Sasha's Kitchen: Preserving the Harvest Class at the Brooklyn Kitchen

So the other night I took a class on preserving the seasonal harvest at The Brooklyn Kitchen with Sheri Brooks Vinton. The class was a great into into preserving using the boiling water method. In the class, Sheri did a demo preparing and preserving peach ginger jam from her cookbook, Put 'em Up, while in the class we made and preserved peach salsa - so good!  I love peaches so this was a fun class, and by the end my head was about to explode with instructions and tons of useful tips about preserving at home.  I left purchasing a copy of Put 'em Up, which looks to be a great book with tons of recipes perfect for at home preserving.  I especially like how the book is organized, with separate sections for different fruits and vegetables.  Now, its not like we eat jam by the boatload or anything around here, but I am eager to try out my at home preserving. I don't do any gardening so I plan to go to the farmer's market shortly today and pick up tons of fresh blueberries to make the blueberry quick jam recipe in Sheri Brooks Vinton's cookbook.

Fresh peaches, blanched and peeled for preserving

Peach salsa

Included are some pictures from the class of the canning process, and also of the delicious peach salsa that we made and preserved in the class. This was such a fun and informative class, and I can't wait to get started preserving at home.  It seems like a terrific way to make gifts for friends and family as well, once I get the hang of what I am doing with the preserving process. I just hope that the large pots I use are big enough since I don't have the ginormous pot that we used in the class for preserving. I'll make do, I suppose.  Blueberry jam, here I come! I look forward to putting the new skills I learned to use later today.

Jars of peach salsa

Sasha's Kitchen: Preserving the Harvest Class at the Brooklyn Kitchen

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes

Time for another delicious pasta dish. And some like it hot, some like it cold. This one is good either way. The first time I made this last week, I used store bought bow tie pasta and it was a big hit here at home.  Then, earlier this week, I received a shipment of organic Italian pastas from ShopRite to sample, all from the Lombardy region of Italy. So I tried it out with a one pound bag of ShopRite's radiatore pasta, and it was superb.  The ShopRite pastas are excellent, and it had a lovely, perfect al dente texture. I am such a fan of the radiatore that I can't wait to try out some of the other pastas that ShopRite sent me to sample (free of charge, of course :).

At any rate, this dish combines the pasta with flavors of red onion, pesto, feta cheese and broiled grape tomatoes. It's a delicious combination of flavors, and as I said before, can be served either hot or cold. A Sasha-pasta creation at its finest!

delicious Organic Italian pastas I received to sample from ShopRite

Sasha's Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes (serves 6)
1 lb ShopRite radiatore pasta, or bow tie pasta
2 containers grape tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 8 oz packages of feta cheese
1 red onion, diced
leaves of 1 bunch of basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Prepare the pesto in a food processor by blending the basil leaves with the olive oil and pine nuts (also known as pignolia nuts - I love that word!). Set aside. Broil the tomatoes for about 20 minutes at 450. Saute the red onion in olive oil for several minutes, then add the garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, and rinse. Combine the pesto, onion/garlic, pasta and crumbled feta cheese. Serve hot or allow to chill. Another great thing about this dish is that it results in plenty of leftovers for the next night, which makes it perfect for busy weekday cooking - double returns!

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes

Sasha's Kitchen: Tiramisu

Tiramisu is my husband Brad's favorite dessert.  He almost always orders it when we go to an Italian restaurant, and has wanted me to make a homemade tiramisu for some time.  I had tried making a green tea tiramisu in the past, but it was definitely time for me to make him his favorite tiramisu. It's not really that difficult a dessert to make either, as long as you are skilled at whipping egg whites up into a good meringue (I am) and remember to only dip the ladyfingers very quickly in the expresso.  I used my mother in law, Lynne's tiramisu recipe for the best results and a very satisfied husband last week.  I plan on making it again for him soon.

Tiramisu
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup marscapone cheese (about 10 oz)
1 cup heavy cream
two packages of lady fingers (about 18-20)
3/4 cup expresso (1 T instant expresso into 3/4 cup hot water)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 T Kailua liquor

Beat whites, gradually adding sugar and continuing to beat on high, using the whisk attachment of your mixer until stiff peaks form, like for a meringue.  Beat in the marscapone cheese until fully blended, and add the Kailua. Whip the cream separately and fold the mixture into the whipped cream.

