Sushi Saturday

Vegetable sushi is one of my favorite things to eat. For years I would purchase it as a special treat. However, like with most things I decided to try it at home because it can get really expensive to feed a husband and two growing, always eating boys. So, for about the last 4 years I've been making sushi and improving upon the technique as I go. I'm no expert, but I do a pretty good job if I do say so myself.

As you may have guessed, we had sushi for dinner on Saturday (Sunday too). Usually I just make rolls (maki sushi), but this time I tried something a little different. Nigiri-sushi is the oval shaped sushi that usually has a nice raw piece of fish sitting on top. Needless to say there was no raw fish served here, although if you don't look too hard it may look a little like salmon.

The orange is thinly sliced carrots that I simmered in a vegetable broth and soy sauce mixture. The maki has cucumber and avocadoes. Yum! All food has some history to it, and as we have continued learning about Japan, it seemed fitting to explore the origins of its most well-known food. Sushi was not a planned menu item. It came about as a result of resourcefulness and adaptation. Fish and rice are both a major part of the Japanese diet, and both are very plentiful. Years ago, in order to preserve fish it was heavily salted and storage was inside mounds of cooked rice. It was kept this way for a year, so you can imagine that the rice became...you guessed it, the rice became sour and was thrown out. Over the years storage time was cut and the rice was not discarded, but eaten along with the fish. Eventually they reached the point of using fresh fish and adding vinegar to make sour rice. The boys thought that was an interesting bit of information.

Before you ask I will just tell you that yes, the boys like sushi. In fact they really love it as much as J and I do. Can't you tell?

If you've never tried sushi before, then decide to be a little adventurous. Many supermarkets have sushi bars right inside the store. Watch them make it, pick up a pack to take home and let me know how much you enjoyed it.

I will not try to give a recipe for making sushi, however there are some really good ones online. There are even videos on youtube that show the process. I also came across a really good cookbook titled Vegetarian Sushi that is worth checking out.

Konichiwa!

Hello from Japan...well it's really our dining area. However, for the past week it has been converted into our version of a Japanese room. There is so much to share about this learning experience. First, let me say that our theme is honor...showing kindness and respect to others because we are all made in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Yes, we are all made in God's image, even though at times we don't look like it! We have spent a good bit of time training ourselves to look for God in others. In doing this we are learning to treat people well, whether we think they deserve it or not. An amazing example of this was found in reading a biography of Mother Teresa. What an awesome woman of character. She always taught her fellow nuns to look for Jesus in everyone they met and to care for them as though caring for Jesus himself. Wow!

Ok, back to Japan. Last week was spent identifying and making a map of Japan, making the Japanese flag, and learning about Japanese culture. Clothing, homes, and of course food were all a part of the fun. We even picked up a few Japanese words in the process.

Me, wearing the closest thing I could get to a kimono. I borrowed this cute dress from a Vietnamese friend. It does have an obi (the belt that goes around the kimono) but you can't see it on this picture. JJ decided that he wanted to dress like Rick Flair (the wrestler) that day. Behind us is the Japanese screen JJ painted and on the floor our straw tatami mats. Ok, they're really sheets but they worked for our purposes.

Our tokonoma, a japanese style raised alcove featuring scrolls, flowers, candles and the boys names in japanese characters. No, we didn't do those. I purchased these last fall in anticipation of this unit.

Most of our meals and schoolwork have been in our newly remodeled room. I was surprised at how easily we adapted. We have eaten dumpling soup (these were really Korean, but very close) dumplings and rice, soba noodles and edemame and udon noodles, all using chopsticks. I think the boys are really good at it after so much practice. We even ate our spaghetti with chopsticks! In fact I think the eating was their favorite part. IJ commented on how cool it is that it's not bad manners to shovel food into your mouth in Japan. Spoken like a true boy.

While the whole week has been full of fun and learning, the most fun was the sumo wrestling matches the boys engaged in. Sumo is the national sport of Japan. It was really interesting to learn about these heavyweight wrestlers and even more fun to watch the boys imitate them. Did you know that these guys have to weigh at least 250 pounds? We found a couple of videos on youtube that showed them training and eating. Can you guess what they do after eating a heavy meal? Yes, they take long naps. Aah, what a life. Take a look at our version of sumo wrestling-african american style.

We will continue our exploration into "the Land of the Rising Sun" with a Japanese tea ceremony, ikabana (Japanese flower arranging) learning about the life of a samurai, and a new year celebration.

Boys Being Boys

"Mom, hurry, it's an emergency. "JJ" is in a really high tree, you have to see". Ok, so there are two ways to respond to this: panic or calmly put on my shoes and grab the camera. I went for option 2. I followed my 9 year old outside to find my barely visible 6 year old waaaay up in a tree trying to reach his friends ball.









