Inari Sushi

Inari Sushi

Here is one of my favorite snacks.  It is made with sushi rice, inari wrappers (dried tofu, soaked in this wonderful sweet, savory mixture of yum.), nori (roasted seaweed -- for this one, I used strips that you can probably get at the same asian market as the inari for 2 to 4 bucks for a few hundred.  Great snacks too!)  Inari wraps are Japanese, but can usually be found at Korean or general Asian markets.  A package with forty cost me about $8. 

8 Inari wrappers (they should be rectangular, and open like a pita cut in half)
about 2 cups of cooked white or brown sushi rice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 pinch sugar*
1 pinch salt*
8 nori strips 

Mix vinegar, sugar and salt together.  Let stand until sugar and salt dissolve.  Next, add seasoned vinegar to white or brown sushi rice.  Mix well in a slashing motion, trying to avoid smashing the rice or cutting up the grains.  Next, pick up an inari wrapper, and gently open the opening.  Start stuffing rice, until the corners are filled and the wrapper is stuffed, but not over flowing with rice.  The wrapper should be a little bit elastic.  Pull the wrapper back enough that you can put a fourth of the inari strip next to the wall of rice.  Repeat on other side of wrapper.  It should look like you have a little inari basket at the end.  Makes about 4 servings.  Just to warn you, I could eat all 8 myself so you might want to make a few extras!.   

*If you're using seasoned rice vinegar, no need to make the vinegar dilution.  The vinegar already has salt and sugar added to it.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1 medium sugar pumpkin
1 1/2 pounds Griller's Veggie crumbles or lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups beef or veggie broth
Whatever veggies you have in the fridge that will be happy when sauteed
We used about 2 cups of left over home-made pasta sauce with peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, crushed pepper and Italian sausage. You can also use any creamy canned soup or canned tomatoes with the liquid
1 cup uncooked white rice*

Preheat the oven to 375. Wash and cut diagonal hole out of the top of the pumpkin, cleaning out the seeds from inside. Save top for later. Saute crumbles or beef. Chop and saute veggies and Garlic. Mix with other ingredients. Put mixture into pumkin. Place in oven in a shallow pan. Replace top. Cook for 2-3 hours.

*If you want dinner faster, pre-cook the rice til it's aldente and cook inside the pumkin until pumpkin is tender -- usually an hour to and hour and a half.