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Zibby Owens
Hi, this is Zibby Owens and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly Moms don't have Time to Read Books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest best selling, buzziest or underrated and story creators whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't have to stay in the know. Get insider insights and connect with guests like I do every single day. For more information, go to zibbemedia.com and follow me on Instagram. Ibeowens Melinda Strauss is the author of eat over 100 recipes that blend Jewish Heritage, Modern Flavors, and Family Traditions. Melinda has amassed a following on social media herealmelinda Strauss of over 1.2 million, a space where people feel comfortable asking questions about Judaism, learn about her family's customs and can't get enough of her Jewish recipes and stories. Prior to her social media success, Melinda was a full time food blogger with hundreds of recipes on her website, Melinda Strauss dot com. Welcome, Melinda. Thank you so much for coming on. Totally booked to talk about eat Jewish. Over 100 recipes that blend Jewish heritage, modern flavors, and family traditions. Congratulations.
Melinda Strauss
Thank you so much for having me.
Zibby Owens
You're so welcome. I think this is the first book I've ever read that had a forward by a parent. Your dad wrote the forward. That was so sweet. Now my mom will be all jealous if I ever show this to her.
Melinda Strauss
Well, now you're just gonna have to do it. At some point. We're gonna see a trend.
Zibby Owens
Yes. So tell me about the cookbook. Tell me about why you decided to start with your dad and how. Yeah, we'll just go from there.
Melinda Strauss
Okay, so I will start by saying that this cookbook was definitely inspired by my TikTok, which is so cool because I've been a food blogger since 2011, so I've been food blogging for a really long time.
Zibby Owens
But.
Melinda Strauss
But with TikTok, I found my voice. I found my voice as a Jew. I found my voice as someone who isn't just talking about food, but talking about Judaism in general, answering people's questions. And part of that is sharing recipes because food is my life. And people would just ask me, what's this recipe? What's that recipe? And they started actually naming my recipes, and it started with my daughter's broccoli. And they started calling it Nora's broccoli. And I was like, there's something here. And I had randomly made a video and just. Man, I just throw everything out into the universe. And I said, one day, if I ever write a cookbook, I'm going to have Nora's broccoli in it. And this incredible woman reaches out and she's like, I have a friend who's an agent. Can I introduce you guys? And it was just this, like, from. From, you know, from God moment where everything was just working out perfectly exactly when it was supposed to. And I went from someone who was just sharing recipes to someone who had finally figured out what I wanted to share and knew that publishing a book would actually mean something, not just to other people, but to. And my father has been a big part of my social media. People are like, oh, he should have his own account. I'm like, he doesn't even use a phone to make phone calls. It's not happening, people. But he is constantly in my videos and educating people. He loves to share and speak. It's definitely where I think I get my gift from. So when I was thinking of who's gonna write the forward, it made so much sense that it would be for my dad.
Zibby Owens
It's lovely. Just so, so nice. Amazing. Tell me about the first time you made a TikTok video.
Melinda Strauss
Oh, my gosh. Well, my daughter, it was during COVID I really, towards the beginning of COVID was like, I want to be on TikTok. And I was like, if I'm going to let her be on this platform I know nothing about, I want to be on it, too. And I always think of Gary Vee sits in the back of my head, like, with all of his advice, chirping and the best advice, he's always like, get on every platform. Just throw again. Just throw everything out into the universe. You never know what's going to stick. And so I started sharing. Actually, I think the first video may have been with my daughter, but it was just some, like, sweet little, I don't know, silly video. And at the beginning, I had no idea what the heck I was posting or who I was talking to. But I figured it's a new platform that I'm on and nobody follows me there and I could just say whatever I want. And it kind of just started building from there because the more you share, the more you find yourself.
Zibby Owens
So what when you said you found your voice. And I'm going to go into the recipes and stuff, too, but what were you not writing in the blogs that you were able to share in that medium? Because I know a lot of people are like, oh, should I get on TikTok? What would I even do there? And people are confused, but you just jumped in. And so I'm wondering what it was like. What did you feel like you couldn't say before or you just didn't say?
