Sushi Sushi Sushi

Keep money in your pocket and enjoy homemade sushi at the same time. What in the world is better than that?! The greatest aspect about this recipe is that you're highly encouraged to choose/use ingredients of your liking, not just what's shown below. 

Sushi is healthy, a superb party treat (and cooking show for guests), but ultimately so TASTY and fulfilling.

To start, you need to make a trip to the local Chinese supermarket. Tick these off your grocery list:

A package or two of seaweed sheets. I used to eat snack-sized smaller pieces of seaweed all the time, especially at school and loved grossing others out. It's an acquired taste to eat by itself, but it's a light and salty nomnomnom...

Rice. Any kind is basically alright; this specific brand is good for your wallet. Prepare accordingly, add equal amounts of sugar and rice vinegar for "sushi rice" taste, salt to taste -- and it's important to let the rice cool completely to room temperature, or else it will warm the seaweed and won't spread easily.

For this sushi, imitation crab meat/fish cake was used -- it has an extremely good flavor! Real fish, imitation fish, or anything you want can be substituted of course! Don't forget cucumbers, too.

For an excellent California roll-inspired mixture, shred the logs and mix with mayonnaise. So tasty.

You can even use sliced ham and rolls of egg. Egg was prepared by pouring mixture into a pan so it just covers the surface, then rolling the pan around to cook evenly, and peeling off a fine thin layer of egg. 

Perhaps sliced roasted peppers? It tastes amazing in sushi.

Two important staples: sliced avocado and toasted sesame seeds.

And finally, sushi cannot be consumed properly without that side of wasabi. Snatch a can of wasabi powder and mix with water.

At this time, grab a large ziplock bag, place your cutting board in front of you, and position all your ingredients close by to start the sushi show.

After a few experiments, this piece of advice was born: for sushi with rice inside, use the entire large sheet of seaweed. For sushi on the outside, it's best to cut the sheet in half.

Thus, we start with a roll with rice on the outside. Place the halved sheet on top of a ziplock bag.

Smear rice on one entire side, and don't try to make it 100% even. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, flip it over, and add any combination of ingredients!

Next, using the ziplock bag (it avoids rice sticking), slowly roll and squeeze and tuck.

Homemade sushi ends usually aren't gorgeous looking, but still scrumptious. Now, it's very important to wet your knife when slicing sushi so nothing will tear or stick. This is a roll with rice on the outside.

Now try rice on the inside. Smear on one side and add the pickings.

Slowly and carefully (regardless you will get tears and spillouts) roll and tuck.

Slice into pieces with a wet knife.

The best part is you can add anything you want. Go all out! For thicker rolls, use the entire sheet instead of halves.

And finally, it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labor. All finished!

Enjoy~!

Mexican Shrimp Soup (Caldo de Camarón)

This classic soup is somewhat similar to the traditional Aguachile recipe. However, even though they share the same color and shrimp base, the flavors are completely different, and it is a hot delicious soup for these upcoming frigid nights!

So, caldo de camarón. An instant favorite in Mexican cuisine. It holds a earthy, robust flavor bursting with shrimp and vegetable undertones. It's an almost stew-like soup, a little heartier than aguachile. 

Our ingredients for this authentic recipe includes a lot of shrimp -- pictured here is two pounds for a very full pot of soup. Find some celery, red potatoes, red onions, garlic cloves, serrano peppers, and carrots (don't forget limes, a common staple for most Mexican soups).

And your most important ingredient, other than the shrimp, is the Cascabel chili pepper. Easily found in your local supermarket, they are dark red and usually sold dried. Snag around 7-8 chilies and start off by removing the tails and de-seeding them. Then soak in a pot of cold water for a couple hours. After they've re-hydrated a bit, boil the peppers until they are soft and set aside. Notice the darkened red "broth" in the pot...

Prepare all your vegetables. Dice into small bite-sized pieces.

Peel the shrimp and save the shells. 

Toss a bit of each diced vegetable (save potatoes) into a pot, then fill with water. This is for the soup base.

Add the shrimp shells and boil until vegetables are softened -- a good hour or so!

Your kitchen's now smelling like an aromatic seafood restaurant, and that's a SPLENDID thing. Homemade shrimp+vegetable stock!

Afterwards, strain/spoon out everything and place the pot of soup base back on the stove.

Then we add the actual ingredients we will be happily ingesting in a moment's time. Dump in the red potatoes first, and let boil for a good ten minutes. Then add the carrots, onions, garlic, and celery. And don't forget to inhale deeply!

Taste your soup and season with salt/pepper accordingly. Keep it lightly boiling.

Back to our Cascabel chilies. Layer them into a blender and add some of the red juice as well.

Blend very carefully, as heated items in a blender will explode with even the slightest beat. 

With a handy mini strainer, pour your red sauce into a bowl. This will leave out the tougher skins of the chilies.

You'll probably want to season with salt after a quick tasting. But now you have successfully prepared the famous "red sauce" for many a classic enchiladas from Mexico! You will become everyone's best friend!

You are then going to add the entire bowl of red sauce to the soup pot.

Stir well and season if needed!

Bring back to a boil, and lastly add your shrimp.

They cook very quickly. Take a moment to stir and take in all the colorful deliciousness. 

With your limes...

...and chips ready...

... prepare your soup bowl with a spoonful of garlic, Worcestershire sauce, slices of serrano peppers, (and a Piquin chili if you have some leftover from making aguachile!)

Ladle your caldo de camarón into a prepared bowl and garnish with cilantro, and squeeze in a lime. Incredible work, and it tastes excellent with a crunch of tortilla chips! All finished!

Enjoy~!

Toast + Cheese + Grapefruit Breakfast

Here lies an extremely simple yet satisfying healthy breakfast. You always want your grain, protein, and fruit in some shape or fashion in the morning, so why not change things up?

Give yourself one slice of cheese -- Colby is pictured here, but mozzarella was used in the end. Also prepare a nice juicy grapefruit.

Toast bread, lay the cheese slice on top, and season with your favorite sprinkling of herbs. 

Finished in two minutes! It's a delectable alternative to peanut butter over bread for breakfast.

Enjoy~!