Vegan Sushi

Ok, so I loooove sushi. I could eat sushi pretty much anytime. I often get intense cravings for it. It doesn't help that there's a sushi restaurant in the same building as my gym. Every time I go to work out, I have to walk right by the place!

Since sashimi grade fish is typically a little out of my price range (and takes extra effort to acquire), I usually just make veggie sushi, which is just as good. I never would have thought I could make my own sushi, but a friend of mine gave me a quick lesson and I've been rolling my own seaweed ever since. It's so much cheaper than going out! And it's easy. All you need is a sushi mat, nori and some tasty fillings.

• 1 package nori (seaweed)
• Prepared sushi rice (from 1 cup uncooked)
• carrots
• celery
• avocado
• baked tofu
• anything you can think of that sound good in a sushi roll
• a few tablespoons of water in a small container
  
• soy sauce
• wasabi
  

1. Chop up your fillings. You want little matchstick size-slices---long and thin.

2. Set up your rolling stations. I usually let people roll their own sushi, so they can chose their own ingredients. I have two sushi mats with the rice cooker and the fillings in the middle and the small containers of water near the top of each mat.

3. Center a sheet of nori on your mat, shiny ridged side up. Scoop some rice onto the center of the nori and use a spoon to smash it flat and spread it out so that it covers the nori (to the edges!) leaving only about an inch at the top end uncovered. (This will allow the nori to stick to itself and form a roll.) About a third of the way from the bottom, press a small divot across the rice, creating a little space to nest your fillings.

4. Place a small row of the first filling all the way across the nori to the edges, leaving no gaps, but also not overlapping too much. That way each bite will have all the ingredients you add. Add your remaining toppings in a similar fashion, piling them up on top of each other in the divot area you created. The more toppings you add, the fatter your sushi rolls will be. For very spicy rolls, add chili sauce, or my personal favorite---a thin line of wasabi all the way across the nori.

5. Now for the fun part. Once you're satisfied with your fillings, it's time to roll. Pick up the bottom end of your sushi mat in both hands. Lift the mat (and therefore also the nori) up over the row of toppings and tuck it up snuggly on the side of the toppings furthest from you.

You want it to be tight or your rolls will fall apart after you cut them. Using little movements, roll the mat towards the top ( so that the mat ends up more or less folding in half), while continuing to roll the nori onto itself. Stop when you get to the inch you left rice-free.

6. Spoon a small amount of water onto the empty strip of nori. This will be the "glue" that makes the nori stick to itself and will secure your roll. Finish rolling the nori up over the top strip. Look, sushi! My friend said to put the finished rolls on a plate in the freezer while you make the rest. Chilling them slightly will make them easier to cut.

7. When you are ready to eat, cut each roll into bite-sized slices.

Taco Salad

Tonight we're having taco salad "take 2".  We made it last night as well, and there is something so satisfying about eating taco salad.  Maybe it's because I grew up eating it often.  The best part is not having to be confined to a tortilla to get all the goods mixed together, as you are with a taco or burrito.  It's not the fanciest recipe on the block but it's what's for dinner tonight, so here we go.  When serving this salad, we leave all the ingredients separate, just like when we serve tacos, so everyone can make theirs to order.

What's in it

One head of lettuce (romaine) rinsed, dried and chopped

Green onions, sliced

Cheese, grated - use a mixture of what you are craving, such as jack, cheddar or pepper jack

Sour cream

Tomatoes, chopped

Avocado, cubed

Can of corn, drained

Can of sliced olives, drained

Can of beans, rinsed and heated (I prefer black)

Ground beef or chopped chicken

Taco seasoning or packet (I got the spicy taco seasoning by McCormick)

Tortilla chips

Salsa

Catalina salad dressing

How it's made

Prepare the meat with the taco seasoning packet as directed on the back of the seasoning package.  Prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Set the table with each ingredient in it's own bowl, to have a 'make your own' set up.  I combine the onion and lettuce, and the corn and olives.  You can use any dressing you like - a salsa, Catalina, or that weird creamy mixture that's red and white mixed together and I'm blanking on the name right now.

An alternative to using tortilla chips is frying up a whole tortilla to serve as the base of the salad.