I’ve been buying packages of prepared sushi for awhile now that it isn’t easily accessible at the buffets of Asian restaurants. The cost is prohibitive, and frankly, the quality of the rice in it is terrible in its crumbly dryness. Earlier this month, the contemplation stage of making my own sushi kicked into the action stage. This is veggie sushi only! I surfed ‘zon and found an unbelievable sushi-making kit for an unbelievably low price (less than $20.) It arrived very quickly and soon I was buying the fresh and other ingredients including the right kind of rice to make it up right. It was so much simpler to do than I ever imagined, especially with the “bazooka” you fill with rice, make a depression in it with the dowel, and fill with your veggies. Clamp it shut and push it out onto the nori roll laying on the sushi mat, and slice with a very sharp knife. And the taste! The taste! So so so much better than the package stuff from the store and as good if not better than the restaurant stuff. If you love sushi and have been buying it already prepared, I would encourage you to give it a try. The following photo is of my first try. I’ve made it one more time.
first time sushi made by me, august 2021
My next experiment was today. Another item I always got at the Asian restaurant buffet is hot and sour soup. I used to find dry packets for it at the store but they haven’t been available for a long time. I decided to look up the recipe and realized not that difficult to put together. I made it for the first time today. Not quite as tasty as the restaurant stuff, but still danged tasty and very nutritious. And no preservatives or other unhealthy ingredients.
hot and sour soup using chicken broth made on 082221
Tao Talk 
I love veggie sushi! That looks really good. Yes, I tried to make Panda Express’s famous orange chicken using tofu… and it was a complete disaster, lol. My daughter and my ex recreated Spaghetti Factory’s mizithra dish around 15 years ago and that came out tasty…
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Thanks Paula. Cooking adventures are fun. My son and his wife used to make and bring the salad from Olive Garden to family gatherings and that was good. Now we don’t have gatherings because of the pandemic 😦
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The sushi looks great and so tempting, specially since it’s vegetarian.
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Thank you and it is so delicious!
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You’re welcome
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I have also made my own vegetarian sushi. I have used sweet potato or butternut squash as part of the filling. It was pretty good.
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Awesome, Mark. Did you use them uncooked or cooked?
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I cut them into thin sticks and then baked them. After baking, I let them cool before assembling the roll. It worked pretty good.
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Ah ok. Thanks.
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It looks delicious, Li. But sushi without raw fish? Seriously? 😉
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LOL
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That sushi looks really good, Li. Hot and sour soup is pretty easy if one has the right ingredients.
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Thank you, Punam. I see that now about the soup! Ah the barriers we put in front of ourselves that needn’t be…
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You are welcome. Absolutely…we unnecessarily complicate things. 🙂
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Looks good! I can’t remember ever eating sushi and would never with fish in it, but the veg. ones I might like. 🙂
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Oh Barbara, you need to try it sometime. You put a tiny piece of sliced ginger and a dab of (very spicy) wasabi and it goes from yummy to WOW!
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Those….both look….SO….delicious ! ! !
Yeah, we’re totally trying to get away from more processed food. It’s so hard, though!
One thing I did try recently was making cornmeal pancakes instead of using a mix. They required flour, baking powder, and a bunch of other ingredients, and in the end while they were pretty good…. not really sure it was worth the effort, haha!
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LOL, I give you kudos for trying. Not all will be winners. Have you ever tried a sourdough starter? You have to maintain it, but sourdough pancakes with maple syrup…. not healthy, but…. YUM!!!!!! Wild yeast floats in the air. If you build a home for them they will come. Let me know if you want more info!
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Honestly, I probably will not ever get around to it, Lisa. It was a miracle that I finally tried the cornmeal pancakes. I literally never have the time or energy to do anything extra besides work, read a little, fall into bed. Is it bad to be waiting for retirement for my life to start, lol ???!!!! Aaaaah!!!
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It is what it is, my friend. Hoping you get a chance to make a dent in your bucket list once you get there.
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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I started making my own fried rice, which came out good. Next, I want to try to make lo mein and rice balls.
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Awesome. It’s fun to learn new ways of cooking.
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