Vegetable Sushi

The other night Kimberly and I were having a few friends over and we happened to have a little leftover sake (Japaense rice wine). We had also been looking forward to making a return trip to Paldo World, our favorite Korean grocery store (ok let's be real, it's the only Korean grocery strore we know of). Basically, all things considered, we really wanted to make sushi.



Modeling provided by the lovely Jennie Greb :)



We love sushi. In fact, we love it so much that we use any excuse to make it. Last year, for example, we had a memorable Cinco de Mayo, complete with the traditional meal of sushi and ice cream. And Avatar the Last Airbender, of course (the tv show, the movie sucked). I'm sure you can add sushi to many other holidays - Easter, Halloween, and Fourth of July are all acceptable options in our opinion.

We also just like making sushi for the additional benefit of feeling like real, professional chefs. Sushi looks so put together and complicated when it is in reality surprisingly simple. The only thing you really have to cook is the rice and you can put in just about any veggies that you have on hand. And even though vegetable sushi is just vegetables and rice, it turns out to be a filling meal. 

Anyways, normally Kimberly and I put the standard carrots, cucumbers and mushrooms into our sushi, but this time walking through Paldo World, we got a little creative. Shopping in Paldo World is always a bit of an adventure. There are so many things to see, a number of unfamiliar languages being spoken, and an unlikely amount of soy sauces to choose from. It took a solid 20 minutes to find some wasabi paste. When we had finally found everything on our list and we were headed towards the check-out, my eye was caught by something shockingly yellow in the refrigerated section. It didn't look like it could possibly be something organic, but it turned out to be pickled radish.

Between Kimberly and I, we somehow managed to convince ourselves that we should buy three large stalks of pickled radish to put in our sushi. Doubt set in as soon as we got home, opened the packaging, and were greeted by an entirely unappetizing odor. However, we persevered, and the strips of bright yellow were a very aesthetically pleasing addition to our sushi (and actually tasted pretty good). We're not necessarily advocating that you buy this for your sushi, because while it was pretty and tasted good, about a week after sushi we still have two and a half stalks of pickled radish in our fridge and no way to use them. If you know of any recipes that involve pickled radishes, please feel free to put them in the comments. Help a girl out.

And Jennie again demonstrates her superior sushi-making skills.

Vegetable Sushi:

3 cups sushi rice

10 sheets nori

Sushi mat
3/4 cup rice vinegar, divided
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 small cucumbers (or 1 large), julienned
1 large carrot, julienned
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced
Pickled ginger
1 avacado, sliced
Pickled radish (optional)
Black sesame seeds (optional)
Wasabi, sriracha, and soy sauce for serving (optional)

1. Cook the sushi rice, usually 1 cup rice to 1 cup water. Set aside and let cool (you will want to let it cool - trying to evenly spread hot sushi rice is painful).

2. Place sliced mushrooms in a medium bowl with 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1/4 cup soy sauce and fill with water until the mushrooms are covered with liquid. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.





3. Put the remaining rice vinegar in a bowl - you will need this later to keep the sushi rice from sticking to your hands (doesn't always work as well as advertized).

4. Now you will begin learning the art of rolling sushi. This is not as hard as it sounds.

First, put 1 sheet of nori on your sushi mat, shiny side down. In as thin a layer as possible, spread the sushi rice over about 2/3 of the nori sheet, leaving a two-inch strip at the top riceless (naked). Make sure to press the rice down firmly so that it all sticks together in a compact layer. It is important to make sure that the rice goes all the way to the bottom and side edges. If (when) the rice gets stuck to your fingers, dip them in the rice vinegar, and maybe even spread a little on the rice itself.

About an inch up from the bottom of the nori sheet (the side with the rice on it), lay out vegetables of your choice in a thin line. While it is tempting to pile on a good heaping, you will want to keep it fairly small because the smaller it is, the easier it is to roll (we're not doubting you here, just warning you).





