On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Melanie Lutz, author of "Everything is Soup: Sicilian Wisdom, Nourishment and Recipes for a Delicious Life."

In the book, Lutz combines her Sicilian and Jewish roots, along with her love of storytelling.

"Soup is life," author Melanie Lutz believes. "When we make a delicious soup that we can serve, we're sharing what we love and we're showing that we care."

With more than 18 seasonal soup recipes, handwritten notes, and ancestral sayings, the mixture of food memories and wisdom is as filling as it is fulfilling.

While there is clearly a huge Sicilian component to the book, Lutz also included a nod to her Jewish roots in honor of Stuart Norman Levy, a member on her Jewish side, who passed away while she was writing the book.

"His recipe … Stu's stew is a hodgepodge of everything that you love," Lutz says. "[It] supports you and is there for you … he served it up and made it just magic for anyone who sat down and, and shared a bowl with him." Get the recipe at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Melanie Lutz talks about the origin story behind "Everything is Soup" and why she loves soup so much. She also shares the meanings behind "stirring the pot," tips for becoming more at one with soup, and more.

"The vortex of a bowl of soup and the fact that we're largely made up of water … when you stir the pot, you create this alchemical experience of opening the heart," she explains. "Any soup that you put together becomes … this way that we connect through generations of the earth's elements."

Learn more at MelsLoveLand.com and grab a copy of "Everything is Soup."

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 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.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Matthew Jonas and David Foerstner, co-founders of Good Karma Chocolate. Good Karma offers small batch bean-to-bar chocolate, drinking cacao, cacao blend-ins, and plenty of positive vibes.

"Dave and I share a passion for all things dark chocolate," Jonas explains. "Most of the [bean-to-bar and cacao] brands out there are very serious, and we thought, when you get a chance to taste really good chocolate in your life, that is a moment of joy."

Jonas said that while they are serious about how they make it - and are ethical in its production - they also want people to feel good when they eat it, to really enjoy the experience.

Jonas had been seeking an alternative to drinking coffee, when, two years ago, he discovered drinking cacao. He didn't like the products that were commercially available, so Jonas bought some beans and began experimenting. Then, he reached out to Foerstner, a food scientist and founder of Food Forward Consulting, to see if he wanted to partner on making a cacao drinking product.

"I think your exact words were, 'You need to talk me out of doing this chocolate,'" Foerstner recalls. His reply, "I'm the wrong guy to talk you out of things. … I'm the guy that makes you do things or helps you do things."

Foerstner said he'd do it on one condition: "I've always wanted to make chocolate."

Matthew Jonas and David Foerstner talk about Good Karma Chocolate's origin story, their mission, and their recipe for making - and customizing - ceremonial drinking cacao, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcast. Jonas also shares the parallels he has found between the chocolate and the Jewish communities.

"This idea of … trying to make a better impact on the world, leave it better than I found it, I take that from my experience of … choosing to become active in my Judaism," he says.

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