Dip the ladyfingers quickly into the expresso and arrange in a 9 1/2 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish (like a lasagna pan). Pour the foamy marscapone / egg white mixture over the dipped ladyfingers in the dish.  Put the coca in a sifter and sprinkle on top.  Refrigerate for two hours before serving.

Sasha's Kitchen: Tiramisu

Potato & Herb Crusted Striped Bass with Mustard Cream Sauce

Here in New York city, including Brooklyn, we are hunkering down for Hurricane Irene and hoping we don't get flooding from our backyard when the storm hits. I plan on baking some breads tomorrow - banana bread and blueberry bread. I'm worried about flooding and wind damage and all kinds of other unpleasant weather events and am bummed to have to be missing a friends wedding due to the weather out of town this saturday night.

At any rate, I want to share a simple fish dish that I have made the last two weeks, with two different types of fish, striped bass and Australian barramundi. This dish is very simple, it just requires breading the fish in dried potato rather than breadcrumbs, and coating it with a selection of herbs, before pan searing the fish and serving it over green beans.  I bought a box of dehydrated potato flakes and mixed it with fresh thyme, oregano and a bit of parsley. Then I dredged the fish in egg and coated with the potato and herb batter. I didn't measure the herbs precisely, but you really can't use too much for a recipe like this.  I put it about a tablespoon of each!

Thanks to my loving mom for the terrific idea for this recipe, which she said was loosely inspired by something she saw on the Food Network.

I served the fish with a mustard cream sauce. Mix 1/2 cup of heavy cream with three tablespoons of dijon mustard. Simmer and stir until thickened, while adding 1/2 a tsp of cornstarch to enable the thickening of the sauce

Potato & Herb Crusted Striped Bass with Mustard Cream Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Three Tiered Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Recently, my husband and I hosted a lovely dinner party for some old college friends. A good time was had by all and we served a four course menu that was matched with beer and wine pairings that one of your friends brought to share with the meal. We have a nice backyard here in Brooklyn, so we first had cheese and crackers with champagne outside since it was a lovely summer night.  Second course brought us inside for chinese style duck dumplings, followed by zucchini-corn fritters with yogurt sauce.  The third course was my homemade spinach ravioli with a three cheese filling (show here is a plain, non spinach batch). And, finally, its cake time.  I did another garden party themed cake, decorated with pretty pink flowers that I piped on with vanilla buttercream that I dyed pink for the flowers and yellow for the centers. I used the special wilton flower tip for making the petals for each of the pink flowers in the cake.  This time, I went with the cookbook from Alice's Tea Cup by Haley & Lauren Fox for the chocolate cake recipe, and also followed their recipe for peanut butter buttercream, which I used to frost the outside of the cake and between the layers.  I found using a rotating cake turner to be very useful for both frosting and decorating the cake. I decorated using a basic vanilla buttercream. 

Chocolate Cake - (makes three 8'' layers) - recipe from the Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook

2 cups of sugar
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup hot brewed coffee

To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350. You will need three eight inch cake pans.  Prepare the three eight inch cake pans and combine the fry ingredients together in a bowl (flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt). In the basin of your stand mixer, on medium speed, beat the sour cream and eggs (one at a time), milk, oil and vanilla, and add in the dry ingredients, mixing for two minutes. Scape down the bowl and drizzle in the coffee and blend until smooth. It will be a very liquidy mixture, which is fine and appropriate.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans before gently removing from the pans and allowing to cool on a wire rack until room temperature.  If necessary, trim the tops of the cake to level them, but I found that this recipe did not require any leveling. Frost between layers and on the top and sides of the cake with the buttercream. To make the buttercream, beat the ingredients until smooth.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/4 cups cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

5 cups confectioner's sugar

1 T milk

Sasha's Kitchen: Three Tiered Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Sasha's Kitchen: Balsamic Glazed Chicken

I haven't posted in a couple days and I have such a backlog of things to post and new recipes to share. I made a fabulous cake for a dinner party (three layer chocolate peanut butter) that I have to post soon and can't wait to share - as you can tell, I was really happy with how it turned out.

