Basic Cookie dough and variations

Another recent dinner invitation by J & F! I always ask them if I can bring anything and they always say 'no'. Haha, don't they know I'm always dying for an excuse to help out with cooking? This time finally they said 'Cookies!' I was able to arrive a little early to the dinner party to whip up the cookies together. I think doing things like that together is a good way to exchange ideas. And as soon as possible, I am getting the recipe from J of her delicious broccoli pie! So sweet of them to always make vegetarian options to eat every time I come over.

I use a basic cookie dough that is used for good old standard Tollhouse chocolate chips, that goes roughly like this:

• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of soft butter or baking margerine
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar (or other extracts with variations, like orange or almond extract)
• 2-2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour (will alter the consistency, depending on your tastes)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• optionally any of your favorites: walnuts, almonds, cashews (any kind of nut really), candies (J requested M&M's), raisins, etc.

1. Preheat the oven to 175C.
2. The best way to mix them is with a blender, but if doing it by hand your life will be made easier by this simple order of mixing. Butter and sugar, then eggs, then dry ingredients, until a stiff dough is formed.
3. Mix in the additional stuff by hand, otherwise the blender will chop them up and it won't look as pretty. (although it'll still taste great)
4. Drop spoonfuls or roll a small ball of dough and lay about a dozen per baking sheet, either greased or lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake 8-12 minutes, supervised, so they don't get over cooked (or else you'll miss the chewiness)

Of course, if you vary your dough, you'll vary the end effect. If you like a crispier, thinner cookie, add more white sugar and less butter. If you like it chewier, add more butter. Butter and margerine have a different effect in the baking as well. Real butter is ideal for a chewy cookie.

Some of my favorite variations are those with homemade Dutch caramel and cashews and anything with lots of extra chocolate, like these Double chocolate cookies with peanuts.

This time, I made chocolate cookies with almonds and walnuts, and M&M cookies. The M&M cookies had more flour and I rolled them before placing on the backing sheet, so they turned out a bit more like cake-puffs. The chocolate cookies I spoon dropped onto the sheet, so they had a bit more rustic look to them. For these I added about a quarter cup of cocoa powder into 2 cups of flour.* The dough was not as firm as the M&M cookie dough, so the result was a bit chewier cookie.

*Tip: When adding cocoa powder to dough bases, it's best to add them to the dry ingredients first before adding to the rest. Otherwise, it is so fine that it tends not to mix evenly with the other ingredients.

Chunky Cheesy Tomato Soup made Easy

Mother nature decided to step it up a notch this past week. If we Helsinkians were starting to get a little too comfortable with mediocre winter weather, She certainly set out to give us a rude awakening. And being that it's only mid-February, there's plenty of winter time still before us. In fact, being that there are so many words in Finnish for 'snow', I'm surprised these long winters haven't been broken down into sub-seasons. If I would invent them now, I might start with the windy-wet winter (part I), icy-dark (part II), soup-subseason (part III), sunny-slow-thaw (part IV). I now dub this soup season!

So inspired recently by a conversation with my friend E, I decided to make some fresh tomato soup. We were just chatting about what to do with leftover Koskenlaskija and she mentioned that it's delicious in tomato soup, so I had to try.

• 1 lbs fresh tomatoes or two cans of peeled diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable bullion
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 tbs tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste
• basil and oregano
• Koskenlaskija cheese, cubed, to taste (optional)- can be substituted for another soft meltable cheese (suggestions welcome) or cooking cream.

1. If using fresh tomatoes, first, blanch the tomatoes by cutting a small x in the bottom of the tomato and cover lightly with water. Bring to a boil for several minutes. Drain and rinse with ice water.
2. Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil for several minutes in a large dutch oven or pot. Add salt pepper and herbs and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the stock, carrot and potato and turn the heat down. Cover.
4. Now that the tomatoes have cooled a bit, peel the skins off. (or just open the can!) Add to the broth. Simmer, 30-45 minutes until everything is tender. Or longer if you have the time. The flavours will set nicely.
5. Add the tomato paste and cheese. Without the cheese, the soup is still nice and creamy, thanks to the potato. But the cheese gives a nice smokey and rich taste. Even just a little goes a long way.
6. Blend about half of the soup in the blender and return to the rest of the soup.

