaks made “When Do We Eat?” they were connected to Judaism, but not yet Orthodox.

    “The movie's probably a little bit edgier than we would make it today,” Litvak says. “One of the main plot points is that one of the kids doses his dad with a strong hallucinogen at the Passover seder, but also the movie contains wonderful spiritual teachings.”

    He adds, “[Our dream: that] it would become the Jewish, ‘It's a Wonderful Life,’ the movie that people watch every year.”

    Salvador Litvak shares the backstories behind “When Do We Eat?” and his new Jewish joke book. the connections between Judaism and food, and his recipe for Sal-mon, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts. He also talks about creating The Accidental Talmudist, how that community embraced his Passover classic film aka “My Big Fat Jewish Seder.”

    “My mom always used to say there's two kinds of people: those who get into conversations in the checkout line at the supermarket and those who don't,” Litvak says. “We are [the first] kind.”

    Learn more at SalvadorLitvak.com, AccidentalTalmudist.org, and GunsandMosesMovie.com. Check out Salvador’s new book, “Let My People Laugh: Greatest Jewish Jokes of All Time.”

    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • “Gursha,” Ethiopian Jewish Food & Ethiopian Matzah with Chef Beejhy Barhany

    “Gursha,” Ethiopian Jewish Food & Ethiopian Matzah with Chef Beejhy Barhany

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Beejhy Barhany, the founding owner and executive chef of Tsion Cafe, an Ethiopian and Israeli restaurant in New York.

    “Ethiopian Jewish food is just a little bit of everything,” Barhany explains. “It’s an array of an abundance of flavors 
 packed with nutrients.”

    Her new cookbook, “Gursha” is a celebration of Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) cuisine. It features more than 100 recipes, along with stories and traditions, from the places she has lived: Ethiopia, Sudan, Israel, and Harlem. The recipes in “Gursha,” which is is loosely translated as “mouthful” or “the act of feeding one another,” range from traditional dishes (Doro Wot, Shakshuka, Legamat [Sudanese doughnuts]) to ones that Barhany created (Berbere Fried Fish, Injera Fish Taco, Queen of Sheba Chocolate Cardamom Cake).

    “I encompass a lot of heritages and cultures and what have you, and that is actually showcased on the menu [and] in the cookbook,” she says.

    Beejhy Barhany talks about her background, Ethiopian Jewish cuisine - including some recipes, and the power of food from different cultures. She also shares her recipe for Ethiopian Matzah, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

    Barhany believes food is a wonderful tool to bring people together, as well as to engage and learn about each other’s cultures.

    “Once you are open to tasting a particular group of flavors and dishes, I think you will have a better understanding [of one another],” she says. “I would say my offering is to have food as a medium of peace, harmony, and understanding and respect.”

    Learn more at TsionCafe.com. Follow @BeejhysGursha and @TsionCafe on Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Bad Boy Hot Sauce, Gratitude, and Pasta with Sean Kanan

    Bad Boy Hot Sauce, Gratitude, and Pasta with Sean Kanan

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On the 100th episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Sean Kanan, author, actor, Emmy-award winning producer, and founder of Bad Boy Hot Sauce.

    Kanan, who has portrayed Deacon Sharpe on CBS’s “The Bold and the Beautiful” since 2000, got his Hollywood break playing bad-boy Mike Barnes in “Karate Kid III.” He reprised this role on the fifth and sixth seasons of “Cobra Kai” on Netflix.

    “Martial arts has always been an important part of my life since I was probably about 14, 15 years old,” Kanan says. “The tenets of martial arts are something that I try to embody every day: courage, honesty, humility. 
 I look at my life as being very holistic and everything that I do, even though it may seem like they're very different pursuits, they're all interconnected.”

    His latest books are the series: “Way of the Cobra,” “Welcome to the Kumite” and “Way of the Cobra Couples,” co-written by his wife, Michele. His new food venture, Bad Boy Hot Sauce - flavors are Cobra Venom, Mango Madness and Red Pepper Punch - are also on-brand.

    “Bad boy Mike Barnes, bad boy karate, Bad Boy Hot Sauce,” he said. “It seemed like there was a good synergy there, and it's been really fun.”

    Kanan talks about his food philosophies and his favorite Jewish foods, Bad Boy Hot Sauce, martial arts, and living a life of humility and gratitude. He also shares a pasta recipe - pappardelle gemelle - from “The Modern Gentleman: Cooking and Entertaining with Sean Kanan,” along with the backstory. Get the recipe at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

    “You break bread with somebody and have a great meal, [then] authenticity tends to come out: walls get dropped, commonalities get brought to the forefront,” he says. “I've always recognized that food has that power.”