I had a friend visiting from Toronto a week or so ago, and made this balsamic chicken recipe for the first time. I was inspired by Mario Batali's balsamic chicken from Simple Italian Food, but had an entirely different take on it. I did use his idea of combining the wine with the vinegar, and doing a glaze after cooking though I did not stuff the bird the way he did.  Like Mario, I served my balsamic chicken with a bit of grilled radicchio. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, since I abandoned Mario's recipe and went with my own. Turns out, it was actually a meal that we really enjoyed.

Sasha's Balsamic Chicken
1 whole organic chicken, cut up
4 T chopped rosemary
 3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups zinfandel wine3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 heads radicchio
1/2 bag of organic baby carrots
8 oz mini organic chicken sausages

Combine the rosemary, sea salt and garlic, and add to the pot with the baby carrots and several tablespoons of olive oil.  Saute on medium high heat for about five minutes.  Add the wine and 1/2 cup of the balsamic vinegar, as well as the chicken and sausages, and bring to a boil on the top of the stove. Remove from heat and place in an oven preheated to 475 degrees. Roast covered for an hour and ten minutes, or so, until the chicken is cooked, but juicy. While the chicken is cooking, grill the radicchio with a bit of olive on a grill pan. Glaze and drizzle the chicken with the remaining vinegar and serve with the carrots and radicchio.

Sasha's Kitchen: Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Sasha's Kitchen: Vegan Coconut Curried Noodle Salad

I'm not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I appreciate vegan and vegetarian cooking, and am always enjoy cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables as center stage.  Plus, it is such a healthy way to eat, so it is totally smart for any carnivore like myself to mix some vegan and/or vegetarian meals into the weekly meal rotation.  My friend Shannon was visiting from Toronto recently, and gave me the book La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer as a present to try some new vegan experimentation in the kitchen (although she's not vegan either, she vouched for the excellent cookbook).  When she was still visiting last weekend, we tried the cold coconut curried sesame noodles, and discovered they taste good either hot or cold. The recipe was not too difficult and delicious, either as a side dish, appetizer or a main course. I love the coconut flavor with the noodles, and it was boatloads better than traditional sesame noodles.

Coconut Curried Noodles Salad (from La Dolce Vegan)
dry broad rice noodles (full package or box, enough for four servings)
1/2 cup shallots, diced (I substituted onions)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T sesame oil
2 T curry paste
2T tamari (you can use soy sauce)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh basil (I used parsley instead)
1 large tomato, chopped (we added two instead when I made it with Shannon because one was lonely)

Boil the rice noodles in salted water. While the noodles cook, dice the tomatoes and onions/shallots. Cook the shallots in canola oil until translucent, about three minutes.  Add the curry paste, soy sauce, turmeric, salt and coconut milk and simmer on hight for six to eight minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the basil (I used parsley) and tomatoes. Drain the noodles and mix with the sauce. This dish tastes great either hot or cold.

Sasha's Kitchen: Vegan Coconut Curried Noodle Salad

Sasha's Kitchen: Zucchini Corn Fritters

Farm fresh zucchini and corn are so good this time of year, that I couldn't resist a fun, healthy variation on traditional zucchini fritters. I only fry with canola oil - never with vegetable oil, so they're about as healthy as they can be. I used local corn and zucchini for the recipe and it was absolutely delicious, sweetened by the delicious sweet corn that I shucked. They key to this recipe is squeezing all of the water out of the zucchini, so that it doesn't make an overly watery batter.  This is a great weekday meal, and I plan on making another batch this coming weekend as a dinner party appetizer. A recipe like this really just reminds me of summer!

Sasha's Zucchini Corn Fritters
Two large zucchini (about 4 1/2 cups shredded zucchini)
3 ears of corn, shucked
4 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup curly parsley, minced
pepper to taste
canola oil for frying
serve with lowfat yogurt

Shred the zucchini using a cheese grater and allow to drain as much as possible over a colander or strainer.  Scramble the eggs and mix with the shucked corn, onion, spices, parsley, flour and pepper.  Squeeze the shredded zucchini in handfuls to get rid of as much of the water as possible and then combine with the other ingredients.  Heat about a quarter inch of canola oil in a frying pan. Drop heaps of the zucchini-corn mixture and form circular shaped fritters. Cook until golden on both sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and allow to drain on parchment paper. Serve with yogurt.