Melinda Strauss
Right? It wasn't that I couldn't, because I don't have those rules. I just say whatever I want. But I just wasn't even thinking about it. Like, I had been a kosher food blogger. I grew up as a religious Jew. I've always kept kosher. So for me, it was just automatic that as I'm sharing these recipes, they're all kosher. But I wasn't necessarily making my blog about education, about who I was. It was more about education of the food, sometimes the holidays, because, of course, there's a million Jewish holidays. But it was never focused on the education of being a Jew. It was really more about the food. And with TikTok and people, it was really people asking me questions, because I would just kind of say, like, okay, I'm turning off my phone for Sabbath. I'll be back in 24 hours or 25 hours. And they were like, what's Sabbath? I was like, what? What do you mean, what Sabbath? When they're like, well, what's kosher? What is this food you're eating? And I realized that people don't know. I grew up in this bubble where I just knew all these things, not realizing that the people around me have no idea that we're just kind of a mystery for people. So it became this Q and A style, because if I see people asking questions, I desperately want to answer them.
Zibby Owens
Amazing, your recipes. I was so shocked to find corn flakes as one of the ingredients. Hold on. I have to find which recipe. You obviously know which one this was in. Yeah, the noodle kugel, which is, like, my favorite. My grandmother's. I don't know. We'll have to, like, go toe to toe with my grandmother's kugel. But anyway, Corn flakes. How did you come up with that?
Melinda Strauss
Isn't that so funny? Ask my grandma. My grandma Dorothy. You know what? She's 100 years old. Thank God she's still alive. My sister, actually, she lives in Seattle. So my sister took the book over to her and showed her the recipe. It was such a special moment to watch. But I really should ask her where she came up with that, because putting cornflakes on, I mean, it's so good on everything. And it's not just. It's. They're the way that they're crushed up and they come in a box already pre made. I thought everybody knew about that. That's another thing where people are like, wait, you can buy them pre made like that. You can make them yourself if you can't find them. But I don't know where she got it from, but it just adds such a fun extra layer. I mean, it's just carbs on top of carbs, you know?
Zibby Owens
Yeah. Can't go wrong. Can't go wrong. I'm also super excited to try to make. Wait, hold on. I've. Oh, this butternut squash cookle that I've never had before.
Melinda Strauss
That is. It's funny because it's so good on Thanksgiving, but it's something that, you know, a lot of Jews love to put sweets as a side dish. Like, we joke that we'll put, like, cake. There's a zucchini Bread. In my book, that's really a cake, but it's really also a side dish. And that's one thing we love to add a little sweet to our meal and not just for dessert. So that squash kugel is definitely something which, you know, you can call it a casserole, you can call whatever you want a pudding, but it's so good as a side dish. Just adds a little extra sweetness to the meal.
Zibby Owens
Yeah. And of course, you have classic potato latkes in here.
Melinda Strauss
Oh, yeah.
Zibby Owens
But you add carrots.
Melinda Strauss
Carrots. There's so many good things. There's actually. There's another one that's right there with Brussels sprouts and kosher beef bacon in them. Of course, people can use bacon they want. Once it's in your kitchen, you make it however you want to. But I've always loved to try new flavors. With latkes. It's just. It's shredded potatoes. Add whatever the heck you want to it. It's still a latke. So that's why I have my classic. Same thing with hamantaschen.
Zibby Owens
Rainbow hamantaschen. How beautiful is that? Look at these. For people listening, I'm holding a picture of these, like, amazing rainbow confections.
Melinda Strauss
They're just so much fun. Like, it's. It's. And it's one of those things. I want people to hold my book and then make it their own. You know, if you've never made Jewish food and you want to follow directions. Exactly. Do your thing. If you like onions and you want to add them to the barekas, add them to the barrekas. Like, if you are used to the way your grandmother makes a certain recipe, and you see mine's a little different, add your twist to it. It's not. Recipes don't have to be so black and white. But I love it. It's a starting point for people.
Zibby Owens
Love that. Okay. You put two orange flavored tea bags in your whole wheat honey cake.
Melinda Strauss
That comes from my grandmother, actually, my softa Adina, who I grew up across the street from. She's no longer with us, but she made the most amazing honey cake. And she always added not just oranges. She actually would add an entire orange to her blender with the skin and everything. But I love that she added the tea bags. It adds such an extra layer of flavor. And I happen to love orange tea. So for me, it's always in my house. So if anybody's buying it for their honey cake, just make some tea with it. Perfect as a side with your honey cake.
