Sushi - A Beginner's Guide

Do not be alarmed - this isn't nearly as hard as it looks!
Time Needed: 5-15 minutes
Level of difficulty: easy to intermediate
Materials needed: short grain rice (cooked), sushi vinegar, nori (seaweed wraps), plastic wrap, plastic gloves, water, cucumber (sliced), carrots (sliced), cream cheese (sliced), avocado (sliced), crab (sliced), sharp knife
Directions: Once the rice has cooled to the point where you can stick your hands in it, add about a tablespoon of sushi vinegar per two cups rice to your rice and mix together. Then, lay a sheet of nori on the plastic wrap with the rough side down. Put on the gloves and spread a thin layer of rice over the nori, leaving a 1/4 inch spot untouched at the top. You'll want to really pack that rice down, and thinner layers of rice wrap better. Then, at the bottom end, layer the cucumber, carrots, cream cheese, avocado, and crab in a thin line. This is where it might get a bit tricky. Take the plastic wrap and use it to help fold the bottom over the veggie layer. Then, pull it back so that it is tight. Continue rolling up the length of the nori (the rice should make it stick together), using the plastic wrap to keep things in place. When you get to the end with no rice, take a tiny bit of water to just dampen this edge (think licking an envelope amount of water). Continue finishing the roll (the water will seal the end). Use your very sharp knife to cut the roll into individual pieces, and enjoy.
Notes:

• Don't think you like sushi? It's rice and veggies at this stage. If you like those, you'll like sushi. The seaweed flavor is actually very good and very minimal.
  
• Don't ever make raw fish sushi at home. Restaurants who do this are trained and know what they're doing. They have ideal situations and are specialized. Don't risk it and make yourself sick.
• Another good ingredient is tomago, or a scrambled egg mixed with a little soy sauce and sugar. Cook like an omelet, slice, and add to your roll.
• Cooked shrimp, whether purchased cooked or bought and fried in tempura batter, is an excellent addition as well.
• We use imitation krab and love it. Real crab is great, but is expensive. Don't use canned crab - it's terrible.
• If you're feeling REALLY brave, go buy unagi at your local Asian market. It's eel. If cooked, it's actually really good.
• This is fun to mix and match. Add sesame seeds, try brown rice, add spicy mayo, do whatever you want. It's also a fun party activity to have everyone help prepare the ingredients and make their own rolls.
• When you cut the rolls, stuff is gonna poke out the ends. No worries - it's a snack for the chef! Plus, sushi chefs use these pieces to liven up their place settings.
  
• Don't be intimidated - it's fun and really easy once you get the hang of it. The caterpillar looking roll we made is from just playing around and being creative. You'll notice the rest are very plain. Experiment and have fun with it!
  

Flavors of Fall Door Wreath

Time Needed: 5 minutes
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: woven wreath, 3-4 clumps of false foliage of your choice, pliers, wire cutters, floral arrangement wireDirections: Clip off any excess length from your clumps of foliage. Stick the foliage into the woven twigs so they start to weave in to the design as well. Then, take the wire and wrap it around one twig near the base of your design. Then, wrap the wire up the design in a spiral, leaving about an inch between each coil. Be sure the wire is hidden in the foliage so it can't be seen. Once it's all wrapped, tie off the wire as before, and clip off. Add any extra wire where things need to be more sturdy.

Helpful Hint: I bought my woven wreath, wire and foliage at Dollar Tree. Because the foliage was 2 for $1, the whole project cost me $3.50. How sweet is that?

90 Minute Cinnimon Rolls

Time Needed: 90 minutes (hence, the post name)
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup margarine, softened, 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup water, 1 egg, 1 cup brown sugar, packed, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup margarine, softened, 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

For your information:
yield: 12
original recipe found at allrecipes.com

Directions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
4. Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

Notes

The recipe yields 12 rolls. If you need more/less, the website that I've linked above has a feature that will do all of the conversions for you, which I think is awesome.

Instead of raisins, I put in an apple, which I peeled and diced. This I sprinkled atop the cinnamon. Apples and cinnamon are a delicious combo anyway, and the apples make for a really moist cinnamon roll. While this recipe may be new, the use of apples is definitely an old trick of mine.

When cutting the rolls to place in the muffin tin, I find it helpful to cut the whole thing in half at first, then cut the halfs in half, then cut those into thirds. This helps me to ensure the rolls are roughly the same size rather than just going for it and ending up with all sorts of odd shapes.

I recommend setting the muffin tin atop a cookie sheet. Why? Well, the cinnamon sugar mixture likes to get all bubbly and ooze out. Rather than having this hit my oven floor and start a smoke/fire extravaganza, I will deign to clean another pan.