Sasha's Kitchen: Zucchini Corn Fritters

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Herb-and-Olive Frittata

Mark Bittman is one of my food heroes. I love his low-pressure approach to cooking and his simple recipes. His old Minimalist videos are inspiring and often humorous. I’ve also been enjoying his more recent columns focusing on food policy and related health, environmental, and social issues. His blog, On Food, is located here: http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com.

In one of his more recent “Eat” pieces in The New York Times Magazine, Bittman gives special treatment to herbs! As a fellow herb-lover and an herb gardener, these recipes really whet my appetite. Here’s the recipe for one that I made this week. It includes no less than three cups (!) of herbs and it will leave a bright, refreshing taste in your mouth. If you don’t already have an herb garden, let this be inspiration for starting one next year...



Herb-and-Olive Frittata
by Mark Bittman
from The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, August 14, 2011, page 43.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/magazine/recipe-herb-and-olive-frittata.html?ref=magazine

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped black olives, preferably oil-cured
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper.

1. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the olives and herbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and become dry, 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, milk, flour and some salt and pepper.

3. Turn heat to low and pour the egg mixture into the skillet, using a spoon if necessary to evenly distribute the herbs and olives. Cook, undisturbed, until the eggs are just set, 5 to 10 minutes. (You can set the top further by putting the pan in an oven at 350 for a few minutes or by running it under the broiler for a minute or two.)

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Note: It took closer to 10-14 minutes for my eggs to set on the stovetop, then I did stick the pan in the oven for an additional 4 minutes at 350 degrees. They did not seem overcooked to me.

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Herb-and-Olive Frittata

Sasha's Kitchen: Harry Potter Butterbeer Flying Snitch Cupcakes

I've always been a huge Harry Potter fan - both of the earlier parts of the series, and the darker chapters as well.  I loved the Quidditch games that were played in the first few books, and decided to create a Harry Potter inspired cupcake.  I really want to take a trip to Wizarding World in Orlando and taste some butterbeer for myself, but so far I've only made my homemade butterbeer using this recipe.  At any rate, my newest cupcakes have a butterscotch frosting and are inspired to have a butterbeer flavor.  They are decorated in a Quidditch theme, with golden snitches that I made out of yellow chocolate melts and fondant., as Harry was the Gryffindor Quidditch team seeker. Thus, these cupcakes have the spirit of the early Potter books (and movies) - a flair for Quidditch and a taste of butterbeer, which I re-created with flavors of cream soda and butterscotch. Now, I just need one of those hopping chocolate frogs and I'm all set.

Sasha's Harry Potter Butterbeer Quidditch Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup Dr. Brown's Cream soda (or A&W)

Frosting
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 oz butterscotch chips
1 stick of butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups confectioner's sugar

Combine the dry ingredients for the cupcakes in a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Beat the butter and sugars in the basin of your stand mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Alternate beating in the milk and the dry ingredients, and finally, beat in the cream soda until smooth.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, prepare a butterscotch ganache with 5 oz of butterscotch chips and 1/2 cup of heavy cream.  Combine the two in the top of a double boiler and mix until smooth. Allow to chill for about a half an hour in the refrigerator.  Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth and add in the ganache. Frost the cupcakes using a frosting bag. If you wish to decorate, I made the snitches using fondant, a fondant pen and yellow chocolate melts for the golden center.

Sasha's Kitchen: Harry Potter Butterbeer Flying Snitch Cupcakes

Sasha's Kitchen: Falafel

Falafel always reminds me of my time spent in Israel, and of my Jewish heritage.  I've been meaning to post this recipe for awhile. I have tried various recipes for falafel with mixed results until trying Sarah Raven's recipe from Fresh From the Garden.  This time I didn't have the usual problems of the falafel balls not sticking together properly, and they fried up perfectly in canola oil for a healthier falafel. I served it with some cucumbers and tomatoes, as well Sabra hummus for that perfect Israeli meal.  This recipe makes 35 falafel balls and I didn't need nearly that many since it was just a week night dinner for the two of us, so I cut the recipe in half (full recipe is below).