Thanks E, for giving me a new way to incorporate Koskenlaskija into my recipes. It's nice cheese with a subtle yet distinct flavor, and it's not always easy to imagine where to add this. But I'm determined not to waste any of it!

Leftover Ratatouille

I had so much ratatouille leftover from my dinner with A the other night, that I needed to find something to do with it. I am still getting used to cooking for 1, but I like the idea of saving individualized portions of meals and freezing them for later, lazy days. Or, finding new ways to use them all together.

Since I had already some pasta and pesto on hand (I always have these on hand for a simple and satisfying fix), I simply sauteed the ratatouille, threw in some leftover olives and cherry tomatoes from my Italian Salad and added it all to some whole wheat rotini with pesto rosso.

Easy, healthy and delicious in a snap!

Italian Dinner for Two

Since I have the last chance to cook for A for a while, I wanted to make something special as a sendoff. I'm sure once he's in Berlin he'll be in donerkebab heaven, but for now I wanted him to enjoy some nice Italian.

My menu was a little off season, since I made a Southern Italian Ratatouille inspired by the Food network, and I really wanted to use a little zucchini. The multitude of different vegetables really hit the spot.

Italian Salad

• Head of lettuce (arugula, or romaine, or a mixture)
• Handful of black or kalamata olives, pits removed
• approx. 1o cherry tomatoes
• 1 roasted red pepper (I used jarred to make my life easier)
• olive vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1. Tear lettuce into forkable bites.
2. Toss in other ingredients.
3. Mix in the vinaigrette.
   

Olive Vinaigrette

• 3 tbs green olives with pimento and juice
• 3 tbs red wine vinegar
• handful of basil leaves
• fresh bunch of parsley leaves
• black pepper
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs grated Parmesan

1. Mix all ingredients in the blender, adding oil and Parmesan last.

Southern Italian Ratatouille

• 1 zucchini, sliced on the horizontal
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 can of mushrooms or one pound fresh button or cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup spinach, frozen
• handful of basil leaves, torn
• 2 tbs thyme or rosemary (or both)
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbs Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Heat half of the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add 1 onion and half of the garlic and saute until golden and aromatic. Add zucchini slices and saute on medium low until soft. Remove from the pan to another plate or oven dish.
2. Heat the other half of the olive oil in the same pan as before. Add the other onion and the rest of the garlic and saute. Add the mushrooms, spinach, red bell pepper, thyme or rosemary and salt and pepper. Saute until softened.
3. Mix the mushroom and zucchini together, add the chopped tomatoes and basil and toss.
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
5. Keep warm in oven if necessary, while preparing the rest of the meal.

This makes a lot of ratatouille, or 4 servings. However, the leftover ratatouille is versatile for use in leftovers! I used some the next morning in a delicious egg omelet. I plan to use the rest for an appetizer, on top of say, bruschetta. Or, it can be served over rice, with potatoes, or tossed into some tomato puree and vegetable broth to make a delicious soup!

Shrimp Pasta with Herb Cream Sauce

• pasta for two servings, I used whole wheat rotini, about half pound for two very hungry people
• half pound shrimp
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup cooking cream
• 1 can crushed peeled tomatoes
• 1 tbs oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup torn basil and parsley leaves

1. Set water to boil with a pinch of salt and a splash of oil. When boiling, add pasta and cook to instructions.
2. Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add the diced garlic and and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are just cooked, turning from grey to pink. Remove shrimp from pan. I bought frozen raw shrimp, so I was not able to peel and devein until after this step.
3. Peel and devein shrimp at this time if you have not already.
4. Add the tomatoes, basil and parsley to the pan and simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add oyster sauce, cream and white wine and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.
6. Add basil and parsley leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. (For a little heat, add some crushed red pepper flakes.)
7. Strain pasta and return to pot. Add sauce and shrimp to the pasta and toss thoroughly.

