Sassy Radish

Can I send you a product so you can write about it?
Thank you for offering, but Sassy Radish is a product review free zone. For that reason, I almost never accept free samples. If it’s a truly unique product that I think my readers will enjoy, I would consider it. If there is a product I like, I suggest it to the readers, but it’s a product I have purchased myself. I kind of prefer this arrangement.

What is it that you really do during the day?
Well, I did allude to being a finance geek and that’s sort of true. I work for a small financial firm doing investor relations and it’s worked out great. My job is interesting, the people I work with are great and are supportive of the efforts here (I was honest about having a food blog from the very beginning). My coworkers also like to eat whatever baked goods I happen to make over the weekend and drag in to work. And all in all, my hours could be a lot worse, given that I work in finance in New York City.

What kind of camera/lenses do you use?
I used to use a Nikon D70s, but bit the bullet and upgraded to a D700. It’s my baby and I love it. I use the following lenses: Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and Sigma 60mm f/2.8. I find them to be most handy for photos, though I have been dreaming about this mid-range zoom: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 (the price, however, stops me in my tracks!)

Who designed your site?
The original concept was a collaboration between the vision in my head and the amazing work of this wonderful friend. I’ve recently used this team of talented and fantastic folks to move my site from MT to WP and asked them to install a plug-ins as well.

Do you take all the pictures yourself?
At the very beginning, I might have used 1-2 photographs that someone else took, but save for that, yes, all of the photography on this site is taken by me. Also, my head shots have not been taken by me, but by a dear friend, Stacy who is kind enough to be a guinea pig for my culinary creations.

Can we exchange links?
I’m sorry but, I don’t reciprolink. I read what I read and I encourage you to do the same. Link to things that inspire you, be it writing, cooking, or photography, or because you know the people writing them.

I see a typo/spelling error/egregious grammatical mishap – you should be more attentive in your proof-reading.
By all means, do point them out to me. Nicely. I’m but one human and juggle full time work, running and cooking, not to mention some semblance of a social life.

This recipe didn’t work for me, why?
Honestly, I have no idea. You see, I’m here and you’re on the other side of the interwebs and I don’t know exactly which ingredients and which proportions you are using. Are you following the recipe to the most minute detail? Or did you experiment with another ingredient? I can try to help you figure it out, but my capacities are limited.

I couldn’t find a particular recipe in your index, will you make it for me and write about it?
Possibly. If it’s in season and I’ve been meaning to make it, or if other readers might want to read about it. Definitely suggest it to me and I’ll try to make it happen.

Can I use your photography on my blog/publication/site?
No, I’m sorry. My photography is my work and it’s proper that we are compensated for our work. I’ve recently changed the copyright rules on my pictures, but if there is something you want to use, please email me and we can work it out. I’m also working on putting some images on the web that will make it easier to purchase.

You deleted/edited out my comment – why?
Did you say something that might be deemed rude or offensive? That might be why. I treat this space as an open forum, but one that plays nicely in this sandbox of a blog. If you wouldn’t say something at a dinner table to your host, then it might not be appropriate for a comment.

Why don’t you have more meat recipes? Are you a vegetarian?
I am most definitely not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat a lot of meat. I also tend to not cook it very often for a slew of reasons. However, for the record, I was a vegetarian for 8 years, but that was a long time ago.

You live in New York City, arguably the best gastronomical center in the world. Where should I go and eat?
Oh goodness, I cannot possibly even think of where to begin. New York offers so much and I would hate to plug one place and omit another. My favorite places are simple, comforting, focusing on fresh in-season, quality ingredients. If you really need a few ideas, drop me a line. In the meantime, I’ll try to come up with a list of my go-to places.

What would we be surprised to learn about you?
Probably that I love watching football and hockey and yell at the television screen while drinking beer; hate trying on clothes; love bourbon.

I have a question (or several) – what’s the best way to reach you?
Is this a question about a recipe you just read? If so, you can post it in the comments and I’ll respond. That way if another reader has the same question, it’s answered and we can have a bit of a forum going. Is this a general question that doesn’t quite fit in with the blog? Send me an email and I will try to respond as quickly as I can.

I emailed you and you never responded, why?
Oh goodness, sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed with work and life and it forget to respond. If that ever happens, please gently nudge me. I promise I will respond!

Do you have favorite foods?
Too many to list, but things like mashed potatoes, things involving tomatoes, lime and cilantro, all things pickled, merguez, butter and fresh bread come to mind right now.

What about foods you won’t eat?
Not too many – things involving anise and licorice are not on my desired ingredients list. I’m indifferent to chicken breast and pork chops have never impressed me. No matter how hard I’ve tried to like tapas, I’ve never been able to.

What are your can’t-live-without-them kitchen stuffs? What do you think is truly essential?
Yes, and I will post and an answer to that shortly.

Can I substitute margarine for butter, Splenda for sugar (and/or other substitutions)?
Generally, my answer will be no. First of all because I don’t like margarine and don’t think it’s a good substitute; ditto for Splenda. Secondly because I really can’t guarantee you that a recipe will behave the way it did for me when you change a critical ingredient. I find that scaling back sugar usually doesn’t do anything horrible. Or swapping out almond extract for vanilla or something like that. But proportions and textures and different chemical compositions could affect your recipe adversely.

Where are you from? Where did you grow up?
I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, back when it was still Leningrad, USSR. Contrary to popular belief, I actually had an amazing childhood, barely, if ever stood in lines, played lots of piano (at the behest of my parents) and read everything I could lay my eyes on. Oh, and I started to help my mother in the kitchen when I was 5. Winters were cold, summers were short, but I got exposed to some of the most amazing foods early on: unpasteurized milk from grass-fed cows, meat only from grass-fed cows (we were unaware it could be any other way). We ate seasonally because you could only get produce when it was in season. It taught me to truly delight in things like a ripe strawberry or tomato. After coming to America, I grew up in Boston, went to school in Pittsburgh and then moved to New York for work.

With all the working and cooking, do you have time for anything else?
Sometimes, I sleep. No, but really, I do lots of stuff. And there are weeks where I cook nary a thing. I try to run and spend some time at the gym because it makes me feel better and because I enjoy it. I spend time with friends and family. I take walks with my camera and pop into bakeries for treats and coffee. I watch some low-quality television.

With whom do you work for advertising?
The lovely people at Martha Stewart.

Who hosts your site?
Dreamhost.

What blogging platform do you use?
I used WordPress and like it a lot. I used to be on Movable Type, but spam comments got out of control and the WP plug-in for spam is far superior. So I made the leap. These really kind folks at Cre8d Design helped me make the leap – check them out – they’re fantastic!