For the Love of Food

I was at the organic food store in the southern part of town the other day looking for something…I can’t remember what anymore. I came across some alfalfa sprouts, which are really hard to come by here. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the possibilities…sandwiches, salads, and??? Sushi! It’s probably not something you usually find in sushi, but it sure tastes great! Add some bacon to it and it makes is even better…add some tempura shrimp – and you’ll just knock your socks off! Continue Reading »

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see a sea of sliced kiwi fruit? For me it’s desert. It must be some sort of cake or yummy tart. But, in this case, it’s actually sushi! Wild, huh? I don’t believe I would have ever thought to combine kiwi with sushi, but hey, life would be dull if we never thought outside of the box. Sushi Day just has some great recipes!

Continue Reading »

A long long time ago I came across this great blog with some even more enticing pictures! I book marked it, as we all do with so many of the delicious blogs we find out there, and kept going. In the mood for sushi one day, I looked through my dusty bookmarks to see what I could find. And, there was SushiDay waiting for me. Continue Reading »

Don’t ask me how I thought this would all go well together! The entire time taht I was taking itmes out of the refrigerator to make this meal, I kept thinking to myself “you have really gone crazy – and everyone else will definately agree with you on that one!”.

But, to my own surprise, and to the surprise of my husband, it was EXCELLENT! I will make this recipe over and over again … it’s not my favorit sushi recipe!

Ingredients:
Sushi:
2 small pork Schnitzels (breaded pork cutlet)
Oil for frying
1 Cup of Rice
2 Cups of Water
1 packet of Goya Seasoning Coriander & Anatto
1/4 teaspoon of Salt
1 leaf of Boston Bibb Lettuce (if desired)
1/4 a small Red Onion, sliced
2 Nori Sheets

Dressing:
Salt
Pepper
a dash of Garlic powder
a dash of Onion powder
1 teaspoon of diced fresh Thyme
1 heaping teaspoon of yellow Mustard
1/2 teaspoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon red Grape Juice
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablepsoons of Olive Oil

Directions:
Schnitzel:
Pour enough oil into a pan to cover the bottom. Heat the oil and fry the schnitzel one side at a time until cooked. Set aside on a cutting board, and once cooled, slice into thin strips with a sharp knife.

Rice:
In a medium-sized pot, cook rice with goya seasoning and salt according to these direction.

Dressing:
In a mortar and pestle, crush together salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Next, mix in mustard, grape juice, and balsamic vinegar. Then, whisk in the oil. This dressing goes great on salads too!

Sushi:
Lay 1 nori sheet on a flat surface. Spread out half of the rice out onto the sheet. Pour about 1 tablespoon of dressing over the rice. Place about 6 strips of schnitzel, half of the red onion, and a leaf of lettuce (I found that the lettuce made it difficult to keep the roll together; the one without the lettuce came out better) onto the rice. Pour about another tablespoon of dressing onto the toppings. Roll your sushi, and cut. Repeat with the second nori sheet.

Dip into the dressing if you like.

Ingredients:
cooked Sushi rice and Sushi-zu (see recipes here)
2 Avocado, halved, peeled, and sliced (see how-to here)
12 breaded Calamari rings, toasted, halved
½ a Carrot, julienned
Wasabi paste
black and white Sesame seeds
4 Nori sheets
plastic wrap

Directions:
Place 1 nori sheet on your bamboo rolling mat and cover with rice making sure to leave a lip. Sprinkle the rice with the sesame seeds. Place a piece of plastic wrap that is longer than the nori sheet on the rice-covered nori. Gently place you hand on it and flip the nori sheet over so that the rice is on the plastic wrap facing down. Place a dot of wasabi paste on your finger and smear it down the middle of the nori sheet. Place 6 calamari ring-halves over where you smeared the wasabi paste. Place some carrots on top of the calamari and carefully roll your sushi roll closed. It will be an inside-out roll since the rice is on the outside.
Place the roll in the middle of your plastic wrap and cover the top with avocado slices. Carefully place cover the roll in the plastic wrap and begin to tighten it so that the avocado becomes pressed to the rice. Once you are ready to serve, cut the roll while it’s still wrapped in plastic wrap to hold everything in place. Remove plastic wrap and enjoy!

Makes 4 rolls.

Sushi Rice and Sushi-Zu Recipe from the cookbook “sushi american style” by Tracy Griffith, with some slight variations of mine.
Sushi Rice and Sushi-Zu
Ingredients:
1.5 Cups Sushi Rice
1/3 Cups Rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1 teaspoon of SaltDirections:
Sushi-Zu: In a small saucepan, stir the vinegar, sugar, and salt over low heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. Don’t let the mixture boil. Set aside.Sushi Rice: Pour the rice into a freestanding wire-mesh sieve. If you don’t have a freestanding one, place one ontop of a pot so it can hang dry. Under cold tap water, swish the rice around with your fingers, until the water runs almost clear. To dry, fan the rice up around the sides of the colander, exposing the maximum surface area to air. Let the rice stand forabout 30 minutes, until it’s completely dry.Place the rice and 2 Cups of water in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to boil over high heat and boil for 1 minute. Foam should bubble up around the lid, but be carefull not to let the rice boil over. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 more mintes. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered and undisturbed, for 15 minutes.With a wooden spatula, spread out the rice in the pot. Pour the Sushi-Zu over the rice, trying to cover it evenly. With the paddle, fold the rice until all the grains are coated and glossy.

You are now ready to make “sushi” with this rice.
Makes enough for 2 rolls and 3 nigir-sushi.

Sushi Rolls:
2 Nori sheets
6 cooked Shrimp
3 Snow Peas
2 thin long slices of Cucumber
2 long thing strips of Avocado
Wasabi paste
2/3-3/4 Cup of cooked Sushi Rice
Bamboo rolling mat or aluminum foil
Kikoman Soy Sauce for dipping

Directions:

Have a small bowl of water mixed with a dash of rice vinegar on the side to wet your fingers so the rice doesn’t stick.

On your bamboo rolling mat, place 1 nori sheet shiny-side-down. Wet your hands and scoop out about 1/3 cup of Suchi rice (use a spoon if the rice is still too hot) and place it in the middle of the nori sheet. Spread the rice out over the nori sheet, leaving a 1 inch boarder at the top and bottom. Add some more rice if this was not enough to cover your nori sheet. Repeat this for the second nori sheet as well.

For an untraditiaonal California Roll:
Dab a pea-sized amount of wasabi paste onto your pointer finger and run it accross the middle of the rice. Place 3 shrimp (or surimi…I prefer shrimp) accross the middle of the nori sheet. Place 1 piece of cucumber above the shrimp and 2 pieces of avocado bellow the shrimp. Then, place 3 snow pea pods in a row on top of the shrimp. Roll..
For a Shrimp and Cucumber Roll:
Dab a pea-sized amount of wasabi paste onto your pointer finger and run it accross the middle of the rice. Place 3 shrimp accross the middle of the nori sheet. Place 1 piece of cucumber bellow the shrimp. Roll.

To roll:
See these step-by-step instructions with images from FabulousFoods.com

Serves 2.

Nigiri Sushi
Ingredients:
2/3 Cup of cooked Sushi Rice
3 jumbo-sized cooked shrimp (see instructions on how to cook shrimp for nigiri-sushi at the Tokyo Food Page)

Directions:
Using left over rice form oval rolls, dab on some wasabi paste, and cover with shrimp.

Serves 1.