Welcome to Times Will Tell, The Times of Israel’s weekly feature podcast.

This week, we're speaking with Jamie Geller, often known as the Jewish Rachael Ray, who just published her eighth cookbook, "Farmer’s Kitchen Cookbook: 50 Recipes Celebrating Israel’s Veggies and their Growers."

The cookbook features ten vegetables common to the Israeli kitchen, with guides on selecting, storing and cooking with them in 50 different recipes.

Geller speaks about the process of writing the book during the pandemic, what she's learned about Israeli produce and seasonal vegetables during her ten years living in Israel, and whether her six kids actually eat braised fennel and leeks.

"Farmer's Kitchen" also highlights Israeli farmers who are currently observing the biblical mitzvah or commandment of shmita, Israel's sabbatical for the land that comes around every seven years. 

With farming families facing loss of income from the observance of shmita, Geller partnered with The Shmitah Fund, which offers farmers financial assistance, and she tells the stories of those families, taking a closer look at their farms and what they grow.

IMAGE: From Jamie Geller's 'Farmer’s Kitchen Cookbook: 50 Recipes Celebrating Israel’s Veggies and their Growers' (Courtesy)

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