"Sesame," Seeds & Peach Miso Crumble with Rachel Simons

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Rachel Simons, author of "Sesame: Global Recipes + Stories of an Ancient Seed," co-founder of Seed+Mill, based in New York City's iconic Chelsea Market.

The book - and the conversation - talk about the seed's metaphor and connection.

"Seeds are the beginning of life; that's how everything starts: vegetables, fruits, humans, animals, ideas," says Simons, who believes the book is not just about food, but life, travel, and history."

After Simons, who has lived around the world, moved to New York, she saw an opportunity to open a business around a product - mainly Tahini - that hadn't yet had its moment to shine.

"It was an underrated, underappreciated condiment or ingredient, and we wanted to throw our energy behind, you know, doing something fresh with it," she says. "We're nearly 10 years old and we honestly had no idea that this little shop would just turn into a business which would turn into a brand and eventually now a cookbook."

"Sesame" answers is a clear, approachable guide to the world of sesame, from halva and tahini to togarashi, gomasio and furikake. Whether it's in the form of a seed, tahini (a ground sesame paste), sesame oil, or halva (a soft, fudge-like candy made from sesame paste), readers can incorporate it in 100 traditional and modern global recipes.

" I wanted to make the book feel very global, very international, and very embracing," she says. "I wanted the book to be an umbrella where everybody could see a part of their food identity."

Rachel Simons shares her backstory - and the seeds that led her where she is today - as well as her history with and the origins of tahini. She also talks about her love of food, the value of that connection, and her recipe for sesame and peach miso crumble, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Learn more at SeedandMill.com, follow @SeedandMill on Facebook and Instagram, and get a copy of "Sesame" at your favorite bookstore. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

Note:  Anyone who counts the correct number of times the word "seed" is said in the podcast, will get a free Tahini ice cream from Rachel at Seed + Mill in New York.