Homemade Sushi - No special gadgets necessary!

I have been wanting to try homemade sushi for a very long time, but I was always intimidated. Having a sushi place on every corner here in Jacksonville made it so much easier to just call in an order than try. As I browsed the aisles while grocery shopping last weekend, sushi rice and nori were on sale at Whole Foods. I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. I spent the next three days trying to find a bamboo rolling mat, but had zero luck. I did a youtube search on how to make sushi without a bamboo mat, and it seemed easy enough. By the time I purchased the rice, vinegar, nori and all the various fillings, it did get a little pricey, but it was probably still cheaper than eating out, plus I could make custom rolls! 

I decided to try making brown rice sushi as well as white rice. I used Whole Foods short grain brown rice and prepared it the same way as the sushi rice, but I definitely preferred the white rice. I could have eaten the whole bowl full! The seasonings make it a little tangy and delicious. My only complaint about the sushi was I left it uncovered in the refrigerator, in roll form to set before I cut it, and then for the next few days, it stunk of seaweed! 

For my rolls, I used about 1/3 c. (dry) rice per roll, so the amount of rice you make compared to how many rolls you want can be multiplied that way. 

Vegetarian Sushi Rolls

1 package of nori, dried seaweed (I used this) - 3 sheets needed for 1 c. rice

1 c. sushi rice

1 1/3 c. water

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

Optional fillings:

-Beet, Scallion and Goat Cheese

-Avocado, Cucumber, Carrot and Tofu

-Sweet Potato and Scallion (I used a few baked sweet potato fries!)

-Avocado and Mango

-Avocado and Peanut

-Avocado, Asparagus and Cucumber

To make the rice:

Rinse rice in a fine mesh sieve until it runs clear.

Add water and rice to a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, stirring every few minutes.

Turn heat off after 15 minutes, and let rice sit until water is absorbed.

Add rice to a mixing bowl, season with vinegar, sugar and salt, stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To roll:

Wet a dishtowel, ring dry. 

Lay flat on a counter top, add one sheet of nori.

Spoon rice over nori, using a plastic spatula, press into nori in an even, thin layer.

Add ingredients to center, fold nori over the fillings and press, then continue the roll and squeeze.

Unroll and place on a plate, seam side down.

Refrigerate until ready to slice and serve.

Christmas Colors Salad

In my CSA share last week was a green with red speckles all over it, and I thought to myself, how fitting to get a Christmas color lettuce this week! It inspired me to create a salad full of red and green ingredients, and a little white 'snow' on top. I love eating fun, restaurant like salads at home, but never plan them out enough to make sure they have a variety of toppings. This salad would be a great first course for a dinner party this holiday season, or for any time of year!

Christmas Colors Salad

Veggie by Season original

1 head of lettuce, washed well and torn

2 small red beets, roasted, peeled and cut into wedges

1 granny smith apple, cored and sliced

1/2 c. pomegranate arils

1 avocado, diced

1/4 c. toasted nuts (pistachios would be great, but I had walnuts)

1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese

Dressing:

1/4 c. pomegranate balsamic (or any aged balsamic)

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

Arrange lettuce in a salad bowl, top with apples, beets and avocado.

Sprinkle pomegranate arils, nuts and goat cheese on top.

Whisk together dressing ingredients, drizzle half of dressing over salad, serve the rest on the side.

Slow Roasted Beets with Buttermilk Blue Cheese, Watercress and Toasted Walnuts

For the first week of Symon Sundays, a blogging/cooking group I created to cook through Chef Symon's Live to Cook, I decided to pick two recipes to pair together as a meal. The first thing I saw in the cookbook that caught my eye was this beet salad.

I absolutely love beets, especially with nuts and in the form of a salad. The photo in the cookbook makes it look absolutely delicious, tender beets with sharp blue cheese and toasted walnuts. Chef Symon claims he likes to make dishes that showcase ingredients that people might not have liked as children with the hope to convert them. That was my idea and hope with making this meal, to convert JJ to the beet-loving side.

It wasn't hard to do, as we're big fans of The Office, and Dwight often talks about his beet farm. JJ also was excited to provide latex gloves for me when I asked him if he had anything in his Athletic Training pack that would keep my hands from being stained purple.

I was hoping I would be able to find all of the components to this dish, as golden beets and maytag blue cheese aren't as readily available... but Whole Foods delivered, and I found them there. The only ingredient I did not find was the watercress. I used a bed of romaine, but would have opted for Arugula if JJ didn't object.

This salad was all I hoped it would be, and so much more. The vinaigrette was simple, the beets were the star, and when I got a forkful containing every element of the salad, it was phenominal.

Slow-Roasted Beets with Buttermilk Blue Cheese,

Watercress and Toasted Walnuts

Live to Cook, Michael Symon pg. 74

1/2 cup walnut pieces

Kosher salt

3 medium golden beets

3 medium red beets

1 head of garlic, halved through the equator

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Fresh ground black pepper

1 shallot, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 c. EVOO

1 tbsp. aged balsamic vinegar

4 oz. Maytag blue cheese, crumbled (1 c.)

1 cup loosely packed watercress

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spread walnuts on a baking sheet, sprinke with salt and toast in the oven for 5 minutes, cool.

Lower oven temperature to 325.

In a shallow baking dish, place the beets, garlic and thyme.

Season with salt and pepper, fill with water to reach 1/4" up the side of the pan.

Cover with foil, roast until beets are tender, about an hour.

Remove foil, cool.

Peel beets, cut into wedges.

In a large bowl, combine shallot, garlic, a pinch of salt, orange zest, juice, honey and vinegar.

Whisk, taste for seasonings.

Whisk in EVOO, add beets, toss to coat.

Divide beets among 4 places, top with toasted walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and watercress.

Drizzle with additional vinaigrette from the bowl, finish with ground black pepper.