Happy Birthday with Sushi.

Tim and I have learned so much about each other in Chicago. I have learned to control my temper, and Tim has learned that I value gifts where time and thought have been used in large amounts, instead of a book from Barnes and Noble.

So for my birthday this year he cleaned the entire house (!!!), made me a pan of brownies, and asked our friend Mai (a real oriental! ha ha, she loves it when I say that) to teach us how to make sushi, something I've wanted to do since I bought him a sushi making kit in 2005. She took him shopping and then came over last night. IT WAS AWESOME. And I'm having sushi for lunch. Here are some of Mai's tips for sushi:

Meat: get frozen tuna steaks. Tuna that is thawed has already been frozen at least once, so the frozen stuff will taste better. Imitation crab is cheaper at an Asian Market than your usual grocery store.
Veggies: Avocados and a cucumber are good to start with. Cut them so they will look pretty when they are cross-sectioned in the sushi roll.
Rice: Buy the good stuff at a food market, it's the most important part of the sushi roll. We got Nashiki medium grain rice, five pounds for $6. I made two cups and it was enough for about 10-12 rolls. Also, get Japanese rice vinegar---the taste is important.

Step by step: I made the rice as the package directed. After it was done, we spread it out and cut it repeatedly to get the heat out. Mai also poured in several tablespoons of the vinegar and cut it in, just so we could taste it but it wasn't overpowering. The rice was really sticky.



I started cutting up veggies and meat. The imitation crab was cut into strips, but most of the tuna was minced for a spicy tuna mixture, using mayonnaise, soy sauce, and Srirachi chili sauce to taste.



Now came the tricky part. We layed out the bamboo rolling mats and cut out a small sheet of Seran Wrap, folded a sea weed sheet in half, and placed it shiny side down, so the rice is on the rough side. Then we spread the rice out thinly and evenly, leaving a little overhang on the longer sides so they would bond together better. See? Aren't we cute?



The next part gets a little tricky. Basically, you use the Seran Wrap to keep your rice from sticking to the mat. We flipped the seaweed/rice over after patting it down, and then we were ready for our ingredients. We did combos of everything we had, and then Mai showed me how to fold the roll so the edges meet while keeping the meat and veggies in their rightful place. The hardest part then is packing the rolls together, sort of in a square shape, so that the rice sticks together and doesn't fall apart after you slice it.



See also mixed in some wasabi with the soy sauce, so delicious. After about I had a couple rolls under my belt (heh!) I attempted a trifecta: tuna, avocado, AND cucumber. And it worked! I am the queen of sushi.



Tim had already left to see a Bill Frissell concert, so after we ate about three rolls each and cleaned up, Mai and I finished off the wine and birthday brownies with Kaye and watched those snazzy Isabella Rosselli biology films on Sundance.com everyone is so excited about. What a great way to celebrate another year of life! Happy Birthday to my one and only twin brother Aaron (I'm bringing your very humble birthday gift to the Fargo Marathon) and baby Ben, who still craps his pants. YOU LOSE!

It's that time again.

Birthday time. And I have to share it with two others: brother aaron, and nephew benjamin. so stop buying them gifts! And focus on me, ahem ahem. Here's a simple list for you to follow. No sweets, please.

1. Flowers
2. Homemade Birthday cards
3. Either Season 1 or 4 of Home Movies
4. A phone call playing "Happy Birthday" on kazoo (Julia circa 2006: "I kazOOed YOU!"
5. Not For Tourists: A Guide To Chicago

No, Tim. Buying me much needed running shoes would not count as a birthday present. But unexpectedly cleaning the bathroom would.

Also, here is a reminder of how giving (not necessarily on materialistic side) i have been in the past. Just sayin.

Birthday Cake for Liz.

It was my sister's 30th birthday on July 21st, and her husband threw her a princess party. She'd never had one before! In fact, a few times during our childhood, her birthday was interrupted by chicken butchering. And apparently, also a quarantine for TB. So her husband Aaron received enough hints that this party better be GOOD. Good thing he has a sister-in-law like me.

Aaron said,"I need you to make a cake."
I said, "Great! Do you know what type of cake she likes?"
Aaron said,"Actually, I want you to make one of those Barbie cakes. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Of course I did, Aaron. Although my knowledge and wisdom make me seem much more worldly than I truely am, i WAS once a young girl. I was immediately transported back to Sarah Sailor's 6th birthday party, which also included swimming (oh, to be born in the summer). But the clearest memory was the barbie birthday cake her grandmother had made; a baking masterpiece where (a *cough* knock-off) Barbie stood in the middle to be revered by all, and the cake around her created a frosted skirt similar to a southern belle in a whacky baking beauty contest.

Need I say more? I stepped up to the challenge.

Here we see all 8 layers, created from two layer cakes and frosting that was made from almond and vanilla flavoring, a cup of butter, and a bag of powdered sugar. Seriously.


Then, I cut the cake using toothpicks as guides/markers (what a smart lady, that Claudia Meberg!) while mom made 4 batches of 7-minute frosting, even though it only took her 15 minutes. Doesn't quite figure, does it?


Finally, the cake was completed.

We got in the car and started driving to my sisters.
I said, "Drive, mom! DRIVE!"
She said, " 'But officer! We have to get this cake to my daughter!' "
I said, " ' How old is she? SHE'S 30! No! I swear!' "
And we all had a good laugh.



Liz loved the cake. HOPEFULLY she will post some pictures from her party that i took and include a cross section of the gooey tower of barbie. Happy Birthday, Liz! Good job, Aaron! Great party.