My new favorite kitchen tool

We have a kitchen shop going out of business in Manitou.  As the bargain hunters we are, Neale and I stopped by to see if there was anything we needed.  I was thrilled to find one of these.  I have seen Peggy K. and Nirmala use these on their cooking shows and was hoping to get one.  It is an incredibly handy tool to pick up all those little bits that I chop on my cutting board.  It can also separate the bits.  It is much easier than pick them up with than with a knife or my fingers and I drop a whole lot less on the floor.

Who wants one as a gift???

Sushi

Making homemade sushi is fun and easy but does require some specialized equipment.  Start by cutting all ingredients into long strips.  We like tuna, cucumber, carrots and avocado.  The sushi tuna comes from Costco.

 

You will also need Nori, a bamboo sushi tool like the one pictured below and a very sharp knife.

 

 We buy sushi rice from our local grocer and then cook it in a rice cooker.  I find it comes out better than if it is cooked on a stove.  It gets seasoned with rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt while still warm. Here is a recipe if you need one.

Once the rice cools, spread it on a piece of nori.  Then lay all your stuff in lengthwise.

Begin to roll up from the end holding the fillings with your fingers and pushing with your thumbs.  There is an easy tutorial here.

 

 

Cut your sushi roll with a very sharp knife that you wash often.  Serve with ginger, soy sauce and wasabi.  We cut some tuna into sashimi.  Also, we scraped the tuna off the membranes and make spicy tuna by adding a little mayo and hot sauce.  Enjoy your sushi!

 





 

 

 

 

 

Making Marinated Peppers

I love marinated sweet bell peppers on salad.  They pair deliciously with pine nuts and add so much flavor that I barely need any dressing.  The other day the grocery had a sale on damage produced and I picked up 3 peppers for 99 cents.  I gave them a good wash.  I usually soak in vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to remove pesticides but can't find a shred of research to back this up online.  The only research I can find is that washing in tap water for 30 seconds is as effective as any veggie wash or pesticide soak to remove pesticides.  I will await further comments on this subject.


Anyhow to make marinated sweet bell peppers, roast them under the broiler until the skins turn black.  When cool enough to handle, peel the skins off.  Slice them into long thin strips.  I put them in some recycled jam jars and added a sherry vinegar, pressed garlic, a little salt and some olive oil.  I store in the fridge.  They will be yummy on my big salads at lunch time.  They will keep about 5 days.


Cut into strips

Store in jars in fridge.  Eat  within 5 days.

Perfect in a big salad with stilton cheese and roasted pine nuts - yum. yum.