Miso Soup and Veggie Maki

We LOVE sushi in this home. If we could eat at our favorite place, Sushigawa, every night, I think we would!

But that would get expensive! So on occasion we make veggie rolls at home. It goes over great with me and the kids. (Not so much DH.)

I pick up already prepared sushi rice at our second favorite place, Sushipopo, for $1.00 a pint. For that price, I refuse to get all the vinegar and cook actual rice. Its a real treat to have it made perfectly by someone else. At Sushigawa, the same rice is twice the price. I'm just sayin'.

We like simple veggies at our home, so I shaved a cucumber down with a veg peeler. Normally I also put avocado on our rolls, but I forgot to buy them! And I love mayonaisse on those veggie rolls too. Instead of Japanese mayo, I simply use regular mayo.

Here is how it went:

OK. They are not gorgeous. But they do alright. We certainly ate them up! I used a few tablespoons of miso soup and soy sauce for dip. But the kids like them plain.

Speaking of miso soup, I also made that as an appetiser this evening. I have tried the instant soups, but they usually have msg and are too expensive for a meal. This is how I make mine:

very briefly sautee young onions in olive oil

add 1 can of chicken stock

and 3 cups of water

1 full teaspoon of salt

1 sheet of nori (unless you can get kombu!), cut up into 1 inch strips

2 to 3 tablespoons dark red miso paste mixed in 1/2 cup of hot water, then poured into soup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

tofu, cut into small cubes

We each enjoyed a BIG bowl of miso about an hour before our maki. Its so filling and healthy.