Salmon and Avocado Maki

My friend Rosalie and I were playing a game where we had to come up with a food that represented each other's dating personality.  She described me as a sushi roll: cute, fresh, and tightly wrapped up until you bite in and everything delicious falls out.  I took the comparison as a compliment as sushi is my favorite food!  I love the salty seaweed, the sweet vinegary rice, fresh pieces of fish, and the way tobiko pops in your mouth. It is the first dish I ever learned to make and since then have taught many a friend how to make sushi.  It is a fabulous party activity especially for all my creative friends who love to use their hands!  I've played around with different ingredients such as: tuna and wasabi, mango, fried tofu and daikon radishes, wheat-free tempura, peanut butter and avocado, tamago and scallions, sweet potato and spinach, shitake mushrooms and garlic...... People think that making sushi is hard, but it isn't!  I make sushi almost every week because it is so easy!  There is of course an art to making authentic sushi that sushi chefs master over many years, but it's not complicated to make a basic sushi roll. Here is one of my favorite rolls I make for myself.  If you are serving more than 2 people, use twice as much rice, nori, and fillings!

Jasmin's Basic Salmon/Avocado Roll

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sushi rice (white or brown)
• 4 sheets of nori seaweed
• 2 tbs of rice vinegar or umeboshi vinegar
• 1 tbs of sesame oil
• 1 package of smoked salmon (check ingredients for sugar) or raw sushi grade salmon
• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot
• 1 bunch of spinach or bok choy

 Directions:

1. First things first, you have to buy a rice cooker if you don't already own one.  You can cook the rice in a pot the old fashioned way, but it's much quicker if you have a rice cooker. Follow the directions on your rice cooker.
2. While rice is cooking start cutting the vegetables up into thin long pieces.  I often use a peeler to slice the carrots into thin strands.
3. Steam the greens. Dress with tamari if you like.  Let cool. 
4. Mix together the vinegar and sesame oil. 
5. Once rice is cooked, transfer to a wide bowl and gently stir in the vinegar/oil mixture.
6. Let rice cool completely before you start rolling.  If you are in a hurry, you can cover the rice and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
7. Once all ingredients are cooled down it's time to make the sushi!
8. Place one sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a clean work surface or bamboo roller mat.
9. Using a wet spoon or clean wet hands, spread a thin layer of sticky rice on the nori, covering the bottom two thirds of the nori.  Make sure the rice is tightly packed.
10. Lay the vegetables and salmon across the rice near the bottom edge of the nori.
11. Wet the top edge of the nori.  Starting from the bottom side, begin to roll the sushi, trying to keep all the ingredients in the first turn.  As you turn, make sure to keep it tight and gently press the roll, like you are trying to roll a sleeping bag very tightly.  (I don't use a bamboo roller, but you may find it easier.)
12. Once roll is rolled up, let sit for a minute so that the roll sets (start on another roll in the meantime).
13. Using a very sharp and slightly wet knife cut your sushi roll into cute little pieces.
14. Serve with wasabi, ginger and wheat-free tamari.