Falafel
1 lb dired chickpeas
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, quartered
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, stalks removed
small bunch of fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest if 1/2 lemon, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp baking soda

Soak the chickpeas in cold water for about 12 hours. Drain and put them in a food processor with all of the other ingredients. Process and blend until combined but not fully pureed. You want them to have some texture.  Allow mixture to stand for 30 minutes before shaping into 35 balls.  Then allow to stand for another 35 minutes. Fill a saucepan or deep fryer with canola oil . I always fry with canola oil (regardless of what a recipe calls for) because it is much healthier. You would like a couple inches of oil. Heat to 375 and deep fry the balls - the falafel balls, that is :) Fry for about four minutes until golden brown, and drain on paper towels.

Sasha's Kitchen: Falafel

Sasha's Kitchen: Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I recently ordered some squash blossoms with my Fresh Direct groceries, from a local New York farm. There's a very short season on squash blossoms and I had never prepared anything with them before, so I wasn't really sure what all the fuss was about. Well, I figured it out - they have a lovely, sweet delicate taste that is just perfect with goat cheese and some herbs, and fried up with a bit of panko. It's healthy too, as long as you fry in canola oil, like I always do. The herbed goat cheese that I used was the perfect accompaniment for these delicate little blossoms.

Sasha's Stuffed Squash Blossoms
8 squash blossoms
4 oz herbed goat cheese
2 eggs
panko bread crumbs
pepper to season

To prepare, stuff the blossoms packed with the herbed goat cheese. Beat the eggs and coat the blossoms before dredging and covering in panko bread crumbs.  season with a bit of pepper and fry in canola oil. Totally lovely for a summertime snack of appetizer - I'm so glad I tried this.

I haven't made cupcakes in awhile. I've been trying to cook a bit healthier, plus life has been really, really hectic in a Bill Murray "Groundhog Day" kind of way.  But I plan on making some Harry Potter "Butterbeer" inspired cupcakes this coming Friday, so they'll be posted shortly thereafter as the triumphant cupcake return.

Sasha's Kitchen: Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Sasha's Kitchen: Tilapia Fish Tacos with Peach-Mango Salsa

Peaches are one of my favorite foods of the summer. I incorporate them into just about everything - grilled peaches with barbecued meat, salads, pies, cobblers, you name it. They are also a key component of my fruity salsas in the summer months. Recently I made some delicious tilapia tacos with a savory peach salsa that was delicious and healthy - full of vitamin C.

Sasha's Peach-Mango Salsa
1 mango diced
2 large peaches, diced
1/3 cup red onion, diced
2 T lime juice
1/2 diced jalapeno pepper

Sasha's Tilapia Fish Tacos (serves two)
2 filets of tilapia, skinned
1/2 cup mirin or sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 T sesame oil
2 T fresh ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Marinate the tilapia for about 12 hours (a whole day is usually good). Then grill or bake the fish. After the fish is cooked to your liking, break it up into small pieces with a fork. This should be very easy as it will just fall apart. Serve in corn tortillas with salsa and a bit of fat free sour cream and lowfat cheddar cheese.

Sasha's Kitchen: Tilapia Fish Tacos with Peach-Mango Salsa

Sasha's Kitchen: Stone Fruit Pie

Fruit pies are the best this time of year. I might have just tired of baking pies for the summer already, but before I did, I made this one a couple weeks ago, using the *best* fruits from my local Greenmarket farmer's market. I love stone fruits - from peaches to apricots to plums. This pie was made just before apricots sprang to the scene at the local market, so I used peaches, nectarines and yellow sugar plums. But, you could easily substitute another stone fruit. I know I say this every time, but this really was one of the best pies of the summer.