My husband has taught me well. If I want wimpy boys, then don't let them get dirty and don't let them be daring. I do not want wimps for sons, so I have to fight the natural instinct to go running everytime they do something that my girly nature tells me is too dangerous. I'm not raising any wimps! These will be strong men who are able to help a lady when she calls. They won't mind having dirt under their fingernails and they will know how to do something. I know I appreciate having one of those guys. Letting them explore like this is just the beginning. So moms, don't let you babies grow up to be wimps. Your future daughter-in-law will love you for it.

Continued Blessings

For the past three years, a wonderful family from our congregation has blessed us with clothes, toys and dress-up costumes. They have 3 boys, the youngest of which is 12 (I think) Well, this morning I received a call from the mom that she had a couple of bags she wanted to bring by. IJ was so excited when he heard she was coming. He knows what this means really good goodies, mostly for him. Well, as you can see we have been blessed, blessed and blessed some more. There are pants, shorts, shirts (long and short sleeved) swim trunks, sweaters, pajamas and a wonderful matching robe. What you don't see are the belts, baseball caps and button up shirts that were already hanging in the closet. Also, in the bag was a battery operated "moon" that hangs on the wall and is controlled by a remote. The boys can now see the different phases of the moon right on their bedroom wall. How cool is that! Now, if I could only keep their feet from growing so fast!

All Raw?

Yes, the veggies in the spring rolls are all raw. I began making these when J was eating a nearly all raw diet. He currently eats about 80% raw foods and so I incorporate raw meals into dinner as well. There is a cooked version of spring rolls that I also prepare. The veggies are slightly different, but can vary based on what you have. Here's what I usually include:

shallots, fresh ginger, mushrooms, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, snow peas, soy sauce and sesame oil. Basically I just chop all of the veggies and saute in 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil until tender-crisp. Add 2-3 drops of sesame oil , 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Season with pepper to taste and cook for another minute. Let cool slightly and fill wrappers as in previous recipe. These are great with fried rice.

Tasty and Colorful

Last nights dinner was tasty and colorful, two of my favorite food attributes. We dined on spring rolls and quinoa salad (pronounced keen-wa). Both items are simple, although the spring rolls do take a bit of time because of the chopping and rolling. Here's what I do for each.

I prepare the quinoa salad first because I like for it to be chilled. However it can be served warm or at room temperature. The recipe is as follows:

1 C quinoa
1/3 C red wine vinegar
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 C chopped cucumber
1/4 C sliced kalamata olives
1/4 C chopped red onion
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Cook quinoa (1 C quinoa in 2 C water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes.

Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil and garlic. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine peppers, cucumber, olives, onion, and parsley. Mix well. Add dressing and toss to coat. Add quinoa, stir gently to combine. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.

Spring Rolls
I do not have an exact recipe for these. I think there used to be one, but I've been making them for many years without one. Here are the ingredients:

chopped cabbage, chopped carrots, chopped radishes ( I do all of these in the food processor)
chopped green onion, chopped tomatoes
chopped mushrooms, soaked about 5 minutes in Bragg liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
guacamole or hummus
spring roll wrappers ( the kind you soak in water, not cook)

Here's what I do: fill a large bowl about half full with water. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water about 15 seconds. Remove from water and place on a cutting board. Begin by putting a couple of tablespoons of guacamole or hummus in the center of the wrapper. Next, put 1/4C cabbage in center in a narrow mound. Add a small amount of carrots on one side, radishes on the other. Place a tablespoon of mushrooms on cabbage, followed by a small amount of tomatoes and green onions. It should look like this.

Roll like a burrito and enjoy!

Our complete meal.

I've Got A Taste For...

food! Ok, I've already said how important food is to me. I think I've also mentioned that J is vegan. For many households this might be a problem, but we've worked it out quite nicely. For those who don't know, eating a vegan diet means no animal products or bi-products are included. I won't get into all the versions of vegetarianism. For J this means just what I've described. So, what you will find is when I talk about food it is usually vegetarian. Often I begin with a non-vegetarian recipe and change it to suit us. The boys and I are not vegetarian, but the majority of our food intake would fall under the heading.

The point of this post is to tell you that I'm adding a new item to my sidebar. My weekly menu will appear under the heading "I've Got A Taste For..." The list may appear to be short, but this is because we love leftovers. The only way we don't eat a meal twice is if we eat all of it the first day. Usually on Saturday I fix something extra special that J has requested. Not sure what it will be this week since he hasn't mentioned anything.

You will notice that we eat alot of beans. There are 3 basic reasons for this. First we really like them, all kinds from black beans to pinto, black eyed peas, garbanzo, pigeon peas, great northerns, lentils...and the list goes on. Second, they are really good for you. Third, they are inexpensive. Our bean meals are almost always paired with rice. Our preferred rice is organic brown basmati. I keep large pails of beans and rice so that we never run out.

I will also try to post recipes from time to time. If you see something that sounds interesting and you really want the recipe, let me know. I will even post pictures of the food. I like taking pictures of my food because I believe it is supposed to look good. In fact, if it doesn't look good then I won't know how it tastes because it will never make it to my mouth. Does that make me a food snob? Probably, but I got that particular trait from my mom. I'm looking forward to this and I hope you enjoy it too.