Farewell Class

Today was our last Vital Ingredient cooking class (tears on my pillow). I loved this class because of the food we prepared and I learned some new kitchen skills, specifically proper knife skills and how to properly cut and dice an onion. I also learned how to make salad dressing and mayonnaise from scratch. I will never buy bottled salad dressing again! Tonight we prepared a cold soup,watermelon soup. I have always wanted to try it and tonight I got my chance. It was surprisingly delicious. I also learned how to set up a cooking blog so I could post our fabulous recipes. I want to thank the Vitality Cooking team, Chef Lofink, Kevin Brown and Maria Allison for the cooking and computer skills I learned these past two months.😋😋😋😋😋👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏

Watermelon Gazpacho

Tonight's class focused on a delicious cold soup, Watermelon Gazpacho.  It was surprisingly delicious!!

Ingredients:

1 large heirloom tomato, small dice

1/2 serrano chili pepper, small dice

2 cups fresh watermelon

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced red onion

1/2 cucumber, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons mined fresh dill, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a blender, puree the tomatoes, chile and 1/2 of the watermelon. Pour in the red wine vinegar and olive oil and pulse. Add the onion, cucumber and dill and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Poor into chilled bowls and sprinkle with dill, feta and remaining watermelon. Serve.

From start

 To finish!!

😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋

Potato Soup in Class

The potato soup was very good.  I really enjoyed the simplicity of making it without all of the salt that we have , when we buy soup in the can.    Chef Brian is a great teacher; The edible flowers were not only pretty to look at,  they were quite tasty.

Grilled Salmon Sushi

I can't wait to make and experience this Grilled Salmon Sushi recipe which I found here: Grilled Wild Salmon Sushi. I love all the ingredients which are readily available.

Grilled Wild Salmon Sushi Rolls

·         YIELD:6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

·         Vegetable oil for grilling

·         1 pound Alaskan wild salmon fillets, skin on, steaks, or tuna steaks

·         1 1/4 cups soy sauce

·         2 cups short- or medium-grain sushi rice

·         4 tablespoons rice vinegar, plus more for forming rice

·         4 tablespoons sugar

·         1/4 cup wasabi powder

·         2 tablespoons spring or filtered water

·         6 sheets nori

·         18 fresh purple or green shiso leaves

·         1 small seedless cucumber, julienned

·         1 cup clover sprouts or arugula

DIRECTIONS

Brush oil on the skin of the salmon and place the fillet skin side down on a plate. Brush with some of the soy sauce on the flesh side. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a medium pot, combine the rice and water to cover. Stir to level. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low heat until the rice has absorbed all of the water, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a spoon. Allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the 4 tablespoons rice vinegar and the sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Transfer the cooked rice to a Japanese round wooden rice container and spread it out in a thin layer. While fanning (using a traditional bamboo paddle, a hand held fan, a card, or anything that works) the rice to cool it, work in the vinegar mixture. Moisten hands with rice vinegar to keep the rice from sticking to them while dividing it into 6 equal portions. Let stand at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap.

Prepare an indirect fire in a charcoal or gas grill. Grill the salmon, skin side down, on the cooler side of the grill until the skin is golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, brush some oil on the flesh side. Turn and grill on the other side for 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

Mix the wasabi powder and 2 tablespoons water until well combined. The wasabi should not stick to your hands when rolled into a ball.

Cover a bamboo sushi mat with a layer of plastic wrap. (This will help keep the mat clean and make it easier to remove the sushi roll.) Place a sheet of nori on top of the covered mat, shiny side down. Take 1 portion of rice and spread it evenly over two-thirds of the nori sheet closest to you.

Next, smear a thin layer of wasabi paste in a single line along the width of the roll.

Next, overlap 3 shiso leaves on top, then some cucumber and sprouts.

