On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Bruce Weinstein, food writer and author of 40 books, 38 of which are cookbooks. His latest, written with husband and frequent collaborator Mark Scarbrough, is “Cold Canning: The Easy Way to Preserve the Seasons Without Hot Water Processing.”

“Cold Canning” offers a primer on easy, safe, budget-friendly preservation. The book has 425 recipes for small-batch jams, jellies, chili crisps, pickles, krauts, kimchis, and more that will safely keep for months to years in the refrigerator or - with the exception of pickle-like foods - in the freezer.

“One of the things that I love about doing this small batch and no processing is that I can use less sugar because I'm not trying to make it shelf stable,” Weinstein explains. “That's a huge difference in taste and in health.”

“Do I think that we should all take all the sugar out of our diet? No, because then life would not be enjoyable at all,” he continues. “Everything in moderation.”

The duo met after Weinstein completed his first book (“We both loved food and we both loved to cook,” he says.) They both had other careers before diving into the food space. Weinstein went to culinary school and then worked in advertising for 20 years before becoming a food writer. Scarbrough was an English professor; he still teaches literature.

Weinstein’s eating philosophy: cook, share food, enjoy.

“Eat real ingredients. … It'll make you feel better,” he says. “[You’ll be] easy to get along with and people will like you.”

Bruce Weinstein shares what led to his love of cooking, his professional journey, and his favorite Jewish foods. He also talks about the joy and ease of cold canning, some of his early cookbooks and two non-cookbooks, and his recipe for blackberry conserve, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Learn more about at CookingwithBruceandMark.com. Follow @CookingwithBruceandMark on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and @CookingWithBruceMark on YouTube.

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On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jennifer Stempel, recipe developer, cooking instructor, and author of “With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba,” a children’s book that will be out in October.

A classically trained storyteller and writer, Stempel frequently taps into her mixed Cuban and Jewish heritage to weave tales that engage, inspire, and enlighten.

“With a Needle and Thread” is about a grandmother and granddaughter - and how a piece of clothing transforms through lifecycle events. It puts a lens on the small Jewish community - the island of Santiago de Cuba, where Stempel’s family is from - and the unique ability they have to “MacGyver” life.

“Whenever they are faced with a situation, where they don't have what they need to accomplish whatever goal, they figure it out” Stempel explains. “They use what they have, they are really resourceful [and] inventive.”

In Spanish, it’s called “lo que sea.”

“This story showcases those qualities in a very Jewish way,” Stempel says.

This MacGyvering translates to the kitchen, as well as to other aspects of life. And while food is not a main focus, there is food in the book.

“It would not be a book that I write if there isn't at least a little bit of food,” she says. “Food is very much a passion of mine - it always has been - and I find that it is the great uniter."

Stempel is also founder of The Cuban Reuben blog.

“When I first started it, the emphasis on the posts really were showcasing how - not just in my. Identity, but also in the food that I eat - do these two cultures sort of meld as one?” she explains. ”So the Cuban sandwich and a Ruben sandwich to me were like the Cuban side and the Jewish side coming together … my first post was the Cuban Reuben sandwich, which combined [both].”

While the blog is not currently active, there are plenty of delicious recipes, including one for guava and cheese pastry, which you can find at JewishJournal.com.

Jennifer Stempel talks about lo que sea and “With a Needle and Thread,” her love of food, and how she embraces her Jewish and Cuban heritage. She also shares some of her favorite recipes and how she MacGyvers in the kitchen to make meals from what she has on hand.

Learn more about Jennifer Stempel at JenniferStempel.com, get more recipes at thecubanreuben.com, and follow @TheCubanReuben on Instagram.

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

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jeremy Kneller Hernandez, owner of Kneller’s Delicatessen & Appetizing in Tucson, Arizona.

“[A good deli] is like a barbershop with food; everyone knows each other by name and it's just cozy,” Hernandez says. “When I have people in the deli here, who are literally hanging out all day eating breakfast and lunch and talking to people … it warms my heart.”

Hernandez - whose father is Hispanic and from East LA; his mom is Jewish from Queens - would spend summers with his grandparents in New York, where family gatherings were never missed and his bubbe's cooking was non-stop in the kitchen.

“The aroma of brisket, kugel, rugelach, and schmaltz - so much schmaltz - would fill the air with a sense of warmth and a lot of love,” he says. “My grandpa and I would hit a delicatessen almost every morning before Oyster Bay for a day of fishing or the Shea Stadium for a Mets’ game.”

After working in the world of food since age 15 - and feeling as if the deli was a second home - it was finally time for him to open his own place. He wanted to bring the deli vibe to the desert.

Jeremy Kneller Hernandez shares his love of deli, his dual-cultural upbringing (“ I'm very grateful to have had both experiences,” he says.), and the role of music in his life and in the kitchen. He talks about some of the ways he “spices up” traditional deli food and his take on his great aunt’s knish recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

“There's something about the flow of making knish,” he says. “It's a beautiful melody that comes together with just perfect timing; it's fun to make and it's really fun to master.”

Learn more about Jeremy Kneller Hernandez and Kneller’s Delicatessen & Appetizing at knellersdelicatessen.com and follow @knellersdelicatessen on Instagram and Facebook.

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