Vegetarian Sushi!

One of the most misunderstood foods in the world - sushi. I don't claim to understand it or know all of the types. But this I know - knowing how to make it makes you cool. And another thing - its really really easy.

The fillings are endless, the steps are simple and once you've gotten over a little bit of a learning curve, you'll be literally ... rolling right along! ( I couldn't resist that one).



Sushi is traditionally expensive and making it at home allows us to put that money to good use ( read as YES!++) and also use whatever filling we like.. The tofu-shiitake-carrot-avocado blend below is a common staple and looks good because of the colors. There's the teriyaki-eggplant filling, which only requires a few minutes in a sauté pan before its ready to roll (again.. couldn't resist). But seriously - I've done sauteed paneer, mango pickle, kimchi, tom yum paste, shittake mushrooms, tempura asparagus, cheerios..well..not the cheerios..but you get the idea...throw it in.

Let me know what you guys end up using.

Shiitake-Tofu Rolls

For the Rice:

2 cups water
1 cup sushi or short grain white rice
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

•Add the water and rice to a medium saucepan and cover with a tight lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

•Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds.

•Add the vinegar mixture to the rice until well combined. Let the rice cool to room temperature before using.

For the Filling:

1/2 block firm tofu, thinly sliced into strips
3 medium shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
Oil for frying
Soy sauce
1 carrot, sliced thin length wise or for snobs - julienned.
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced

•Add the tofu and shiitakes to the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. To prevent the tofu from breaking apart, let cook completely on one side, about 2 minutes, before turning. Turn and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until light golden in color and the mushrooms are just softened.

•Add a small splash of soy sauce, then remove from the heat and set aside.

•When cooled, add the carrots and avocado.

To Assemble:

5 sheets nori - any asian food store will have them. They are seaweed sheets.
Prepared wasabi paste

•Lay out the first nori sheet. Place a handful of the cooled rice in the center of the sheet, moisten your hands with water, and gently but firmly press the rice to the edges of the sheet so that there is a thin layer of rice in a line on the sheet. Spread a bit of wasabi paste on top of the rice, approximately 1 1/2 inches from one edge of the nori sheet. Lay the vegetable filling parallel to the wasabi in a width of approximately 1 inch along the wasabi line.

•Carefully wrap the closest edge over the filling, then roll the nori delicately but tightly. Seal by moistening the edge of the nori. Once the nori sheet is completely rolled, slice the roll into 6 pieces and arrange on a platter. Repeat with the remaining nori sheets.

Again..i usually end up snacking on the rolls while making them ( notice a trend here) so I have no idea how many people this feeds. But keep making them. They last in the fridge and make a great snack. And with each roll made differently - you never know what your going to get next.

Ja mata ne!

Pictures stolen from : http://blog.vegcooking.com/2008/04/vegetarian_sushi.php . More great stuff on there.

Vegetarian Stir Fry!!

Stir fry's are a YES!+ students best friend. It involves opening up the fridge, finding what we need to use (before their colors change) and making it work.


My recipes for stir-fry are approximations for no two stir-fries are ever the same. But somehow they taste reasonable similar.

I start with putting some rice ( around 2 cups of brown/short grain rice) in the rice cooker. I like adding salt, and some lime juice into my rice cooker. You could throw in a bit of oil to keep the grains from sticking to each other too.


For the stir-fry:

2 tablespoons seasme seed oil. (The key to asian tasting food) Other light oils work too.

1/2 teaspoon seasme seeds
1 teaspoon each: cumin & ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or better yet one fresh green chilly - finely diced.
1 red onion, sliced or diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Now this part is up to you - you can use these veggies - or throw in whatever else you've got - green peppers, spring onions, etc..

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
3-4 medium carrots, cut as matchstick-like as possible.
1 large zucchini , sliced into half moons
2 heaping cups shredded cabbage (if thats too much work - slice 'em thin)


For the sauce:

2/3 cup vegetable broth, heated
1 handful fresh cilantro, loosely chopped


Heat the oil in a large deep skillet or wok and add the seeds, then the spices; stir for a minute to infuse the oil. Throw in the onion, garlic and veggies and stir-fry until almost tender-crisp- about 4-5 minutes. When the veggies are just about to reach that lovely tender-crisp stage, add the sauce and cilantro, and stir well. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring the veggies to coat.

Add in just enough cooked rice for serving, and stir to combine. I keep the ratio heavy on the veggie side, and use the rice more as a condiment.

I like to garnish with cilantro leaves on top, lime juice squeezed on top, some sesame seeds strewn on top too. But thats just me. Usually I've already devoured half the meal before I'm done cooking. So things might no reach that stage.

Should feed 4 normal people or around 1 and a half hungry YES!+ warriors.

And remember Stir Fry's are all about experimentation - add protein in whatever form floats your boat - tofu, soy protein, paneer etc...

More vegetarian recipes at this link: (i stole the picture from the site)
Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/02/stir-fry-bliss.html#ixzz0OawogoUb

Sweet and Sour Soup!

* From Mary Shorten's blog (Cinnamon and Nutmeg). She's from Ottawa and is a wonderful friend. Check her blog out at the links to the side.



Sweet and Sour Soup

There's nothing quite like a hot bowl of sweet and sour soup - it's one of those dishes that seem to enliven taste buds I forgot I had. Craving such an experience this morning I whipped up what soon proved to be a perfect bowl of soup.

This recipe is packed with protein and nutrients. The tofu and the seaweed provide lots of easily absorbable, complete proteins - one bowl will give you about 1/3 the daily recommended intake. Nori is also the most nutritious of all the seaweeds, and is packed with vitamins and minerals (more so than the same amount of any vegetable!), especially A, B, C, calcium, and precious trace minerals. Cabbage is also a nutritional powerhouse, with tons of great stuff including massive amounts of vit. K and C and a fair amount of those elusive omega 3 fatty acids.

2 C vegetable broth or water
1t tamari
2 slices ginger (about half a centimetre wide)
1/4 C Japanese rice
1/2 C shredded cabbage (red or green)
1/2 C cubed medium tofu (silken tofu would also be great in this soup)
1 sheet nori, cut into strips (use scissors, and make the strips about 1 by 4 centimetres)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t corn starch mixed with 1T water
2 T maple syrup
1 T rice vinegar
juice from 1/4 of a lemon

garnish: seaweed and sesame seeds


I keep a tin of vegetable bouillon powder around for times like these, and added 2t of it to the water to make an instant broth. If you don't have any, and are in too much of a rush to make a broth from scratch, water will work fine. Put the broth on high heat, and add above ingredients down to and including the cayenne. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn it down to low heat and let it simmer. Cover, and stir from time to time for 15 mins.

At this point add a touch more water if it looks more like vegetables than soup, but if it was covered during cooking this shouldn't be necessary. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and allow it to simmer for 3-4 more mins while stirring.

Take it off the heat and add the remaining ingredients. If you've used red cabbage the soup will be a beautiful deep purple; with green cabbage it will be a nice light brown. Remove ginger pieces and garnish with seaweed and sesame seeds.

Makes 2 bowls of soup, which I thought would be a meal for one, but I was amazed to discover how filling it is - one bowl and I was stuffed!