    Learn more about Sean Kanan, at SeanKanan.actor and BadBoyEats.com. Follow @sean.kanan on Instagram. Watch Sean Kanan’s TEDx on how to be the hero of your own story.

    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Self-Care, A Three-Second Solution & Tahini & Date Bliss Balls with Remi Haik

    Self-Care, A Three-Second Solution & Tahini & Date Bliss Balls with Remi Haik

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with nutrition coach and naturopath Remi Haik.

    Haik grew up in Israel, where the kitchen was the most loving room in the house.

    “It's a sort of love language to feed our loved ones,” she says. “We share this experience, [and] we also are giving and receiving [food].”

    One of her favorite recipes is energy tahini and dates balls. They're simple to make, give you a burst of energy when you need it, and most importantly remind her of home.

    “Dates, for example, are a very well known food in the Middle East,” she says. “Whenever I eat dates [and also hummus] 
 I feel connected to that identity.”

    Haik believes that how food makes you feel is as important as the act of eating.

    “There’s this idea of if I do not eat healthy 100% of the time, I am not healthy; it’s very much an all-or-nothing mentality,” Haik explains. That’s not the case. If you focus on how you are feeling as you eat one meal a week, you can let your healthy eating habits grow from there.

    Since self-care is another key to a healthy life, Haik also suggests finding one or two things to do each day that make you feel rejuvenated. And, if you feel stressed during the day, the easiest way to do a quick reset is to breathe.

    “Literally stop for three seconds,” she says. “If you want, you can put one hand on your chest - on your heart - [and] one hand on your stomach [then] inhale, exhale.”

    Doing this, even for a few seconds, reduces your stress hormones. You will immediately start feeling calmer.

    Remi Haik shares her personal healthy eating journey and tips for self care, along with the recipe for her energy tahini and dates balls, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

    Learn more at RemiHaik.com and follow @remihaik on Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Aliza J. Sokolow: Spring Produce, “This is What I Eat” & Fail-Proof Vegetable Puree

    Aliza J. Sokolow: Spring Produce, “This is What I Eat” & Fail-Proof Vegetable Puree

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.


    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • “The Writer,” Food Legacy and Whitefish Salad with the Berkowitz Brothers

    “The Writer,” Food Legacy and Whitefish Salad with the Berkowitz Brothers

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • The Kosher Baker, Correcting Baking Mistakes & Babka Bites with Chef Paula Shoyer

    The Kosher Baker, Correcting Baking Mistakes & Babka Bites with Chef Paula Shoyer

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • Mad Scientist Cooking, Family Food Cultures & Latkes with Joshua Silverstein

    Mad Scientist Cooking, Family Food Cultures & Latkes with Joshua Silverstein

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • French-Kosher Cuisine, Comfort Food & Heart-Shaped Ravioli with Chef Olivia Ostrow

    French-Kosher Cuisine, Comfort Food & Heart-Shaped Ravioli with Chef Olivia Ostrow

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • Food Forward, Sharing Abundance & Stuffed Cabbage with Rick Nahmias

    Food Forward, Sharing Abundance & Stuffed Cabbage with Rick Nahmias

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.


    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Grocery Shopping, Eating Whole Foods & Quinoa Salad with Chef Elizabeth Mehditach

    Grocery Shopping, Eating Whole Foods & Quinoa Salad with Chef Elizabeth Mehditach

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • Rebuilding, Community & World Central Kitchen with Daniel Shemtob

    Rebuilding, Community & World Central Kitchen with Daniel Shemtob

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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 JosĂ© AndrĂ©s’ 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.

  • Hippy Pilgrim Helpline, Cooking in Crisis & Brisket with Suzy Sapir

    Hippy Pilgrim Helpline, Cooking in Crisis & Brisket with Suzy Sapir

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.


    For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

  • Modern Metal, An Entertaining-Friendly Home & Kugel with Annie Kantor

    Modern Metal, An Entertaining-Friendly Home & Kugel with Annie Kantor

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • The Chocolate Project, Bean-to-Bar & Dark Chocolate Truffles with Ruth Kennison

    The Chocolate Project, Bean-to-Bar & Dark Chocolate Truffles with Ruth Kennison

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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.

  • Hanukkah Panel and Latke Recipes with Eitan Bernath, Joan Nathan and Beth Ricanati

    Hanukkah Panel and Latke Recipes with Eitan Bernath, Joan Nathan and Beth Ricanati

    · Taste Buds With Deb

    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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