Sushi Rice

Good sushi rice is all about the finesse. If you follow these steps, your sushi rice will rival any restaurants.

Ingredients
2 cups short grain rice (should yield approximately 5 cups cooked)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Mirin
1/2 tablespoon salt

Wash the rice:
Pour the rice in a bowl. Fill the bowl most of the way full with cold water, agitate the rice with your fingers. Drain the water, and refill bowl. Continue to wash the rice until the water stays clear.
Transfer the rice into the rice maker (or pot), and fill with water.

Rice maker instructions: Fill with water until the water comes 3/4 inch above the surface of the rice. Set the rice maker to white rice, and wait for it to finish cooking.

Instructions for a pot: Fill the pot with water until the water is 1 inch above the surface of the rice. Bring the water to a boil. Once it starts to boil, cover the pot (do not lift the lid again until after the rice has set), and turn the heat to the lowest setting for ten minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 15 minutes. 

When the rice is nearly done, mix the vinegar, sugar, Mirin, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over low heat, to dissolve the sugar and let some of the vinegar dissipate.

The next part requires some coordination, and is easier if you can get a second person to fan the rice continuously.
Transfer the cooked rice to a clean baking pan, and spread out the warm rice. Drizzle the vinegar mixture over the rice, while fanning the mixture with a flexible cutting board, or hand fan. Once you have poured half the vinegar onto the rice, gently mix the rice using slicing motions with a spatula, while continuously fanning. Drizzle on the second half of the vinegar mixture, while fanning. Again, mix the rice while fanning. You will know you have mixed and fanned enough when the rice takes on a very shiny texture.

You're sushi rice is now ready for any application you can think of.

German Chocolate Oatmeal

It's my husband's birthday, and his favorite cake is German Chocolate Cake. He really deserved cake for breakfast, but instead I made this more nutritious alternative.

Ingredients:
Oatmeal
German Chocolate
Sweetened Flaked Coconut

Cook the oatmeal, and top with German Chocolate and Coconut

Balsamic Herb Roasted Chickpeas

This is a great snack, great for hikes. It's crunchy, satisfying, and easy on the go.

1 can of chickpeas
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450
Wash the chickpeas. Mix all the ingredients in a pan so that the chickpeas are coated evenly with all the ingredients. Bake them for 30 minutes, shake the pan halfway through.

Veggie Borsht - Weeknight version

Borscht wins my heart with its vibrant color alone. I feel regal as I eat a soup the color of velvet.
This is an easy hot version, a delicious main dish for a busier night.

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 med. onion
4 stalks of celery  3 large carrot
4 small pealed beat roots
4 large potatoes
3-5 cloves garlic
1/2 head of cabbage
14 ounces beef stock (replace with vegetable broth for a vegan version)
1/2 cup of herbs, parsley, lovage, thyme, and a bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice your onion, celery, and carrot. Saute the mirepoix in a large pot with the oil, add a pinch of salt to draw out the aromatic properties. With the remainder of the vegetables, chop and add them one at a time in the following order: beats (diced), potatoes (bite sized cubes), garlic (minced), cabbage (chopped). Once all the vegetables have been added, add the stock. Bring the soup to a low boil, and let the flavors stew together for about 15 minutes. Add the herbs a couple minutes before serving.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

5 ingredients, that's all it takes to make this fantastic whole wheat bread. Perfect as sandwich bread,  the nutty whole wheat pairs perfectly with spicy mustard, or peanut butter.

1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups whole wheat flour (this is approximate)

Mix the yeast, warm water, honey, and salt in a bowl. Let the bowl sit for about 5 minutes to let the yeast bloom.

Add the whole wheat flour, and knead the bread. Add flour until the dough barely comes off the sides of the bowl. You will need to really knead this bread (5 minutes of continues kneading in a mixer, more if done by hand). This will develop the gluten, and make sure the bread keeps it's structure.

Let the bread double in volume in the bowl, and then beat the bread down.

Put the bread in a greased or lined bread pan, and let the bread double in size a second time. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Let the bread cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan, and let the bread cool completely.

Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette

This well rounded salad dressing can make even the simplest salad taste extravagant.

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive oil
4  large figs
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of mustard
1 pinch of salt
Put all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until homogenous.