can you say "heart shaped sushi" ten times fast??

As you may well know, we usually have pizza on Valentine's Day. This year, we had a unanimous coup of sorts that resulted in a chant of "heart shaped sushi! heart shaped sushi! heart shaped sushi!

until it became...

"heart shaped shushi...heart saped shusi... fart saped soupshi!" (it wasn't pretty, but it was fun!) wink, wink

And so Heart Shaped Sushi it was.

It was easy to make. We simply rolled our sushi the way we usually do and when it was cut formed a heart by pinching the end to make a point (the bottom of the heart) and pushing in to make the top of the heart.
It was perfectly heart shaped.
It was delicious.
It was a Happy Valentine's Day.

Here's some quick tips to get you started making sushi with your kids:

Making Sushi with Children
Sushi has an allure that, once familiar with it, kids just love. Sometimes it is considered exotic and can have the reputation for being difficult to make. In all actuality, it is one of the easiest things to put together, and even better, it is easy for kids to put together and enjoy.

Making the rice
Sushi rice is usually a pearled or short grain white rice, but you can make it with short grain brown rice just as well. Make the rice (1 part rice, 2 parts water) ahead of time so that it has enough time to cool. There is nothing more discouraging to a budding junior sushi chef than sticking their little hands into a hot pot of rice. Ouch!

Rolling Sushi
Once you have your rice made and cooled, you can begin putting your sushi rolls together. If you don’t have a bamboo mat commonly used to roll sushi, a tea towel or even a piece of aluminum foil will work. Nori (available in the “ethnic foods” aisle or in Asian markets, is the dehydrated, paper thin, pliable sheet of seaweed wrapped on the outside of a sushi roll, the piece that holds all that rice and goodies together. Depending on how the sushi is rolled, the nori can be on the inside or outside of the roll. When working with new sushi chefs, start with just having the rice on the inside of the nori. Spread the rice evenly across the nori and then you are ready for your insides!

Sushi Insides
Place any one or more of the following items across the middle of your rice covered nori and roll:
Sweet bell pepper
Fried tofu strips
Avocado
Cucumber
Julienned (sliced very thin) carrots, jicama, or any other root vegetable
Fresh spinach
Dates
Plums
Sesame seeds

Once you sushi is rolled together, you can either cut it into bite-sized pieces or keep it as a whole roll to just nibble upon.


Sushi Toppings
Many children are turned off by the spiciness of wasabi, the green horseradish paste usually served with sushi. While offering wasabi might not be your child’s forte, try just giving them a small serving of plain soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos to dip their sushi in. Sushi aficionados in training!