Zibby Owens
Love It. So tell me about how you narrowed it down to these recipes. That must have been a challenge. The photography involved, how did that happen? Like, how involved are you in all of these decisions?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, every single decision from start to end, including the photographer. His name is Schneier Minacker, and he's. He was actually the photographer for a kosher magazine that I love called Fleischigs. And I asked him, I'm like, have you ever done a book before? He'd never done a cookbook, which to me always gets me so excited. I love to be at the beginning of people's process versus, like, somebody who's been doing this for a million years. So it was really fun to work with him because I also love his style. And advice that I got from someone is, don't work with, like, a close friend on the photography or you won't be friends when it's over. So Schneer I've known for years, but I know that he's just a calm person. And I knew that was going to be really helpful because we did all the photography in my house. We did everything there. I prepared my family for it. We took over the house. And it was so much fun to be there for the whole process and really be involved every single part of it, including, of course, picking every single recipe, which was tough because I could probably list like 2, 300 recipes, and they were like, let's get to 110. Over 100 was the goal. And I just, like, had to pull back. And then, of course, we tested some recipes that didn't make it in as well for book two. Those will be for book two when I have more time to test them. But I wanted everything to feel like home to me, you know, so it's not just, like, pushing myself, because at the beginning I was like, well, I need to have a type of Jewish food from every background. But I've never really made those food. I grew up in an Ashkenazi community with a huge Greek and Turkish community around me. My best friends were Greek and Turkish, so it's a mix of those different types of food. But I didn't grow up eating Syrian food. I wanted to put. I was like, oh, I'm going to put this in that book and that. And I was like, you know what? If I put those in and I've never even had made them before, it's not going to feel like it's my book. And I feel like the stories. Every. Every recipe has a personal story in it, and that's something that I know people are really connecting to it. It feels like it's their story, even though it's my story.
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Melinda Strauss
Can I make my sight softer?
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And the bras? Soft, supportive and actually breathable.
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Zibby Owens
Interesting. And how did it go? Or have you experienced any anti Semitism along the way of getting the book published? Are you worried about coming out with this book in the current landscape?
Melinda Strauss
So definitely worry about I say more like the feedback I'll get like on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and Goodreads and things like that. Because they just when they go hard, they go extra hard. The one positive it will be if they come hard, we'll come harder. We'll come in with the Positive. It's the anti Semitism has been happening since I started sharing on TikTok. And it's actually one of the reasons that I started sharing even more about Judaism, because I was answering people's questions and people would sometimes say, I didn't realize anti Semitism still exists. I thought it stopped when the Holocaust ended. I'm like, oh, we've got a lot to talk about. So no matter what else I talk about with Judaism, and I really try and keep things light and positive, and it feels very important for me to always talk about anti Semitism, especially since October 7th, since it, you know, quadrupled. I mean, I don't even know what number to say since then that I. I don't worry about it with my book. I actually feel like my book is fighting antisemitism. My entire account, through educating people about Judaism, it's fighting anti Semitism, even though it doesn't, like, say on the book, eat Jewish. Fighting anti Semitism. It just does, just by existing.
Zibby Owens
Mm. I agree. Well, part of this is it's about the culture. It's who we are as a people. What we eat, like food is so essential to that identity. And if. How can you understand what you hate if you don't even know what it is?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, my gosh. And then so much of the hate in the world really does come from a place of ignorance.
Paige Desorbo
Yes.
Melinda Strauss
It doesn't say. I'm not saying to a person you're ignorant, but when somebody just believes every single anti Semitic trope, the reality is that they just don't know anything about Jews. So teaching them a little bit about us is. Is helping them. The next time they hear something negative and they go, you know, that doesn't sound right because I learned this from this person. I learned this from Melinda or this other Jewish tiktoker educator. It does make a huge difference.
Zibby Owens
Yes, 100%. Wait, what is the second cookbook you're working on?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, I mean, I'm not working on it yet. Although I have the whole thing in my mind. I already told my publishers, like, when you're ready, let's do it. But so I do have an idea for a second book. Really? Still following in the Jewish food realm. But, you know, that'll come out when it's ready.
Zibby Owens
Yes. What are you making today?
Melinda Strauss
What am I making today? Oh, God. Well, I am going to go to Trader Joe's today. You know, a part of writing this book and really putting it out right now has been me focused in my home. I did go Fishing a few weeks ago to kind of have that, like, pre vacation or pre book coming out kind of vacation. So I haven't been grocery shopping in a while. So before I even make anything, I'm going to go get inspired. Trader Joe's amazing.
Zibby Owens
Great ideas. What is the community of Jewish foodies? Like? Do you know all the other cookbook authors, like, Jake Cohen and all those people like, or are you very siloed? Or, like, what is Adina Sussman like? What is.
Melinda Strauss
What's.
