Random tip of the day: EAT IN.

We all know eating out is fun, social, easy, and often quite delicious.
On the downside, its expensive, often less healthy (with larger portions than you would eat at home), involves a lot of waste in preparation, often supports poor wages and poor treatment of employees, and often utilizes ingredients that aren’t good for us or the environment.

I want to argue that eating IN can be just as fun, social, and easy. One of my personal favorite ways to eat in, is to eat in with a group of other people. Get together, get everyone to bring ingredients, throw on some tunes, and cook a splendiferous meal as a group.

If cooking as a group requires too much coordination, throw a potluck. Same fun idea, less work. 🙂
Now the last group cooking I performed, and possibly one of the easiest things to do in a group… is
Making Sushi!

What you need
– Sushi rice (THIS IS IMPORTANT, DON’T GET ANY OTHER KIND OF RICE)
– Vegetables/ Fruit ( Avocado, Cucumber, Carrot sticks, pickled asparagus, mango… )
– Fish, if you are into that sort of thing. (Veggie sushi is awesome too!)
– Seaweed, large squares
– A sharp knife
– Something to roll the sushi (You can use a sushi mat, I used aluminum foil, I’ve heard saran wrap is good)
What you can do
****Disclaimer, this is an easy way to make sushi, it is not necessarily official or traditional
– Prepare sushi rice: here is a good recipe
– Cut veggies into pieces that will fit into a sushi roll (long and thin is best)
– Lay seaweed down on your mat or substitute mat, and cover seaweed with a very thin layer of rice, leaving a few cm rice free at one end.
– Lay on your veggies in a line, on the edge that is opposite to the edge that you left exposed.
– This is the hard part… using your mat as you see fit, roll the sushi from the side with the filling to the bare side, and use water/vinegar or something liquid to seal the free edge to the body of the roll
– No wait this is the hard part, using your super sharp knife, slice the rolls as thick or thin as you desire. (Thick is easier, but small-mouthed friends may object)
– SERVE with soy sauce, chopsticks, and maybe some Miso Soup

Now here’s a picture of some happy sushi makers. See, kids can do it, so can you.

Seriously… its fun, and easier than it sounds.

Also, here is a cool entry on the costs of eating out