Wahlah! Yummy and easy, but still tastes so gourmet.

Bon Appetito!

Bok Choy Tofu Stir Fry

A little inspired from my recent trip to Aseanic Trading, near Hakaniemi on Kolmaslinja 3, I decided to whip up this quick and easy dinner for one.

Although the ingredients could be modified, I simply used these:

1 onion, diced

3 heads of bok choy, quartered

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tbs peanut oil

1/3 block of firm tofu, cubed

3 tbs soy sauce

bunch of fresh basil leaves

1 tbs oyster sauce (optional)

1. I first sauteed onion and garlic in the peanut oil until softened and aromatic.
2. I then added the tofu and let it brown, 5 minutes.
3. Next, add the bottoms of the bok choy, soy sauce and oyster sauce and let soften, 5 minutes.
4. Lastly, I added the tops of the bok choy, since these are more leafy and take less time to soften, and the basil and left on the skillet still just long enough to warm through.

All together the result is a heaping pile of warm, tasty tofu for one. This is an extremely good, fast, and low-carb but filling dinner if you just want to chow down without feeling guilty afterwards. Also consider adding sliced or diced carrots, bamboo shoots, watercress, or any other vegetable you have on hand. Can be served over rice, udon, raman or other noodles, or plain, as I have eaten it.

Enjoy!

Laskiaistiistai: Shrove Tuesday Buns

So instead of Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday! Ok, so it might not be as exciting as a parade with plenty of semi nude drunken people, but it's still a fun holiday nonetheless!

Reminiscent of most cultures' 'Fat Tuesday' preceding Lent, food on Laskiaistiistai was meant to be fatty, to symbolize the fattening of the pigs and a good harvest for the coming season. But since Reformation, Lent is not so strongly recognized or practiced in Finland. Instead, we make a point to go sledding with families or friends, eat pea soup, and eat Shrove buns.

I did go sledding with friend in Coffinpuisto off of Bulevardi, nearby a friendly yet trendy cafe, Fanny goes to Hollywood. We had a little picnic of 'pulla' (or buns), drank some warm beverages, and took turns sledding down the hill.

Shrove Tide Buns

• 1 cup warm milk
• 25 g dry active yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cardamom crushed coarsely (cinnamon is an acceptable, yet non traditional substitute)
• 1 egg, separated
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• almond flakes or sanding sugar for garnish (optional)
• Whipped cream
• Jelly or sweetened almond paste (marzipan)

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Proof the yeast in warm water with sugar for 10 minutes until foamy.
2. Add the butter, egg yolk, cardamom, salt and 2 cups of flour and mix well.
3. Add more flour, gradually, until the dough is still soft and somewhat sticky, but comes off the bowl easily enough.
4. Knead for several moments to firm the gluten in the dough and eliminate lumps.
5. Let the dough rise for about an hour covered in a warm place, or overnight in the refrigerator.
6. Punch down dough and form into approximately 12 small balls, and place evenly on a baking sheet. Brush with egg whites for the glaze, and sprinkle on any additional garnish. Let rise for about another half an hour.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.
8. When cooled, cut off top third of the bun and layer jelly (strawberry or raspberry work best) or marzipan, then whipped cream.
9. Replace top third of the bun.

Hyvaa ruoka halua!

Yerbamate

Feel the good energy! Yerbmate was introduced to me by my friends X and S, who met and married in Paraguay before moving to Helsinki (and briefly, Vaasa *sour face* haha). They were so generous to share a bit of culture from Paraguay at X's Carnival style birthday party, in which the attendees represented over 8 countries!