Finally, flake about 2 tablespoons of salmon with skin and add it across the top. Using the bamboo mat, grab hold of the thick end of the roll and roll it over the ingredients tightly. The last third of the nori sheet should be left. Roll the ingredients all the way to the end of the nori sheet. Remove each nori roll from the plastic and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi paste on the side.

Raspberry Salad

   

                                 Raspberry Salad                 

Photo Credit

             The thing that made me realize that I was old is that people started being nice to me.  Not just people on the bus who give up their seats, and people offering  but the people of the whole city and as a result I can ride the bus anywhere I want for free and I am never far from a senior center all day.
             One thing about senior centers is that they teach a lot about nuitrition.  For instance a year or so ago they did a salad and put mango it it.  I am not from the islands, mango is a foreign fruit. But I decided to buy one and try it. Fruit in my salad?  Why not?  In Pittsburgh I had a sirloin steak salad with thin French fries.   Now I cut up Fingerling potatoes and fry them to add to my salads at home
.Why not mangoes  or for that matter some other fruits I have always ignored.  Like the good old  American raspberry, which I never liked or disliked. I have just always ignored it
       So last week for the first time in my life I purchased raspberries, pureed them and made of raspberry vinaigrette.  I have arugula and feta cheese.  I saw one raspberry salad recipe online that called for peaches, not this time of the year, Perhaps some oranges, some mandarin oranges.

Best Steak in West Philly

A new grill just got delivered to my house today.
We are going to put it together on Thursday.
It is sooo heavy that it had to be shoved in the door.
We are going use this recipe to grill our new steaks on our new grill

Grilled Steak Salad with Asian Dressing

• Prep
  30 m
• Cook
  15 m
• Ready In
  1 h 45 m

Recipe By:Joanne Zalapski Samchyk

"BBQ steak salad with a sesame-rice vinegar dressing."

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) rib eye steak
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning, or to taste
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 pinches red pepper flakes
• 10 leaves romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 large English cucumber, cubed
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 carrot, grated
• 4 thin slices red onion
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Season both side of the rib eye steak with soy sauce and steak seasoning. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to overnight.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
3. Grill steak on preheated grill until firm, reddish-pink, and juicy in the center, about 6 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Transfer steak to a platter, sprinkle with lemon juice, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Allow meat to rest for about 10 minutes, then cut into strips.
4. Whisk rice vinegar, olive oil, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Combine lettuce, cucumber, avocado, tomato, carrot, red onion, and steak strips in a large bowl. Pour rice vinegar dressing over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2017 Allrecipes.com 
Printed From Allrecipes.com 4/25/2017

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222718/grilled-steak-salad-with-asian-dressing/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=2GRILLIN

GRILLIN

Sweet and Spicy Pork Ribs

I was 19 years old and a new resident of Philly when I was introduced to this delicious food that was not part of my mother's menu.  It's one of my favorites, year round.

So I'm back, and after finding a delicious looking photo of spareribs today, I'd like to share the recipe that I plan on using soon.

The following recipe is courtesy of Yummy:

If you're thinking of bringing these 

Prep Time

30 mins 

Cooking Time

2 hrs 20 mins 

Ready In

2 hrs 50 mins 

Yield

4

Cuisine

Filipino

Cooking Method

Bake

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups pineapple juice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

2 pieces star anise, ground

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 kilos pork, use American pork ribs

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup sesame seeds

mashed potatoes

COOKING PROCEDURE

Make the marinade: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Place ribs on a baking dish. Pour marinade over, making sure everything is well coated. Marinate for 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make the rub: Combine all ingredients. Arrange ribs on a baking dish, pour marinade over, and spread rub evenly over ribs. 

Cover baking dish with foil. Bake for 2 hours in the preheated oven. 

Take out the baking dish from the oven. Increase heat to 450°F. Remove foil. Using the drippings from the bottom of the pan baste the ribs all over. Bake again for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer ribs to a serving platter. Pour drippings into a small saucepan and cook over high heat for around 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Pour glaze over ribs and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with mashed potatoes and corn, if desired.