Sweet Potato Cucumber Sushi

If you're like me, I get take out sushi alot; I also love dining at a sushi restaurant with friends or by myself with my Nook (I'm reading Prince Lestat if you need a good book for Christmas!)  I recently learned how to make sushi at home and I have not looked back.  So, don't think you need to spend money on takeout, make your own!  If you have wax paper and a cutting board you are good.  If you want to get fancy, get a sushi mat.

What you will need: cutting board, sushi mat or wax paper, sheets of nori for sushi, sushi rice, veggies of your choice, umeboshi paste, soy sauce, mustard or any dip of your choice and a sharp knife.  Note: buy toasted sushi nori so you get the correct kind of nori seaweed.  Sushi rice will say sushi rice on it; it's the sticky white rice.

Cook your rice according to the package a few hours or a day before you're making your sushi.  You want your rice to be entirely cooled so having it cold in the fridge overnight is best.  Sushi takes a little bit of planning so make alot of rice and store it for later use.  Steam your veggies beforehand too but you can steam or cook them before you're about to make the sushi.

I cut up and steam sweet potatoes, I cut up cucumber in small pieces, I cut up avocado, I've used romaine lettuce, you can use pretty much any veggie, just cook it (if needed) and dice it up into small pieces.  Set up your table with a cutting board, sushi mat or wax paper on the board, rice nearby in a bowl, a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in and have your veggies nearby too.  Make your sushi on a table where you can spread out.

1. Spread the rice on top of your nori.  Spread it horizontally so that it goes to the sides of your nori; don't take your rice all the way up to the top or bottom of the nori so that you have space to roll it. Dip your fingers in the water so the rice doesn't stick to your fingers.  Keep spreading the rice on your nori until you have enough.

2. Spread your veggies on top of the rice but don't put too many; you still need to roll the sushi. Using the sushi mat or wax paper, roll the nori over, wet the top of the nori sheet so the nori sticks together and press the sushi roll down for a few seconds.  The two nori ends should stick together and you will have an uncut sushi roll.

3. Cut the sushi roll into pieces using a sharp knife and arrange on a plate.  Make as many sushi rolls as you wish.

For this particular roll, I steamed sweet potato and I cut up cucumber.  I dip the sushi in spicy mustard; I bought the kind with no added salt.

Sushi is a wonderful raw til 4 dinner!!  It's a great use of veggies and you can eat your fill.  Have you made sushi before?  How did it go?  What are your favorite sushi rolls?