Zibby Owens
What's the behind the scenes?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, my gosh. Well, first of all, Adina was a huge supporter and mentor for me. She's thanked in the book as well. She's been. She is the biggest supporter. Like, I'm just blown away by how. How generous she is with sharing information and helping along with the process. Even from, like, how do I want to book my events when I'm planning to promote my book? Like, everything along the way. If you're like, idina, I need some help, she's like, get on the phone. Let's do it. I know Jake. I actually have not met Jake in person yet, so that'll be really fun when we get to meet. I don't know every single Jewish author. We have a huge community of food bloggers. Being someone in the field for so long, I used to actually plan a conference for Jewish bloggers. So I've been connected with a lot of people at so many different levels. Many of them are authors, and many of them just, you know, have their food blogs or have their social media, and we just love to support each other. Like, I did change for this, but I was wearing a shirt before it said, we lit. You know, we rise by lifting each other. It was just too hot. I was in a sweatshirt. But I love. I love that because that's actually one of my favorite parts about being in this world, is that we all support each other. Not everybody. You know, there's always people don't know each other, but for the most part, we really are in it to help each other. Or at least that's one of my favorite things about it.
Zibby Owens
And did you have any food training? Like, what. How did you learn to be such a good cook?
Melinda Strauss
Zero training whatsoever. That's why I'm not a chef. I love. My mom's, like, melinda's a chef. I'm like, no, I'm really not. I do have my book out now, so I'm published, which is really, really cool to even say that. But with my food blog, it was just testing Recipes constantly. Growing up, I actually never cooked. I would watch my grandmother in the kitchen. I would watch my mom. I sat with my little Easy Bake Oven on the counter and would, like, bake brownies. That's about as far as it went. My mom, when she toasts my bread, it still tastes better. So if I'm home in Seattle, I'm like, mom, will you toast the bagel for me? It tastes so good. But I never actually. When I was diagnosed, I have type 1 diabetes, and I was diagnosed in college, and that's when I really started to cook and realize how much fun it is.
Zibby Owens
Wow. I mean, my mom makes cinnamon toast. That is the way to my heart.
Melinda Strauss
Yum.
Zibby Owens
I try to make it for my kids, and it just doesn't taste the same.
Melinda Strauss
It never does. My nephew was just having toast. He was with my parents. I'm like, did you have grandma Shelley butter the toast for you? He's like, no, I did it myself. I'm like, it wasn't as good. Yeah.
Zibby Owens
And are you a big reader of, like, fiction, memoir? Like, how do you. What's your relationship to all types of books?
Melinda Strauss
Well, I would say that I am a fantasy reader. Are there vampires? Are there witches? Do things have wings? The answer is yes. I will read it, and I'll read, like, YA and new Adult. So I love Romantasy very much in my Romantasy era right now. So every single Saturday night on Instagram, I actually come on and I tell people, you know, here's what I read on Shabbos, because it's literally all I do. I shut off my phone for 25 hours, and I eat and I sleep and I read. And people know, like, don't bother, Melinda. Don't even invite her over. She just wants to read. But, yeah, I'm very much in the fantasy era. Dragons as well, wolves, all that kind of stuff.
Zibby Owens
I went to the Tui Sutherland Wings of Fire conference with my kids. Do you ever read the Wings of Fire?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, my God, not yet. I say, yeah, because they'll all get to me eventually. And I. I'm a methodical writer. I love to, like, take my time with the book. And I. It's like I'm watching a movie when I'm reading it. So when they really, like, describe everything for me, I take my time with it.
Zibby Owens
Love that. Any exciting stops on this book tour or things you're really looking forward to that the book has made possible?
Melinda Strauss
Oh, my gosh. Well, first of all, even just going back to Seattle and going to the jcc, which is where I grew up going to and being able to actually speak there and speak to the whole community. I'm really excited about that. We're kind of in the process of figuring out, like, where I'm going right now. I'm not. I do love to travel. I don't, like, want to bounce from city to city every single week. I love being home with my family. So they're like, mom, go. They're so happy for me to, like, leave and go on tour and have fun. But I think being in Seattle is going to be really special.
Zibby Owens
So awesome. Well, I just love how this evolved sort of organically and how just by tapping into who you really are and your community, you've built yet another community. It's a, a master class and just honing in on the things that you love to do and letting others be part of that joy. And then it's infectious.
