Like many people (okay, mostly guys) I had avoided sushi for twenty nine years. I knew that Deinse said she liked sushi and they threw me. How could a Vegan eat, much less enoy, sushi? Well I was feeling adventurous and wanted to do something special for Denise and told her that we would go out for sushi (but only if she wanted to, we didn't have to if she wasn't in the mood...). She was up to it but assured me that the sushi place had stuff on the menu that wasn't sushi. Maybe it was my sense of adventure or maybe I just didn't want to wuss out but I decided right then and there that by god I was gonna eat me some sushi. I was further emboldened by that fact that the crab in some of the rolls was actually the fake crab meat so it was not raw. To trim a long story down a bit, I ate sushi, I liked it.

Now there is a negative about sushi (I know, only one?) and that is the cost. For us at least, going out for sushi is somewhat of a treat because we can easily blow $30+ on sushi. Fortunatley it's actually pretty easy to make sushi at home. All it takes a is a little time and patience...oh yea, and the actual ingredients.

For your persual I submit my new and improved sushi instructions.

First of all you are going to need some basic equipment:

• A rice cooker: These are nifty little devices that cook your rice to perfection nearly all the time. The one we have is fairly cheap and has been fantastic.
• Bamboo mat: You can get these at most Oriental food stores. It's just what then name implies, a mat made of strips of bamboo (or plastic) secured with string. This is a must have for rolling good sushi.
• Saran wrap: No explanation here but believe me, you'll need it.
• A good sharp knife: Sushi rolls have a tendency to squish when cutting, a good knife makes all the difference in the world. We have discovered (thanks to Denise's brother) that a bread knife is fantastic for cutting sushi.
• A strainer: The use for this will become apparent soon.
• Cutting board: For cutting the sushi.
• A bowl: To hold the water, it'll make sense I assure you.

Now that you've gotten all your equipment together, you need some ingredients. Sushi is just about perfect for a vegan/meat eater meal because everyone can have individual sushis containing just the stuff they like. I've prepared a list of ingredients that we use.

Are you ready to make some sushi? I thought so! First off, start your rice. I honestly am not 100% sure how to make sushi rice on the stovetop because we've always used the rice cooker. You're going to want the rice nice and sticky. We use two cups of rice for the two of us and that makes more than enough. First off you need to rince the rice. Put the rice in the strainer and run it under cold tap water until the water runs clear. This removed the starchy/powdery coating and lets the rice get sticky. Put the rice in the cooker with 1 1/4 cups of water per cup of rice. When the rice is done let stand for 10 mins. After the 10 mins are up, transfer the rice to a bowl and add 4 tablespoons of Sushi Vinegar. Now what you want to do go have a seat with your rice. As you fold in the vinegar you are going to take a fan or magazine or something and fan the rice. That's right, fan the rice. This (from what I'm told) helps the moisture evaporate and gives the rice a shiny look. It also helps cool the rice so you don't burn your fingers. When the rice is cool (or cool enough), you're ready to make sushi!

When the rice is done it's time to get your area set up. I take a small towel and lay that on the counter, this is where sushi happens. You'll use the bamboo sushi mat on the towel to keep the mess to a minimum. You should at this point have the ingredients laid out as well has having the cutting board and bowl of water ready. You do? Excellent.

The first roll we're going to make has the rice on the outside. This has a name, it may be California Roll, but beyond that I'm not sure. This is my main roll because you can get more stuff inside if the rice is on the outside. Take your nori and lay it on the bamboo mat. Dip your fingers in your water, getting them nice and wet. This is very important because the rice is sticky. Grab some rice, I usually grab enough to make a decent sized ball in my hand. (The amount of rice you'll use will depend on how large a sheet of nori you use.) Put that rice on the nori and spread it evenly, covering the entire sheet. Don't press too hard, you don't want to squish the rice or split the nori. If there are bare spots just grab a little more rice to cover.

Now that you've got the nori covered in rice (this is where I add the sesame seeds if you want them), take a piece of saran wrap (about the size of the mat or larger) and place on top. You're going to pick flip the whole deal over now. What you should have is the mat, saran wrap, rice and nori in the order with the nori on top. This is where it gets fun. Now you add whatever ingredients you want just be sure not to overfill the roll. It's better to err on the side of too little because having too much results more often than not in sushi salad instead of a sushi roll. I suggests your putting your ingredents towards the center of the nori, this will make it easier to roll. Sauces I usually put on first simply because it's easier to spread them on the nori.

When you've gotten all your stuff in there, it's time to roll it. This is probably the hardest part and it's the most important unless you're shooting for the aforementioned salad result. You're going to take the edge of the nori closest to your, saran wrap and mat all at once and bring that forward over the ingredients but don't press. Let the nori fold over the ingredients but don't let the wrap and mat roll into the roll. At this point the rice/nori sheet should be wrapped around the center fillings with an inch (or less depending on how much nori you started with) of rice/nori left to be rolled up. Take the mat and saran wrap over the part that is rolled up and you are going to pull gently but firmly toward you. This compacts the roll a bit and if you are using a smaller piece of nori usuall gives you a little more room to close the roll. Take a look at the roll, if there are veggies or whatnot sticking out puch them back in. Be careful when using sauces because when you pull, the sauce tends to let things squish out the ends. Okay, now you've compacted it a bit and there is room to colse the roll, let's close the roll. This is basically the continuing to roll the sushi until you run out of sushi to roll. Your roll may just meet or it may overlap quite a bit depending on how much nori and stuff you use. Either way it a-okay. If your roll closes and stays closed, you're doing great! Put the roll on the cutting board and go for it again.

If you want to make sushi with the rice on the inside, it's actually a little easier. Again, take your nori and rice only this time leave about 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch of nori with no rice. This is what's going to seal your roll. You don't need the saran wrap for this roll because I only use it to keep the rice from being crushed into the bamboo mat. Now it's been my expierence that if you try and put everything you usually put into the rice-on-the-outside roll into the nori on the outside roll you'll never close the think and again...salad. I reserve the nori on the outside for when I do rolls with just one ingredient such as a cucumber roll. When you get you're ready to roll, go for it. Just like the previous roll you want to bring the nori/rice over to cover the filling. Don't do too much in the way of pulling with this roll. Then complete the roll, making sure that the little flap of nori gets in contact with some other nori on the roll. This will seal it up nicely. Place the roll on the board for cutting.

Now that you've made the sushi rolls, it's time to cut them. This is the easy part. Each roll is cut into eight pieces. Take the bread knife and wet it. Make a cut in the center of the roll. Wipe any residue from the blade and re-wet it. It's a good idea to have your fingers wet as well when you do this because that rice gets seriously sticky. Cut each of the two pices in half and then cut those pieces in half until you have eight pieces, wiping and re-wetting your knife between each cut. Now these pieces can be artfully arranged or just tossed onto a plate, it's dealers choice at this point.

Congratulations you have just made sushi!

Note: When making sushi for vegans and non-vegans always make the vegan's sushi first. Make it, cut it and put it on the plate (or whatever) before you even start to non-vegan sushi. I fiigure that I won't mind if I get veggies in my sushi but they may not like getting fish in their's.

Now that you know everything that I know about making sushi, give it a shot! The best part is that even if it goes totally wrong (and it will, at least once as I speaking from expierence here) it still tastes the same as when it goes right. It's just a little harder to eat (remember that salad). I think you'll find that it gets easier the more you make it until you are #1 Sushi Chef!