Sushi Time!

Finally had a decent me weekend. After all the travel and all the time spent with other people. Friday, I came home and I actually spent my evening alone, in the dark relaxing. I didn't think about anything or anyone, just had some time to shut down. I don't know if this is a normal thing to want or not, but for me, I like to have this time. I guess it is kind of like my form of meditation. Sometimes it just feels like I can't get my thoughts together. I stop listening to myself and I go from day to day just reacting to everything. I had an overwhelming urge to make life stop for a bit.. so that is exactly what I did on Friday and it felt awesome.

Saturday, I made my swim practice (a miracle on its own for me) and I got to hang out with my olds at their garage sale. Sometimes I feel like I fit in more with them than I do with my own friends. It might be that their favourite pastimes are complaining and sitting around doing nothing. These are my kind of people. Although I was planning to avoid my family this weekend, I did make it over to my sisters and hung out with the kids. She lured me over with kale chips and homemade hummus. It was worth it.

Today, I went to yoga for the first time and it definitely felt good to stretch everything out, but the room was kind of warm and it was really hard for me to concentrate on anything other than wondering why the temperature was so high. I think with the trend of warm and hot yoga, it is easier for the studios to keep the temperate higher than room temp so they can get it to the right temperature quickly for the hot classes. I remember before hot yoga was around here that I would be really cold before class started and then feel warm when I was done. Now, I am sweating before class starts...  Maybe it is just me being completely out of shape.... but I didn't like it either way. Might be time to do these things at home instead. After yoga, I went down to Clever Rabbit, with a plan of coffee and a snack. When i showed up, they had french toast. I have been trying to get this dish there for weeks and have been unsuccessful. I had to order it. I have failed a few times at making a vegan french toast and I had to see if theirs would do the trick. So amazing.. the only words I could describe it... They have figured it out and I think now that I have tasted theirs, I have figured it out. I am hopefully going to make a new attempt at vegan french toast this week. I am so excited about it. It was curing a 3 year craving.

As excited as I was to make french toast, this was not the night for it. I had already deemed this night sushi night. At the garage sale on Saturday, I came across a sushi set. The olds let me take it for free and I felt like I needed to try it out right away, otherwise it would end up in the grave yard of the many kitchen gadgets I have bought and never bothered to try over the years.

I cannot believe I have never made sushi before. I have been eating it for years and there are so many places out there with really good veggie sushi. I was always a little scared of making my own sushi. It seems so simple, but if it was, sushi chefs wouldn't require years of training to be a professional roller, would they?

So I did lots of research (i.e. I googled it..) and now here is the story of my first attempt at sushi.

First thing that seems to be so important is the sushi rice. Everything I read said to use specifically sushi rice. This is what I bought, but it looked to me just like a short grain rice. I know that to make proper sushi, it needs to be sticky and you need a short grain for this.

Every blog and website I went on had a different way to cook the rice. Some said you want to boil it for 7 minutes so that you burn the bottom of your pan. Others said to just cook it like any other white rice, others said only cook for 10 minutes. One site said don't add the rice until the water is boiling... Honestly it was really confusing. I decided to cook it like I always cook rice. Boil the water, 15 minute simmer and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

Sushi rice
Ingredients:

• 2 cups sushi rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Rinse the sushi really well in a sieve. You want to rinse until the water is almost clear. Once you get to that, drain the rice well and a put it in a large pot. Add the water and cover it. Have one burner on high and place the pot on it and bring the rice to a boil. While you are waiting for that to happen, put a second burner on simmer (low). When the rice comes to a full boil, move it to the other burner and cook for about 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it sit another 5-10 minutes.

Rinsing the rice. Very important. 

Final step, add the vinegar mixture.

Now while you are waiting again, combine the remaining ingredients into a bowl. Microwave for 35-45 seconds or until the sugar is dissolved. Move the rice to a bowl (a wooden rice bowl is recommended online, but I don't have this. I just used a plastic bowl) Add the vinegar and fold it into the rice. Now let it cool to room temperature.

For the filling, use whatever you want really. Here is what I used:

Sushi I - Carrot, Cucumber on Aioli

• Carrots, julienned thin
• cucumber, julienned thin
• leftover aioli (vegan mayo would be good too)

Sushi II - Umeboshi-Apple

• Apple, peeled and sliced very thin
• 1 Tbsp Umeboshi plum vinegar
• 1 handful walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup sweet pea shoots
• Toasted sesame seeds

For both sushi's (maki actually), chop up the vegetables. You want them to be sort of a matchstick size. If you have mandolin, I think this would be a nice time to break it out if it has the blade for it. I don't so I have to chop by hand. For the apple, you can skin if you want, but you don't have to. I didn't... I'd say it was to get all the healthy stuff from eating the skin, but let's be honest, it was pure laziness!

Step 1 - Add rice on top of the nori

To roll the sushi, you want to get your sushi mat and cover it with plastic wrap (Not totally necessary for maki with the nori on the outside, but if you want the rice on the outside, this is a must! Cover the nori with about a cup or so of rice from the edge to about 2/3 of the way down. Put the fillings in the centre of the nori (not centre of where the rice is).

