Sushi Date

Sushi, my absolute favorite ethnic food. Now don't get me wrong, I love living in Flgstaff...but sometimes finding good ehtnic food here can be quite challenging. I grew up in California where there is a surplus of great Sushi restaurants, Mexican food, etc. Although we have a great sushi restaurant we go to here in Flag, I thought of a great idea while strolling through World Market one day. I came across a sushi making kit that was fairly inexpensive and seemed like it wouuld be a fun idea for a stay at home date night. The kit had the rice, rolling mat, rice vinegar, wassabi, soy sauce, nori, and seemed like a pretty fool proof way to make sushi yourself. After purchasing the kit, I thought about what ingredients might be easy and yummy to put in the sushi rolls. I ended up getting shrimp, imitation crab, avocado, cream cheese, and cucumber (I figured this would be a safe first go at sushi).

With all of the supplies in place, Wes and I decided when to embark on our sushi adventure. The kit was very easy to follow- microwave the rice, pat on nori (seaweed), add ingredients, roll. Now our rolls definitely got better each time. We figured out how many ingredients we could add without it being too full, how to roll it tightly, and how to cut it nicely. I would say that our third roll looked very similiar to the rolls you get at a sushi restaurant. When it was finally time to eat the rolls we made, we were pretty impressed with ourselves, as the rolls were actually quite delicious. It was a very messy dinner, but it was also very fun. I think we will definitely be doing this again in the near future...give it a try, it's pretty neat!

-M

Homemade Eggplant Parmigiana

Although the last few weeks have been busy subbing in various classrooms, I have found time to cook some yummy dinners for my wonderful boyfriend and myself. One of my favorite recipes is my Nana's eggplant parmigiana recipe. My mom has made it several times, but I had yet to attempt it. It seemed awfully complicated and time consuming. A recent grocery shopping trip inspired me to try this recipe when eggplant was on sale for under a dollar. It didn't hurt that my mom was grocery shopping with me and explained to me how easy it was. I was able to make this on a school night, after a long day of work, fairly easily and quickly. It turned out DELICIOUS, probably one of my favorite recipes I have every made. In fact Wes, my boyfriend, said it tasted "just like a restaurant". I have to agree...it was pretty darn good and tasted just like an Italian meal served at a five star restaurant. Below is the recipe with a picture of the finished product. Enjoy the recipe and make this for dinner sometime...I promise it will be one of the best home-cooked meals you have ever had!


Ingredients:

1. 1-2 Eggplants
2. Salt
3. Breadcrumbs
4. Eggs
5. Milk
6. Oil for frying
7. Pasta Sauce
8. Mozzarella Cheese


Directions:

1. Wash, peel, and slice ends off of eggplant
2. Cut eggplant into pieces, 1 inch thick
3. Lay on paper towels, salt on both sides and let the pieces sit until water droplets form (about 30 minutes)
4. Meanwhile, beat a couple of eggs with milk
5. When eggplant is done sitting, rinse and pat dry
6. Heat skillet on medium high with oil until hot
7. Dip pieces of eggplant in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs
8. Fry breaded pieces, turning once to brown
9. Drain pieces on paper towel while frying others
10. In a rectangular or square glass pan, layer eggplant pieces with pasta sauce
11. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes (depending on amount of eggplant)
12. Put mozzarella cheese on top for last 5 minutes of baking
13. Serve and enjoy with a side of pasta

NOTE: It is VERY important to salt the eggplant pieces and let them sit. This step brings out the bitterness in the eggplant and severely impacts the taste of the final product.

-M