Sunday, May 16, 2010

Highlights Part One

Hello blog world! I just want to say that I really didn't mean to neglect blogging for so long and I have missed it. I have been so busy and you know, sometimes just not in the mood to do anything but veg out for a little. To be totally honest, things have sort of been piling up and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I feel like I've been caught in a whirlwind these last few days and I just need to get my footing again. So, instead of trying to catch up everything I've missed since cinco de mayo I thought I would just do some Highlights!

Thursday morning (May 6) I decided to use some of that cornmeal and make Johnny Cakes. I got the recipe from a trusted recipe index called VegWeb. I added blue berries to mine.
The reminded me of something I would find at a mexican food restaurant and I definitely had a few too many because they were delicious!
That night Savannah and I made sushi! We set up a whole sushi making stations and doubled up on the preparation.
I grilled some tempeh with a little oil and soy sauce while Savannah sliced and diced.
Avocado, green onion, cucumbers and mangos for the insides.
We also made a cucumber salad with pieces of nori mixed in. The dressing I got from an online recipe and was very simple: rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
We used brown rice for our sushi and topped the slices with black sesame seeds.
Amazing dinner!
Spur of the moment, we also came up with a green tea banana snow like dessert! I put mango slices in with mine. It was so light and tasty! We used a can of green tea, agave, a mashed banana, a little vegan cream cheese, and vanilla extract. That's it!

On Saturday (May 8) I was asked to sing backups for a reggae band I used to be in Sophomore year but was too busy to make it to all the gigs. Soul Minded is the name of the band and they rock! You know the band is good when someone else is taking care of the sound check. We performed in a festival called Chillavista that happens in the college town where I live. There was a whole line up of bands providing live music all afternoon, booths with merchandize and sometimes give aways, and people eating, dancing, and enjoying the sunshine.
There were some guys making these beautiful floral shrines under the shade of a big tree.



This man was getting down with his bad self using these hula hoops! He would spin them both all over the place and even laid on his back and used his legs to keep it going. He definitely got applause from the crowd a few times!
Later Savannah and I went to sweet alley for some deliciousness! I went for what I have a feeling will become my new usual:
  • Vanilla soy ice cream
  • strawberries
  • mochi
  • dark chocolate chips
  • peanut butter chips
  • shredded coconut
  • chopped peanuts
  • peanut butter drizzle
soooo good!

On Sunday evening (May 9), I decided to have another go at homemade sushi and green tea ice cream only this time I went all out! I started by getting the green tea ice cream going. I chose a recipe that I found online for Vegan Green Tea Ice Cream. The only difference for my recipe was that I forgot to pick up arrowroot at the store (doh!) and I didn't have any corn starch. I thought using egg replacer powder would be good enough. Here is the two Tbsp. mixed with 1/4 cup of soy milk.
In a medium sauce pan I brought 2 cups of soy creamer and 2 cups of soy milk (minus the 1/4 that was with the egg replacer) to a slow boil.
Next I added the sugar and the matcha. The matcha is really what gives the ice cream its flavor and color.
Last but not least: vanilla and almond extracts. Once everything was combined I set the mixture aside to cool. Later I strained the mixture to get out the chunks that formed from the egg replacer. I have a feeling that this could have been skipped all together but I didn't want to risk it my first time. Next time I should just remember to get the arrowroot!
While the ice cream mixture cooled I got ready to make some sushi! I put the nori on my bamboo mat shiny side down.
Then I pressed a thin layer of white sushi rice all over the nori. I made it as even as I could, wetting my fingers with water to help keep the rice from sticking to me.
For rice on the outside, I flipped the whole nori sheet over.
Next I piled all my insides onto the seaweed. The secret ingredient? A little spread of hummus under all the veggies! I topped that with tempeh grilled with mushrooms, onions, garlic, and soy sauce, cucumbers, green onions, and avocado.
Before I rolled that bad boy up I got the ice cream mixture into the ice cream maker and set the timer for 30 minutes.
I rolled it up all nice and topped it with black sesame seeds.
Tada!

I did sort of a yin yang thing here haha.
It was just so pretty I had to take a bunch of pictures!
I ended up having the perfect little date night with myself and enjoyed my delicious sushi while watching Avatar.
I paused for my green tea ice cream which was starting to look really good.
Which it was! I gave myself a little pat on the back for this one, it was so tasty! I had more than one serving for sure.


Highlights to continue soon! I have to get some work done on this paper or I will go crazy.
Later!

1 comment:

muffin said...

Fabulous looking sushi! You will definitely have to try that one out at home.