Sushi! Can we do it? Yes we can!

Sushi has been on my list of things to make at home for a long time. I first tried sushi when I was in 8th grade and was no fan. But it came around again when I was dating the man who I would end up marrying. One from Portland and one from Seattle, we couldn't really avoid the stuff. And now I loved it.

Wasabi. Soy sauce. Seaweed. Sweet. Salty. Spicy. More. More. More.

A number of years ago a co-worker where I used to work did a lunch-time demo on how to make sushi. I wasn't sleepless the night before due to excitement, but almost. I thought that with the hands-on training I'd soon have my own personal all-you-can-eat sushi bar at home.

But then, photo-copied recipe in hand, I gave it a try. Even with the demo under my belt, the result was basically head to toe sticky rice and really ugly not so tasty rolls. I didn't get it. Sushi still seemed too hard.

A few years later, I got Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. At the time, I no longer had sushi on the brain. In fact, I was anti-sushi. My new dislike had to do with my sister's theory that everything you eat in the first three months of pregnancy becomes disgusting to you.

That so-so supermarket sushi (minus the raw choices) was top of my snack list when I was newly pregnant with my second child. And now I couldn't stand the thought of anything resembling a California roll, good, bad or otherwise.

Luckily this wasn't the end of the story. When I was ready to return to the roll, Bittman's book was there to help.

With the following easy steps, you too, can build a mountain of killer rolls at home.

Sushi Rice

Make any short grain rice, brown or white, as you normally do. Make a double batch if you want a ton of sushi. The vinegar "sauce" below is the right quantity for one-and-a-half cups of rice before cooking.

While the rice is cooking, heat 1/4 c rice vinegar, 2 T sugar and 1 t salt in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves (less than 5 minutes). Then cool this down as quickly as you can (I put it in a liquid measure and set it in a bowl with ice packed around it).

When the rice is done, put it in a big bowl and while it is still hot, paddle in the cold vinegar mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon.

 

 

The Rolls

For the rolls, I've yet to try any raw fish. I generally do very thin cuts of carrot, cucumber, and avocado. I also have used smoked salmon, lox, or leftover fish, fried or in teriyaki sauce. Sesame seeds are also a good addition.

You can buy powdered wasabi in a tin at most any grocery store in the ethnic food section. Just add hot water to make it come alive.

Nori (the seaweed to wrap the roll) can be found in the same spot. It generally comes already toasted.

Then you need a bamboo sushi-rolling mat.

Hand water: put one cup water mixed with 2 T rice vinegar in a bowl. Use it to clean your fingers while you are making rolls and to dip your knife in before cutting the rolls.

To assemble the rolls, lay down the sushi mat and put a sheet of nori down, shiny side down.

Spread rice on the nori, not too much and leaving about an inch border all around.

Lay a modest amount of veges, etc. down the middle. I like to get the filling closer to the edges so it sticks out the end. It makes the ends look like fancy hand rolls. Then roll it up, tightening the roll beneath the mat with your fingers and scooting the mat out as you go. At the end you slide the mat away and you have a tight, sealed role, ready for cutting into neat rounds (a very sharp knife works best with a dip in the hand water in between cuts).

What to serve with sushi?

Interestingly, tater tots taste really good with sushi rolls. Wasabi mayonnaise makes a yummy dip for the adults. The kids don't mind ketchup with their sushi.

A green salad with a soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar dressing also goes well.

Note: It takes awhile to cut up all the veges and assemble the rolls, so I don't recommend this meal for a school night. I've done it, though. It just gets a little ugly at 8 p.m. when we haven't eaten yet. But the result is worth it. And you end up eating so many, that you max out and don't have to make them again for awhile.

What to do now that I don't eat beef?

It took me over a year to realize that every time I ate red meat my stomach would cramp up and I'd be uncomfortable for about 12 hours. Answer = I gave it up. Not a big deal except my husband loves it and it limits variety for dinners. (Our son, thank goodness, pretty much eats anything so he's on board for whatever). So just this morning as we pondered our week's menu (yes, Alice and Craig, we pretty much do a weekly menu now!!), Ray said he was in the mood for meatballs., "Oh, but you don't eat beef." I immediately asked if he would eat turkey meatballs and because he has had several yummy experiences with turkey meatloaf, he agreed. I turned to Food Network.com and found a tremendously easy and delicious recipe for turkey meatballs- thank you Giada. I did the food shopping at 1:00, had lunch at 2:00 and the meatballs were done simmering by 3:00. And they are so good I had to share!

1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 T ketchup (organic ketchup is great!!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves (I used dried organic, just under 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese (I bought an italian blend of the 2 cheeses and saved money)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb chopped turkey
3 T olive oil
jar of sauce (Miur Glen organic sauce is delicious)

Add onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, cheeses, salt, pepper in a bowl and blend.

THEN mix in the turkey. Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls. (makes 24 of them)

Heat oil over med-high heat and brown the meatballs for about 5 mins. (they stuck pretty good so Ray recommended putting them in the fridge for a little while before frying to help them stick together better).

Remove and then pour off excess oil.

Add jar of sauce and put the meatballs back in pan. Turn to med-low and simmer for 15-20 mins.

We are going to serve it tonight with whole wheat spaghetti for me and artichoke flour pasta for Ray, and likely both for Raymond, along with a mixed green salad.

Leftovers will be served on a roll for a meatball sub!!

Valentine's Day Trials and Tribulations

It never occurred to me that Valentine's Day (or the lead up to the big day) could be so stressful. Sure, it's been alternately exciting and annoying when I was single and pretty low-key as a married lady, but never stressful.

Enter kids. It's dinner time and you realize that you have twenty little cards to personalize with names and stickers (double that for two kids). I'm sure eventually my kids will do this on their own, but right now at ages 5 and 2, they need quite a bit of help and motivation. Then there's the school party and the guilt-inducing sign-up sheet for goodies. So, add baking cookies to the list.

That's how I found myself last night, making dinner, doing Valentines with the kids, and making cookies all at the same time. Things were already exciting and then the kitchen sink clogged and every available spot on the counter became dirty as the dishes piled up and I had to run to the bathroom to wash my hands and an occasional dish or utensil. Add to that the fact that I had started my no-knead bread in the morning but was returning to the original Jim Lahey process that involves baking the bread in a preheated pot. That's how I came to burn the H-E-L-L out of my thumb and several fingers as I picked up the lid, forgetting that it was 475 degrees hot.

Why am I sharing all this? Truly it's not to complain. I always try to keep perspective and count my blessings--which are many.

Rather, I'm writing because of the looks Craig and I kept exchanging throughout the night. The "can you believe this is happening?" looks. Those looks embody that secret club you enter when you have kids. It's part of the reason I wanted to start this blog in the first place. Because if you are blessed to have a pretty sane and stable life otherwise and if these moments don't turn you into a raving lunatic, at many levels you grow. And you have something to look back on and laugh about.

It's an experience that is fun to share. Cheers and Happy Valentine's Day.