Sushi Obsessed!

To say that I have been obsessed with sushi , making sushi (mostly rolls - MAKIMONO), finding restaurants that serve sushi, and eating sushi is a bit of an understatement!  I have been a vegetarian for over 24 years. I love being a vegetarian but sometimes available food choices are not very exciting or appealing.  I have never been excited for meals, they were just something that came along 2 or 3 times a day.  For the last several months, I have gone out  of my way to find ways to have sushi for meals (sometimes more than once in a day).

My big obsession with Sushi started with our trip to Raleigh, NC last year.   We visited the Sushi & Blues Cafe and I had their Vegetarian Spicy Roll and the Crunchy Roll -BOTH WERE OUT OF THIS WORLD!! I needed to make the Crunchy Roll! It had cucumber, kampyo, avocado, tempura flakes,
spicy mayo, and sesame seeds - Heaven!  

For Christmas, my (wonderful) husband purchased a Makisu (bamboo sushi mat), sushi vinegar, rice vinegar, and all sorts of other sushi making ingredients and tools.  He is really being a great sport and supporting my obsession (addiction).  We have been to 3 "bring-a-dish" parties since Christmas and to each one he insisted that we bring a plate/tray of  Sushi Rolls.

Oh, and the fact that it is extremely fresh and healthy just makes it all the better.  

Check out my Sushi Board on Pinterest. 

So far we have tried rolls at home with the starred items below.  The remainder are on my "to Try list":

Rice:

• *Short grain white rice.
• *Short grain brown rice (this is adds a nice nutty flavor) 

Vegetables/roots:

• *cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks (or sliced thin for wrapper)
• *carrot, cut into matchsticks
• yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into matchsticks
• *scallions, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
• daikon, peeled, and cut into matchsticks (or pickled daikon or red radishes)
• *firm-ripe Hass avocado, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise, sprinkled with lemon juice
• *asparagus, steamed
• pablano peppers, roasted and cut into strips
• *Romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• Fresh spring mix
• onion rings, batter dipped and pain fried. 
• Roasted jalapeno
• sweet potato, par cooked, peeled, cut into matchsticks
• spinach (fresh or steamed)

Fruits:

• *Mango, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Papaya, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Pineapple
• Honeydew melon, quartered, seeded, peeled and thinly sliced
• *Apples, cored, quartered, peeled and thinly sliced

Protein:

• *Scrambled eggs, cut into strips
• Tofu, cut into strips & panfried (for a bit of crunch)

Condiments:

• *Soy sauce
• *Toasted Sesame Seeds
• *Toasted Panko
• Spicy mayo
• Cream cheese
• *Fresh ginger grated
• chopped peanuts
• fresh basil 
• *fresh cilantro
• *Cayenne Pepper
• tempura flakes