Get the toppings on it, in the centre of the nori sheet

Now the tricky part, take the sushi mat and lift it up with the nori and rice on it. Make sure that the rice sticks or else you will need to make your rice more sticky! Fold it over to where the filling in and roll it so that there is just a little nori now left.

Prepare to roll!

Lift the bamboo roller

Roll over top of the filling

Squeeze it so it sticks together

Get some grains of rice and place them on the end of the nori, it makes a glue to keep it together. if this doesn't work, you can dab the nori with a damp paper towel after you roll it. The moisture will make it stick.

Now for the second sushi roll, I attempted a reverse roll, which means the rice is on the outside and the nori is in the middle. First thing which is very important, line the sushi roller in plastic wrap. This will stop the rice from sticking to it. Now, put down the nori just like you did in the first one and cover about 2/3 of it in rice. Top the rice with toasted sesame seeds. Now take the nori and flip it over so that the rice is now face down.

Something about the seeds helps this roll stay together. I don't know
why, but seems important!

Get the fillings and start with the umeboshi plum paste and spread it down the middle of the nori. now add the sliced apples and finally the sweet pea shoots. I trimmed them so it was mostly the leaves and less of the stem.

Rice is underneath

Now just roll it the same way as the first one. Make sure to put some strength into it so the rice sticks really well.

Easy, rolled without any trouble!

So, now you have a bunch of rolls. Cutting should be easy, but you need to make sure of two things. First, get a really sharp knife. If you have a sharpener, use it before cutting. Second get a damp paper towel and before cutting, wipe the knife with it. This will help get through the nori. Try to cut straight down so the roll stays together.

Tada! Not bad for the first attempt! Looks very pretty!

That's it! Have a side of shoyu, wasabi and candied ginger. They are good just on their own too.

I can't believe how well this worked. These pictures are of my first time making sushi. I am definitely going to make this again. Sure, they aren't perfect, but they taste good and they stick together. Practice I am sure makes perfect, so keep trying if they didn't come out right the first time. Experiment with fillings too. My original plan for the first sushi was to use potatoes. It was Tony's suggestion. I unfortunately forgot to make potatoes, but I think next time, that would be kind of cool to try. I also want to try it with some tofu or tempeh..

This would be a great thing to make with a friend or date. Especially when taking pictures... trust me it is not easy to take pictures of rolling sushi on your own!

Failed Quinoa Cakes.. Quinoa Pile

For those that don't know me, Thursday is my busy day. It's a day that I normally am busy from about 7:30 am to 10:00 pm. I hate blogging on Thursday because of this. I also don't want to cook or really do anything in my spare time. I want to sit at home and watch bad television and hope that Friday comes soon.

Usually I get take out on Thursdays and if I am really planning ahead, I might make something on Wednesday and have left overs handy. Today I did neither. I decided just because I am busy most of the day is not really a good excuse for being lazy. However, trying to find something that is easy to make, filling and doesn't make a huge mess is not easy.

I have no idea where the idea came from, but I decided I want to make a vegan version of a fish cake.. Not mimcking at all in flavour, more just the concept. I had quinoa on hand and cooked and figured that could be my platform to make something. Now that I have tried this, the binding with wheat gluten did not work. Very surprising to me. I am out of quinoa, but will attempt this again to see if I can figure out how to make them bind properly. However, I had to post this... frying quinoa is amazing.

Quinoa Cakes... Pile
* Serves 3-4 about 20 min to make, 40 if you don't have cooked quinoa
Ingredients:

• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 green onion, choppped
• 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbsp basil, chopped
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 vegan cheese (or cheese sauce)
• 1 Tbsp Ketchup (or tomato paste)
• 1 Tbsp wheat gluten

If you haven't already, cook your quinoa to package instructions. If you can, use vegetable broth instead of water.

Set the quinoa aside and chop up your vegetables. In a pan over medium heat, add some olive oil. Once hot, add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until veggies are soft. Add this to a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients, adding the wheat gluten last. Stir until combined and then kneed a few times with your hands. If it is not sticking together, add a table spoon of water.

Now, to cook these, use the same pan you cooked the vegetables in and heat a little more oil (about 1 Tbsp). Take about 1/4 cup of the quinoa mixture and roll into a ball. Add it to the pan and flatten with a spatula. Cook them about 3-4 min a side, but watch them close. You want them to be a nice golden brown. So, it was obvious after one side cooked that these were just not staying together well. In the end I cooked them like a cake, but then  plated it like a grain. The crunchiness from frying them was awesome. 

Serve with a vegan Aioli:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo
• 1 tsp oil (olive is what I used, but use whatever you have.)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1/8 - 1/4 siracha sauce
• pinch of salt

If you happen to have roasted garlic, use it. If not, it's OK  Get out your mortar and pestle and mash the garlic until it\s a paste. Add it and all the ingredients into a bowl and use a whisk to mix. If you are not wanting it too spicy, add everything except for the siracha. Then add little by little to get desired spiciness. If you don't have a motar and pestle, you could use garlic powder instead... or just mince it super fine. When serving, add a little extra dill on top for garnish.. or if you're like me and have fennel leaves from a soup you made this week, you can garnish with that.