The recipe doesn't have frosting listed anywhere. The rolls are good, but come on. Cinnamon rolls without icing? Yeah right. I did a cream cheese frosting, which is basically made with a splash of vanilla, a somewhat larger splash of milk, 1/2 packet of cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat kind personally) softened, and as much powdered sugar as it takes to make that stuff the consistency you want. This I beat with the hand mixer till I feel good about it. Use whatever frosting you'd like, or look one up online - there's about a bajillion of them.

I used butter rather than margarine in my recipe because I like butter better for baking, and they turned out great. However, since the original calls for margarine, I'm gonna go with you're safe to use either one and have a delicious, quick, easy to do end product.

Bagel Re-Mix

You will, I'm sure, remember the bagels I made a few months ago. That time, they were white flour bagels and bagels topped with asiago cheese. And they were inhaled and enjoyed and have become a favorite in our house.

Well, I've been experimenting a bit lately. This post, though it is about bagels again, is about how to do a few variations that I've been having fun with.

Variation 1: Whole Wheat Bagels

Just switch out your bread flour for wheat flour. You'll probably use a few more tablespoons of water, but that's no big deal. Not ready for whole wheat but still want to include more whole wheat in your diet? Well, go half and half! Just substitute half of the bread flour for wheat flour.

Variation 2: Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Substitute 3 T of flour for 3 T of cinnamon. Then, before you add the water, pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raisins (or as many as you feel like). Stir all the dry ingredients together, then add the water and prepare as per the original recipe.

PS: Here's a link to the original recipe on hubpages.

Cute Coasters

I cannot take credit for this idea. It originally comes from a fun homemaking site called You Really Made That?
Time needed: 1 hour
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: 4 4-inch bathroom tiles, scrapbook paper, glue stick, Mod Podge, paintbrush, scissors, pencil, felt circles
Trace the outline of the tiles on the paper with the pencil. Cut out the squares. Use the glue stick to completely coat the top of the tile, paying close attention to the edges of the tile. Place the paper on the tile, and allow the glue to dry. (I weighed down the tiles by stacking them on each other and resting the Mod Podge bottle on them till they dried - just extra drying in place security). Once dry, coat the tiles and the edges with Mod Podge. I used 6 layers, and you have to wait 10-20 minutes between each coat of Mod Podge. The Mod Podge keeps them waterproof and glossy. Once dried, stick the adhesive felt circles on the bottoms of the tiles, and there you go!

Wanna hear the best part? I did 8 tiles and already had the Mod Podge and the paper. So, for 8 tiles and the felt circles, my cost was less than 5 bucks. Woo!

Monster Cookies

Years ago, when I was a dorky little 13 year old, my mom was in charge of putting together the food for a church girl's camp. She did an amazing job because she is my mom and because she is an amazing cook. The thing she made that stood out the most to me was these cookies. So, as I was in need to thank a few people for helping the hubs and I, these cookies came to my mind. This recipe isn't mine; it's Paula Deen's, who is a great woman and a great cook. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Dry Erase Calendar

Time needed: 30 minutes (the fancier you make it, the longer it takes)
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: picture frame (I used an 11x18, but pick a size that works for you), cute scrapbook paper, permanent marker, dry erase markers, tape, cork board (which, by the way, they sell at Office Depot in tiles of many sizes - I used a 6x6 that I cut down to fit), push pins

Directions: Choose the paper you'd like to be the background of your calendar and cut it to fit your frame. You can write the calendar or any of the events on the paper, but then you have to switch it out at the end of the month. You choose - it's your calendar! If you're doing a section for notes (see the left bottom of mine), choose a background paper to go there. Tape these together, and stick them in the back of the frame. Then, if you haven't written anything on the paper, graph yourself a 7x5 chart on the glass for your calendar. Do this in permanent marker so that the chart is always there - you can write the days in as the months come. Leave a space for the month at the top. Then, take your dry erase markers and fill in your chart! If you are looking for something more permanent than a dry erase marker but not something as permanent as a permanent marker, I'd recommend vis-a-vis markers (the kind teachers use on overhead transparencies). They stay on till you take them off with water. To stick the cork board on the calendar (and, by the way, that's optional - if you don't like it, don't do it), all you do is use the 3M stickies the cork boards come with. To cut the cork board, I just used scissors. And obviously the push pins are for things you want on your cork board. And, voila! A cute fun calendar! If you'd like to see a different version (this one's magnetic - I couldn't find a piece of metal small enough, hence the cork board), check out my cute cousin Krystal's fun blog!