Best Vegetarian Sushi

Ok, so we all know I die for sushi...and seafood of all kinds...but I love a delicious vegetarian sushi roll any day.  I love experimenting with different combinations of vegetables.  For this roll, I roasted Japanese eggplant and sweet potatoes, along with marinated tofu.  Then I added some steamed kale and fresh avocados, and it was the most hearty and nourishing sushi roll ever.  Though there are many steps to this recipe, it's actually quite simple and low maintenance, especially when you just cook a bunch of rice and roast/steam a bunch of veggies ahead of time.  Then all week long you have the ingredients to make the sushi, which then only takes about 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups of brown sushi rice
• 1-2 tbs of sesame oil
• 1 tbs of vinegar- you can use sushi rice vinegar, or I love to use umeboshi (pickled plum) vinegar
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tsps of grated ginger
• 1 tbs of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup or so of wheat free soy sauce
• 1 box of extra firm tofu, sliced into thin rectangles
• 2 Japanese eggplants, cut in half length-wise
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into french fry shapes
• 1 head of kale, steamed 
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 4-6 sheets of nori (sushi seaweed)

Directions

1. Cook the brown sushi rice in a rice cooker, or follow the directions on the bag (probably 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice.)
2. When rice is cooked, mix in the sesame oil and vinegar.  Let rice cool for a few hours, or stick in the fridge, covered for about 25 minutes until cooled.
3. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees F.
4. Mix together the garlic, ginger, maple syrup and soy sauce in a bowl and marinate the tofu in the mixture.
5. While it marinates, spread the eggplant and sweet potato out onto a lined baking sheet, drizzle olive oil, some salt and pepper on top.
6. On another lined baking sheet, lay out the tofu pieces.
7. Bake tofu and vegetables in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the tofu is slightly caramelized.
8. Once rice, veggies and tofu are all cooked and cooled, you can roll up some sushi! (slice the eggplant into long thin pieces.) 
9. Place one sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a clean work surface or bamboo roller mat.
10. 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.
11. Lay the vegetables and tofu across the rice near the bottom edge of the nori.
12. 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.)
13. Once roll is rolled up, let sit for a minute so that the roll sets (start on another roll in the meantime).
14. Using a very sharp and slightly wet knife cut your sushi roll into cute little pieces.
15. Enjoy with wheat-free soy sauce!
16. (For more tips on how to make the perfect sushi roll check this out:  http://jasminshappytummy.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-love-sushi.html)