When I first moved out, one of the first recipes I attempted on my own outside of baking was a tuna cake. It was my way of trying to learn to like canned tuna. It didn't really work obviously... however, I remember loving the idea of it. These can be a great appetizer or a nice quick dinner. If making it a dinner, maybe go the extra step and have a small salad with it. Nice to have colour on the plate. Also aioli makes a fantastic salad dressing.

I will definitely re-do this recipe and see if I can figure out how to get them to stay together a little better... until then, please let me know if you try this and figure it out! Either way, the taste of the quinoa and aioli was amazing. 

Pictures to come tomorrow.

Roast beet and Fennel Soup

I have been talking for a while now about soup and slow cookers and in general, fall and winter foods. I have decided to free-hand a new soup. I was looking for something with lots of flavour and something that would be really warming on a cold day. Searching through my fridge I found beets. I had planned to roast them, but why not use them in a soup.

Beets can go with so many things, so I did a little googling and found a number of recipes that paired beets with fennel. Fennel is something I have never purchased and never used. I figured, this was a perfect opportunity to give it a try. Nice thing about roasting vegetables, it makes recipes a little more forgiving. There is so much flavour unlocked when you roast vegetables, you don't need to add a whole lot more to make a good tasting soup.

Fennel is a root vegetable used in Mediterranean cooking. it is high in vitamin C, Potassium and Folate. All good things. Beets are also a great source of folate and also manganese and fibre. On top of that, they are both loaded in phytonutrients and all sorts of antioxidants. As a someone that eats a vegan diet, I think it is really important to get a wide range of vegetables. I  can't say I am always the best at this, but i love when I can introduce something new.

Prepared for roasting. The foil helps with evening the temperature
good for things like beets when left whole

Both of these vegetables lend themselves to roasting, plus it is so easy to do.. I had to roast these before making my soup. To roast, trim the beets so the greens are removed (If you want, you can save these and use them in salad or saute them). Next toss the whole beets in olive oil and salt and pepper. Now get a large peice of tin foil and wrap the beets in it (This will help to cook evenly and prevent juices from dying the fennel red). Now get the fennel and trim it so the stalks are removed. Cut into quarters, toss in the same olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet with the beets. Roast them at 375 F for about an hour.

Exactly one hour later. My kitchen smells so good

Now, if you want, you can just slice and eat these as is, or you can make a soup with them. I chose to make soup:

Roasted Beet and Fennel Soup
*Makes 8-10 servings, about 1 hour if the vegetables are already roasted

• 3-4 beets roasted, skins removed and quartered
• 2 fennel bulbs, roasted and quartered
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper diced
• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1 Tsp ground thyme
• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 5-6 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tsp siracha
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup milk or soy cream
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, sliced (optional)
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped (optional)

If you haven't done so, roast the fennel and beets as noted above and let cool. While you're waiting, chop up the other ingredients so you are ready to build the soup. Remove the beet skin and chop into quarters or smaller if you want and set aside. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add a little olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic and leek and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Now add the sage and thyme and cook again for another minute.

Prep done, makes building a soup a lot easier

Step one - Saute all the base vegetables 

Step two - add herbs

Add in the beets, fennel and vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or so. You can go longer if you want... or do this in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Step 3 - add the stock and remaining ingredients and wait...
keep waiting...

Now, get out your immersion blender and put on an apron. Beets stain and splatter could wreck what you're wearing. Keep this in mind! Blend the soup until it is a nice cream texture. If you want some chunks, that is fine too. Do it to taste. Now stir in the siracha to taste and the red wine vinegar. I used what was listed above and it was good. Definite hit of spice though!

Before serving, add fresh basil and parsley to each bowl. You can also garnish with a little fennel leaves if you like. Drizzle in a little of the soy milk/cream

See how pretty it looks with all the garnish

Should last for about 5-7 days. If you can't finish it, freeze it!

So... the results.. this soup was a hit. It is rich and a smooth, but also has a good blend of spicy, sweetness and freshness. Really instead of beets you could use any other root vegetable here, but the colour that comes from this soup is so pretty. Somewhere between a strong magenta and a deep scarlet red. By the time I finished this, I didn't even want anything to eat, but couldn't help myself once I tasted it. I think adding the milk at the end adds a nice layer and looks nice, so try not to skip this. My sister (a non-vegan) tried it with sour cream (Toffuti makes a vegan one). Normally beets are paired with sour cream, but she said that it was a bit overpowering and that it was better alone.

The only thing I don't like about this recipe is the mess that the beets make. Roasting on foil is a smart tip I found and saved a huge amount of mess.... but my hands, some of my floor, the cutting board and Tupperware have been dyed red! I love beets, but man are they messy! Keep this on away from kids I think..