Timothy Grayson calls his Iryna wife the “borscht whisperer” for good reason.

“Her Ukrainian borscht always seems to turn out excellent – with a hearty mix of meat, beets and cabbage and that signature, deep reddish purple-hued broth that’s cherished by anyone who loves a good bowl of borscht,” he explains in the next Spokesman-Review Food section.

He also shares several of his wife’s recipes, a few of which include short-cuts – condensed cream of mushroom soup, store-bought dough  – for American home cooks who might be short on time.

Iryna Grayson learned to cook from her mother and grandmother in Chernovtsy, Ukraine, where many ingredients are grown at home in a garden or at the “dacha,” a country cottage used especially in the summer.

Hers aren’t the only recipes in the next edition. In advance of their annual Kosher Dinner, cooks at Spokane’s Temple Beth Shalom share their recipe for brisket, including an ingredient that some might find surprising.

As always, Fresh Sheet will feature food-related tidbits. There should be a few more stories, too.

Cheers!