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Snips and snails
And puppy dogs’ tails

And sugar and spice..

That’s what our little girl is made of!

♥

But I think they left out..

Nips and nibbles,
Late night outings to the dog run,
Learning to play fetch, walks
breakfast, lunch and dinner time..

but best of all is cuddle time!

{ Bella’s laying calmly next to me on my chair right now.. phew! }

Thank you all for your patience,
there’s a little less time in the day right now for catching up with all of you!

♥

Bella  will meet a group of my lovely friends tomorrow afternoon
..and I can’t wait to share photos of the Birthday Cake I’m making!

One spring day a few years ago, Sharon invited this same group of friends to her home for a little sushi making session.

Between laughter and cups of green tea we learned how easy it is to make California Rolls..

and now you will too!

California Sushi Rolls

California Sushi Rolls Recipe

 

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Ingredients

Rice

• 2 cups Japanese Rice (Kokuho Rose), rinsed until water is clear
• 2 cups water

Sushi Vinegar Blend

• 1 cup Japanese Rice Vinegar
• 1 cup sugar (less if you wish)
• 1 tbsp salt

Sushi Ingredients

• Gold Label Nori dried seaweed sheets
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced thinly
• 1 small package crab meat, cut into long, thin strips
• mayonnaise
• wasabi
• Optional: carrot, cucumber, mushroom, celery, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Cook rinsed rice according to the instructions on the package or your rice cooker. Set aside in a glass bowl that has been lightly salted to cool.
2. In a small glass bowl, stir together the japanese rice vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved to make the Sushi Vinegar Blend.
3. Using a rice paddle or silicone spatula, carefully add about half of the Sushi Vinegar Blend to the rice and stir until the rice is just moist. Cool the seasoned rice using a fanning motion with your rice paddle, this will make it shiny.
4. Place sheets of dried seaweed on a clean bamboo sushi (Makisu) mat. Lightly pat the vinegar rice onto the nori, leaving approximately 1-2 inches at the top. Make sure to go right to the sides and bottom of the nori with your rice.
5. Add the filling ingredients (avocado, crab, mayonnaise and any other filling items you wish) to the center of the rice, horizontally. Lifting the bottom of the Makisu mat, roll the nori over top of the rice and firmly squeeze the length of the sushi roll. Lift up the mat and continue to roll the nori over top of the filling, squeezing as you go. When you get near the top, dip your fingers into the Sushi Vinegar Blend and liberally spread across the top. Finish rolling to seal.
6. Using a sharp knife, dipped in the Sushi Vinegar Blend, slice in the center of the roll making two equal halves. Then cut those in half and repeat one last time to make 8 pieces.
7. Serve immediately.

Notes

An egg filling is popular too: Mix 3 eggs, 1 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 6 drops yellow food coloring. Cook in a pan sprayed with cooking spray on a very low temperature, covered. Cool and cut into long thin strips.

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Here is the Makisu Mat, inexpensive and very necessary. Some cover their mat with plastic wrap first.

The sushi vinegar blend helps the rice to stick. Dip your fingers in the Sushi Vinegar Blend so that you can press down the rice without having it stick to your hands.

There are so many fillings you could experiment with.

Our favorite is the simple crab, avocado and mayonnaise.

Roll and squeeze along the length of the mat. Then lift the mat, roll the nori again, lay the mat down and squeeze.
Dampen the top edge with sushi vinegar.

Finish rolling your sushi and press the top end down to seal.

Cut in half with a sharp knife dipped in the sushi vinegar.

Cut each side in half.

And again for eight pieces in total.

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