Earlier this summer I took advantage of my local Asian market and taught myself how to make sushi. Chris and I made a big event of it, laying out the fixins and letting everyone learn how to roll and cut it themselves.

I have always been intimidated by sushi in the kitchen, but after learning how to make it, it seems silly. Making simple vegetarian maki is incredibly easy, though a bit time consuming.

I also learned how to make Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, which is beyond easy. I’ll tell you how to make both, starting with the sushi.

2 cups Japanese short grain rice (Very important! White basmati will not work.)
2 cups water
2 Tbl rice vinegar
2 Tbl sugar
1 tbl salt
Seaweed, for rolling
Sushi fixins (cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, wasabi, etc)
Shoyu, for dipping
Saran wrap and toasted sesame seeds (optional, for inside-out rolls)

- Place rice in a medium sized pot, rinsing and draining until the water runs semi-clear. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil uncovered. Optional: Add a small square of nori in the pot. It will dissolve as the water boils and add a slightly different taste / look to the rice.

- Once it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Then, remove from heat, mix in rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, covered and your sushi rice is done!

Now, I’m not going to pretend like I can actually find the words to properly describe how to roll your sushi, but I will direct you to this website, which has step-by-step pictures that helped me a ton when I was first learning.

- Have a bowl of warm water with a drizzle of vinegar handy. When laying the rice down it will be very sticky, and dipping your hands in the water before you handle the rice will help.

- Always wet your blade before making each cut, and wipe it clean afterward. This will give you an easy cut and keep the roll from tearing.

- As you cut the sushi, arrange in a bowl or on a flat serving dish and dispose of the ends. And by “dispose” I mean “eat!” :) Serve with a side of shoyu.

- If you want to make uramaki (inside-out rolls), the process is exactly the same except after laying the rice down on the seaweed, you’ll flip the whole thing over, making sure to have a piece of saran wrap between the sushi mat and rice. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on the rice before flipping it over for a really fancy treat!

I don’t have a picture of this process, but hopefully my crude diagram will get the idea across!

If you were overwhelmed by all of that, Vietnamese spring rolls might be up your alley. They are a light, healthy appetizer that can be prepared in under 30 minutes and, best of all, it’s cheap as heck!

All you need to do to get started is pick up a pack of rice paper at your local Asian market. They look like this and shouldn’t cost more than a couple bucks for a whole pantload of them.

Rice paper
Rice noodles
Cabbage
Mung bean sprouts
Choice vegetables, grated or julienned (carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, etc)
Toasted sesame oil (optional)
Sauce for dipping (I like Soy Vay Teriyaki, sweet chili sauce or a peanut sauce)

- Cook rice noodles as directed. Drain and set aside.

- Drizzle a light amount of oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Saute the cabbage, sprouts and any firm vegetables (carrots, onions) until they are less crunchy, but not soggy. Alternatively, you can skip this step and steam them instead.

- Fill a shallow dish with warm water. Pie pans work great for this. Submerge your rice paper for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the thickness of paper and heat of water. It’s important not to over soak or the paper will tear.

- Remove from water and place on a flat plate or cutting board. Assemble the ingredients in the center of the roll, and then wrap as you would a burrito. This is a great video which shows an obvious expert do the entire process.

Now, wasn’t that easy? :)

Happy Friday, everyone! Today I’m working on a portfolio (flash galleries! My work never looked so… put together!) and tomorrow I’ll continue with the Arcata series.

Cats get a lot of coverage on the internet, and for good reason: They rule! But dogs are pretty cool, too, and these three pups Kristina dog-sat are no exception!

They live in beautiful Trinidad where I joined them for an evening walk through the forest. Well, we walked; they darted, ran, and frolicked.

Across the street from their house is a large field with some very friendly horses.

Timo loves to let it all hang out!

Bingo’s a bit drooly.

My favorite pooch out of the bunch, Indie was a total sweetheart that never went missing when we let her off the leash.

I had control of Timo for a bit towards the end. Once we came full circle and were back by the horses, I pretty much lost control and picture taking got thrown out the window in favor of saving myself from being dragged down the street!

We were pooped by the time it was all over, but they were wanting more. It was so cute how they’d sit on the porch every time Kristina went inside the house, obediently waiting for her to come back out!

I definitely enjoyed my rowdy evening in Trinidad, but in the end it’s a feline’s life for me!

Allyson and Jamie moved out of their cabin-like home and into a sardine can this summer. It’s pretty darn cute!

They don’t have much for a back yard, but they do live down the street from Big Pete’s, Redwood Yogurt and Japhy’s. You can’t beat that kind of location.

Almost all the windows in the house are big and unobstructed, making for drop dead gorgeous light at all hours of the day.

Truth be told, I’d kill to live in their new housepartment!

To Chris’s dismay, this summer has been good to me in the shoe department. The grey pair are one of my favorite thrift store finds, they make me feel like a bit of a cartoon– in a good way.

I got them for $2 at the Hospice Shop, which is one block south of the Plaza, on H Street (or 1 block west of Hole in the Wall Sandwiches).

I picked these sandals up at a yard sale in Redding, but haven’t worn them since our camping trip because I destroyed them while warming my feet up on the fire pit. Oops!

Allyson got some moccasins, which she lived in for the entire month I was there. She’s probably wearing them right now, as I type!

But even the biggest shoe lovers don’t have anything on Kristina. She constantly amazes me with her vast collection of shoes, from quality footwear to hip granny flats.

Sometimes, though, you just gotta go barefoot. Especially in the summer!

Humboldt is good for more than just Redwood forests– the university campus is a well maintained one, making it a prime location for midnight flower picking. Thanks to Kristina, who taught me the art of not getting yelled at while doing this. The key, she says, is to look as sweet and innocent as possible. Wearing a dress helps.

The poofy purple balls smell like dirty feet, which we didn’t realize for days. In the meantime, I apologized to Kristina profusely.

My second favorite flower, the elusive krumping foxglove. :) I’m currently trying to convince Chris that “Foxglove” would make a great middle name.

Can’t remember the name of this plant, but they look like tiny little space-bugs.

Post-script: Thanks to Brittney for identifying it as Rattlesnake Grass!

And of course, California poppies, which I didn’t dare pick… Or did I?

Realizing there was a world of flowers that were eventually going to wilt and make our campus look ugly made buying flowers seem even more ridiculous. It’s just too bad I’m writing this from Redding, where everything turns yellow for half the year because it’s so hot and dry.