Makin' Sushi and Other Random Acts

In March, Rachel and I took a sushi making course at one of the area high schools. The following Sunday afternoon, we decided to apply our new trade with Tim and Nicole Callahan, who also joined us for the class. The photo above is of Nicole and Rachel preparing the ingredients in our kitchen in preparation of making maki-rolls.

All sushi purveyors know that the key to good sushi (in addition to fresh fish) is properly prepared sushi rice. Sushi chefs in Japan will train on preparing sushi rice for 5-10 years before they are allowed to move on to the next steps of sushi making. If the rice is bad, the sushi is bad. Below is a video of us completing the sushi rice preparation. Nicole is demonstrating the cutting and folding motions of finishing the rice. Tim is adding the proper amount of rice wine vinegar, which is key to giving the sushi rice its stickyness, but not clumpyness. I am fanning the rice as the vinegar is added and the rice is folded. In addition to making me look ridiculous, it serves a very important purpose in the rice preparation. If you don't fan the rice while it cools and vinegar is added, it will clump. "Rachel K" (not to be confused with Rachel Ray) is the narrator.



Once the ingredients were cut into strips and the rice was properly prepared, we rolled our sushi. We made some nigiri sushi (fish strips sitting on an oblong small packed pile of rice. However, most of our sushi was prepared in maki- rolls and cut into slices, such as the ones shown here. As this was our first time, some of our rolls (mainly mine) tended to open. Rachel rolled pretty tight rolls, so hers are shown for display purposes.

In the end, we had an excellent meal and afternoon of socializing - all while watching the NCAA tournament. It was a great time!!! We also found a good Asian food store with fresh and cheap ingredients (we will probably buy some of our produce there from now on, as the prices and quality were good).


Random Crap - Not Really a Reflection
This picture does not really belong with this or any other blog. We celebrated Nicole's birthday (she is 25...whatever) by surprising her for a bowling evening. She is sporting her fratty pink monogrammed bowling shirt, so I had to work the picture in somewhere.



Also in March, I made it to my first Philadelphia Flyers game. The fans are rabid!!! We had a good time, even though they beat the Predators. My buddy, Keith Edwards, went with me to the game. Although not a Flyers Fan (he is from Buffalo), he is one of the bigger hockey fans I know - he is also our hockey expert for trivia. We left the women folk at home and headed out to the Wachovia Center for hockey and $40 worth of junk food.

Finally, I will brag on my wife one more time. In addition to smoking me in the Out-And-Back 4 mile run this past Friday evening in Philly (the second race in a row where she has beaten me), she won the award pictured with her here at her February run, part of the "Winter Pickle Race Series". Awards were given based on who could most closely predict their 5K time. Watches, IPods and other devices that could be used to pace were not allowed. She guessed her time within 3 seconds and won the pickle. Very nice...