Sasha's Stone Fruit Pie

Crust
2 1/4 cup of flour
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
two sticks of butter cut into pieces, cold
1/4 cup of ice water (will then need to add an additional tablespoon or two)


Filling
2 1/3 cups of peaches, sliced in wedges
2 1/2 cups of nectarines, sliced in wedges
1 cup of sliced sugar plums
3 T cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon

To prepare the crust, follow my detailed instructions and techniques on crust making here.  I recommend using your hands and doing this the old -fashioned, rustic way, rather than using a mixer. Combine the flour and butter, salt and sugar with your hands. Add the ice water slowly and combine into two balls of dough until they just form. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes.  During this time, prepare the filling. Then roll out the bottom, fill the pie, and roll out the top and cut into a lattice. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the pie with an egg yolk. Bake at 400 (covered with foil) for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake at 350 for another 25 - 40 minutes. Allow to cool somewhat before serving warm.  I think this would go amazingly with some Blue Marble ice cream from around the corner.

Have you checked out my recent post on Philly Style Cheesesteak on the ShopRite food blog, Potluck? Yum!

Sasha's Kitchen: Stone Fruit Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Cream of Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is one of my husband's favorite vegetables. I'd been looking to make an asparagus soup for awhile, before coming across this one in one of my favorite soup book that we bought a couple years ago on a lovely trip to Ireland. This is isn't a traditional Irish soup by any stretch of the imagination, but the Irish sure do know how to make a good pot of soup. This cream of asparagus soup is nice and healthy, and a good, easy to make soup for spring or summer. I've been under quite a bit of stress lately (more of the crap that I seem luck enough to get in extra-large doses), so this was a nice and easy weekday soup that didn't further complicate my day. It's a perfect, quick and east weekday meal.

Cream of Asparagus Soup (adapted from Irish Soups & Breads)
16 spears of asparagus
1 cup potato, peeled and chopped
2 medium leeks
4 T butter or olive oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
5 cups low sodium chicken stock
4 T non-fat sour cream (recipe calls for creme fraiche)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut off the tips of the asparagus and set aside for garnish. Chop off the lower portion of the stalks and discard.  Cut up the remainder of the asparagus, and peel and cube the potato. Wash and finely chop the leeks. Blanch the tips of the asparagus in lightly salted water for five minutes and set aside.

Saute the asparagus (main portion), potatoes and leeks in canola oil or butter and cook for about five minutes. Then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Puree in a food processor and add in the creme fraiche or sour cream. Serve and top with the asparagus tips, and some croutons, and season as desired.

Sasha's Kitchen: Cream of Asparagus Soup

Sasha's Kitchen: Stuffed Teriyaki Rice Balls (Yaki Onigiri)

Today's recipe / blog post is my attempt at some Japanese street food. It all started when I had some delicious stuffed Mimi & Coco teriyaki balls at Smogasburg in Williamsburg a couple weeks ago.  They were so good that I educated myself a bit about this Japanese street food before trying to make my own. They're based on Yaki Onigiri, or fried Japanese rice balls that are the quintessential Japanese street food. Here's a sample of a traditional Onigiri recipe that I found on another blog.  I can't way this was a success in full but it was a good first step, as they still pale in comparison to the stuffed Onigiri at Mimi & Coco that I tasted.

Sasha's Stuffed Yaki Onigiri

cooked sushi rice (I started with 1.5 cups uncooked rice)

1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

teriyaki sauce

1 lb ground grass fed beef

Top prepare this, first I cooked the beef for the inside of the teriyaki balls. I added about a quarter cup of teriyaki sauce and cooked until the beef was done and had a nice teriyaki flavor. Then, the beef cooled to room temperature while I prepared the rice. Once the sushi rice was done, I seasoned it with a bit of the rice wine vinegar, the same was as making sushi rice. 

When working with the rice for this recipe, make sure your hands are wet, as the rice is very sticky. Using your hands, shape some rice around a teaspoon or so of the ground beef which you should place in the center. Add some more rice and form a nice sized ball. Because of the stuffing, these will be a bit larger than traditional Japanese rice balls.  Continue to make a whole bunch of rice balls with the teriyaki beef filling. 

After you have formed the onigiri, it's time to grill them up. This is the tricky part - a couple of mine did fall apart but the rest did stay in tact. I think I can improve on this next time. Using a cast iron skillet, add a small amount of oil and grill on each side until it forms a crisp skin and are lightly browned - over medium heat. When all sides are grilled, brush on a layer of teriyaki sauce using a pastry brush.  Then grill all sides again. Serve hot!

Sasha's Kitchen: Stuffed Teriyaki Rice Balls (Yaki Onigiri)