Starting on the end with the rice and vegetables, carefully begin rolling upwards (towards the end without the rice), using your sushi mat. Go slowly and as tightly as you can, making sure not to roll your sushi mat into your sushi roll (this is an unpleasant effect). Once you reach the end, use your finger to spread a line of rice vinegar on the very top edge of the nori (the part with no rice). This will seal the roll. Finish the roll and give your sushi a little "squeeze" to make sure it all stays together.

5. Using a serated knife (really, no other kind of knife, or your sushi will come out looking slightly mangled), cut your sushi roll into one-inch sections. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and sriracha if desired.





 

Photo credit: Lillian Ferraz



Cumin-Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

This was the first recipe Kate and I ever thought up.  Surprisingly, it came to us during a time of stress - smack dab in the middle of spring semester, I at least was strung out from school work, busily applying for study abroad programs, and trying to juggle what I can only refer to as a "food crisis."  Kate and I had long been bemoaning our school cafeteria and the disconnection we felt with the food we were eating, and I had simultaneously been playing with the idea of veganism.  As a seven-year vegetarian who had been perfectly content with my eating habits, I was hard-pressed to put this desire to words.  It wasn't that I felt vegetarianism wasn't sufficient, it wasn't that I had somehow changed my ideology, but there was suddenly a small, nagging feeling at the back of my mind that was telling me something felt wrong.  Inexplicably, I began to feel sick whenever I consumed dairy, and I found myself doubting things I had always felt so sure of.  

   

In the end, I'm embarrassed to say it all culminated in one awful, tear-filled confession that left all my closest friends at a complete loss.  All my friends, that is, except Kate.    

Kate - dear, sweet, wonderful Kate - offered to help me meal plan for a week of entirely vegan eating: No school cafeteria, no processed foods, and no shoveling down food in between classes.  We weren't really sure where to start with the whole "vegan food" thing, so we decided we'd just make it up as we went along. We grocery shopped together, cooked together, met up for all meals (even breakfast), and probably annoyed all of our friends with our use of such phrases as "food crisis" and "food relationship."  Yeah.  We know.  

Kate and I learned a lot about ourselves that week, I think.  We famously discovered that we like cooking together, that food was something we could bond over.  We found that we felt better eating whole foods.  That what foods go into our body is important to us.  Also, that it was physically impossible for the pint-sized oven in our dorm hall kitchen to cook things evenly.  But probably one of the most valuable lessons that I left with that week was how good it felt to take things slowly, to really savor not only the process of cooking a meal, but of sharing it with someone else.

I think I speak for both Kate and I when I say that for us, food is something worth spending time on.  Of course, for us cooking is a way to relax and have fun, but it's also a way to get away from hurried or inadequate meals, and to take control of not only what you eat, but the environment you eat it in.    

In college, often our bodies are the last things we take care of.  We don't eat on a regular schedule, we don't exercise on a regular schedule, and we certainly don't sleep on a regular schedule.  We spend so much time worrying about all the things we have to get done that sometimes we forget that it's important to do something nice for yourself once in a while (or three times a day).    

Out of that entire week, these tacos were by far our favorite recipe, and the fact that we made them up was definitely the icing on the cake.  The recipe calls for things we usually have on hand, it's quick, and it has a comforting, earthy taste (thanks to the cumin).  Sweet potatoes are our favorite thing to pair with black beans.  And spicy flavors.  And a lot of things, to be honest.  Basically, you'll just have to take our word for it - these tacos are great.    

Cumin-Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 whole sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked black beans (about 1 cup dried beans or 2 cans cooked beans)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Small corn tortillas

Optional garnishes:
Salsa
Avocado
Cilantro

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spread diced sweet potatoes over a large cookie sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil and roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until soft.  

2.  In the meantime, heat the other Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute several minutes, until translucent and fragrant.  Add the cumin, salt, and cayenne, and stir well.  Add fully cooked sweet potato and black beans and heat through.

3.  Scorch corn tortillas over a flame or warm on a burner (or in the microwave).  Fill each tortilla with a generous heap of the sweet potato mixture and top with (optional) salsa, avocado, and cilantro.  Serve.  :)