Melinda Strauss
I hope that people see that and hope that people are inspired by it to do it themselves, because I want the community to grow. It's not necessarily saying everybody needs to write a book, but if you're not on TikTok or Instagram, if you're not using your voice, use it. And if you don't know what to talk about, neither did I. My original videos, which are still up somewhere, are horrendous. But like, and you know what? My original photos from my food blog are all still on my website and they are really, really bad. But they led to. I'm really proud of. I mean, I didn't take the photos in this book, but I'm really proud when I do take my own photos of how they look. But it took a long time to figure it out. But you're only going to figure it out if you start putting yourself out there and sounding like really dumb at the beginning. And maybe nobody's watching at the beginning, but with that, you'll find your voice. You just have to not be afraid to look silly for a little while.
Paige Desorbo
Love it.
Zibby Owens
Well, I'm so excited for you, Melinda. Eat Jewish. Congratulations.
Melinda Strauss
Thank you, Zibby.
Zibby Owens
Okay, thank you for listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly Moms don't have Time to read Books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review. Follow me on Instagram ibeowens and and spread the word. Thanks so much. Oh, and buy the books.
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Paige Desorbo
Hey, I'm Paige Desorbo and I'm always thinking about underwear.
Hannah Berner
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Paige Desorbo
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Hannah Berner
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Paige Desorbo
And the bras? Soft, supportive and actually breathable.
Hannah Berner
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Podcast: Totally Booked with Zibby
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Melinda Strauss, author of EAT JEWISH: Over 100 Recipes That Blend Jewish Heritage, Modern Flavors, and Family Traditions
Date: October 27, 2025
In this heartfelt and lively episode, Zibby Owens welcomes Melinda Strauss to discuss her debut cookbook, Eat Jewish. The conversation dives into Melinda’s journey from food blogger to TikTok star, her family’s influence on her culinary storytelling, the process behind curating her recipes, the role of social media in Jewish cultural education, and her experience navigating antisemitism. Through their engaging dialogue, listeners gain insight into how food, tradition, and openness can foster both community and understanding.
Inspired by TikTok and Community:
“With TikTok, I found my voice as a Jew. I found my voice as someone who isn't just talking about food, but talking about Judaism in general, answering people's questions.”
— Melinda Strauss (03:46)
Family Ties and the Forward:
“My father has been a big part of my social media. People are like, oh, he should have his own account. I'm like, he doesn't even use a phone to make phone calls.”
— Melinda Strauss (04:31)
Finding Her Voice:
Breaking the Mold:
“The more you share, the more you find yourself.”
— Melinda Strauss (05:55)
Recipe Highlights:
“Putting cornflakes on... it just adds such a fun extra layer. I mean, it's just carbs on top of carbs.”
— Melinda Strauss (07:56)
Family Influences:
“My softa Adina ... always added not just oranges. She actually would add an entire orange to her blender with the skin and everything. But I love that she added the tea bags. It adds such an extra layer of flavor.”
— Melinda Strauss (10:22)
Encouraging Adaptation:
“I wanted everything to feel like home to me... Every recipe has a personal story in it, and that's something that I know people are really connecting to.”
— Melinda Strauss (11:44)
Facing Antisemitism:
“I actually feel like my book is fighting antisemitism. My entire account, through educating people about Judaism, it's fighting anti Semitism, even though it doesn't, like, say on the book, eat Jewish. Fighting anti Semitism. It just does, just by existing.”
— Melinda Strauss (15:40)
Education as a Tool Against Hate:
“Are there vampires? Are there witches? Do things have wings? The answer is yes. I will read it.”
— Melinda Strauss (20:19)
“If you're not on TikTok or Instagram, if you're not using your voice, use it. And if you don't know what to talk about, neither did I. My original videos ... are horrendous. But ... they led to [my success].”
— Melinda Strauss (22:25)
On embracing Jewish identity through food:
“If you like onions and you want to add them to the barekas, add them to the barrekas. Like, if you are used to the way your grandmother makes a certain recipe, and you see mine's a little different, add your twist to it. Recipes don't have to be so black and white.” — Melinda Strauss (09:48)
On confronting hate with education:
“So much of the hate in the world really does come from a place of ignorance ... Teaching them a little bit about us is helping them. The next time they hear something negative and they go, you know, that doesn't sound right because I learned this from this person.”
— Melinda Strauss (16:20)
On community and collaboration:
“We rise by lifting each other ... that's actually one of my favorite parts about being in this world, is that we all support each other.”
— Melinda Strauss (18:21)
This episode is a vibrant celebration of Jewish culture, food, and the power of sharing our stories—whether through recipes, social media, or books. Melinda’s openness about her origins, creative process, and advocacy for education makes Eat Jewish not just a cookbook, but an accessible entry point to understanding and appreciating Jewish heritage.
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