sushi go round

 

Sushi is delicious. And nutritious. But can also seem quite daunting to make.

While it does involve a bit of messing around, all you really need is practice, and patience.

 

Here are my top tips for making sushi:

• Make sure you have the ingredients on hand. It's easy to keep nori (seaweed) sheets, sushi rice (or arborio rice- both are simply short grain rice which is the sort that sticks together) soy sauce and sushi seasoning in the pantry and just grab fresh ingredients (eg. avocado, capsicum and fish if desired) as you need it.
• Always wash your rice beforehand (rinse until the water runs clear). This ensures that you get rid of the excess starch, resulting in glossy, sticky rice.
• Use the same amount of water as rice (remember that rice will swell to approximately twice it's original volume when cooked) and cook over the stove or in a rice cooker if you have one.
• Add sushi seasoning and cool rice quickly by fanning and/or sitting the bowl in iced water.
• Cover rice with a damp teatowel when not in use, to prevent it from drying out.
• Have a bowl of water ready when rolling (it's easier to spread rice with wet hands). Try not to wet the nori (seaweed), except at the rolling edge.
• Make sure your ingredients are cut into strips and lay along the middle of the rice.
• Use a bamboo mat to help you roll (or make rough hand-rolls, or 'temaki', as you go)
• Use a wet knife to slice in bite size pieces, and enjoy the 'cut offs' (the chef's reward ;) )
• Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

 

 

Pictured above: Smoked salmon, Teriyaki Chicken (for the carnivores), Teriyaki Mushroom & Omelette Sushi. (With an assortment of avocado, asparagus, capsicum and carrot.)

a culinary conclusion

With today being the last day of my university placement at the local council, it was a good opportunity to stop and smell the roses (or rather, sample the cheeses).
Our supervisors took us on a road trip down the Mornington Peninsula, during which we marvelled at fennel and heirloom carrots on an organic farm, saw how lettuces, basil and other herbs were grown hydroponically (and tasted fresh wasabi leaves), and visited an apple and cherry orchard, where we were shown how tenderly cherries need to be plucked, and how many times apple juice needs to be filtered (but sadly, missed out on seeing most of the trees in full blossom). From there, we were treated to a delicious lunch at the Red Hill Bakery- I decided on a vegetable frittata with salad, a soy flat white and an apple juice bottled using the very same machine we had just seen. And then, after managing to escape the lure of an afternoon nap in the sunshine, ventured onwards to the Main Ridge goat dairy. Here we made acquaintance with some rather adorable young goats and deliberated over an exquisite cheese platter, and I bought some marinated chèvre and a harder pecorino-style offering to take home.

I must admit that my course has had its perks over the past four years (to think, that I am so close to finished!)

And I must say, it is nice to take it slowly sometimes!

xo

happy herbs?

Could the herb basil have antidepressant properties?
This was one animal trial, and so doesn't give us firm evidence for effects in humans, but it's still pretty fascinating!

Antidepressant-like activities of Ocimum basilicum (sweet Basil) in the forced swimming test of rats exposed to electromagnetic field (EMF)

oxygen overload- too much of a good thing?

Scishow: Oxygen is Killing You.
A nifty breakdown of what free radicals are and why antioxidants are important. Thanks, Hank! You've done half of my job for me!

What he doesn't go into is that many other compounds in food help to combat oxidative stress, including the superheroes known as phytochemicals, which you can read about here.

We're still discovering a plethora of benefits from eating healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, which not only help to prevent diseases such as cancer, but may also slow the ageing process (and even ward off Alzheimer's disease).

So skulling all of those vitamin tablets is probably not as good as eating a variety of real, healthy and delicious foods!

muesli, spice and all things nice

Apologies for the long hiatus.
I've been having many foodie adventures (including dressing up in apple suits, visiting local farms, surveying fruiterers and touring school kitchen gardens) and have been experimenting with a few new recipes. I will eventually work my way through putting my creations (and old favourites) on here, but if you're interested some of my 'foodtography' also ends up on my tumblr (here).

As for now... Here's a recipe for the yummy muesli spice cookies I made today- a bit healthy, a bit naughty (the high fat content gives them a lovely shortbread texture, but margarine works just as well as butter and will reduce the saturated fat) and rather difficult to resist!

Muesli Spice Cookies
Makes approx. 15-20 cookies.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine*
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup of your favourite muesli (preferably untoasted)
1 /2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Method
1. Cream sugar and butter or margarine until light and fluffy.

2. Sift flour with mixed spice.

3. Add muesli, flour/spice, vanilla essence and lemon zest (if using) to butter mixture. Combine with wooden spoon.

4. Shape into cookies and flatten onto greased tray, leaving enough room for cookies to spread.

5. Bake in preheated oven (180 C) for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden brown.

6. Enjoy (ideally with a cuppa!)

* If you use vegan margarine, these will be vegan.

stinky cheese

I think that mouldy cheese is one of those things that you either love or wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.
As for myself, I adore the stuff. So the other day I spoilt myself by ducking into a local produce store and getting some yummy things for lunch.

This is fresh fig, roquette and gorgonzola on crusty sourdough. Which I believe to be pretty self-explanatory.

roasted vegetable stack

Here we have:
Roasted sweet potato, capsicum, zucchini and potato (or use whatever roasted vegetables you like) layered with leftover bechamel, sprinkled with parmesan and baked for another fifteen or so. Serve with a lovely fresh salad.