Yerbamate is a product popular throughout parts of South America, made with the leaves of a certain holly bush. There are known properties of caffeine in this drink, so it rivals other types of drinks, like tea and coffee. Traditionally, the Yerbamate (or 'herb cup' as an indirect translation), is enjoyed from a guampa with a bombilla. The guampa can be made from a hollowed gourd, or in this case from the special green wood of native trees. The bombilla, also shown in the picture above, is a small metal straw with a sieve at the end. That's convenient, because the sieve eliminates the need for tea bags or a tea ball.

After a little sharing and dancing (and dress up and face painting), we were also treated to some veggies pastries and kim chee sauce (a Korean version made by our Scottish friend, P) and numerous candies from the UK and US.

Buen Provecho! Y Feliz Cumpleanos, y Feliz Carnival :)

Chung Cake

Happy Year of the Dragon to everyone! Here in Helsinki they have a nice afternoon to celebrate bringing in the New Year in Lasipalatsi square, featuring acrobatics, musicians, artists, singers, and fireworks for entertainment. They also provide a market place where local artisans and Chinese restaurants can sell their good and delicious food. I bought a beautiful set of chopsticks while I was there and tried some sesame rice rolls filled with sweet red bean paste- yum!

They also provide a live television showing of the entertainment going on in Beijing, with the parade and other spectacular events. Despite the cold weather outside, the event that took place for the third consecutive year here had a good turnout.

As it turns out, this New Years date is commonly celebrated by all cultures with ties to the Haan Dynasty, such as Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and so forth....

So for that very reason, my friend N, who has been living abroad in Finland for quite some years, decided to make her very first Chung cake. And I must say, what a success! Chung cake has a nice story behind it, dating back almost 4000 years. At this time, Prince Lang Lieu was hopeful that he would be selected the next emperor, so in an effort to seal the deal, offered both square and round cakes. The square represented the earth, which was thought at the time to be a square, and the round represented the sky. He was selected as the next emperor, and the tradition continues to this day as a way to worship ones ancestors!

Chung cake is a tedious thing to make, and though I did not make it myself, I could tell that N put a lot of time and care into getting it right. There is pork meat in the authentic recipe, so it is not vegetarian unless alterations are made. The basic ingredients are rice, pork and green beans. The latter are enveloped into the rice, and the rice is then secured within bamboo leaves. The bamboo leaves shape the cake into a square, and then the cake is steamed for a very long time. The result is this beauty!

Chuc ngon mieng! Chuc mung nam moi!

Cheesy Baked Polenta

Polenta is another fine comfort food for me. It's kind of peasant food, simple grains, fine cornmeal boiled into a gelatanous mush. Sound appetizing? It can be baked, grilled, fried or served plain, and it goes with a plethora of other ingredients quite easily. It's known as grits in the States, or mael pep in the Carribean, or many other names in Eastern Europe, but no matter how you serve it, it's still good ole comfort food.

In this case, I used instant polenta, as it's the only I've been able to find from even the bigger of the chain stores in Helsinki. It's quite fine, so it works better as the molded and baked or fried variety than the porridge type variety. It's so quick and easy to make!

I first prepared the polenta, with about 2:1 water:polenta ratio, but each variety may call for different cooking times and water ratios. Instead of plain water, I used vegetable stock, and before the gelatanous polenta could harden, I mixed in about 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Then, I spread the polenta thinly on a baking sheet, smoothing evenly with the back of a spoon, wetting the spoon if necessary to avoid sticking. The polenta should be about 1/2" to 1" thick. Let this cool, and put it in the refrigerator if there is room enough. Once chilled, it can be easily sliced into triangles or sticks for whatever you plan to do with it next.

For this, I used four cheeses to make a nice and rich dish. In a casserole dish, I layered a row of polenta slices first, topping with blue cheese, Koskenlaskija cheese (perinteinen versionn of the Finnish favorite), grated mozzerella and repeating a second layer, then topping the whole dish with about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. I then baked at 175C for 3o minutes. The baked dish should cool a little, but then slices easily to make a simple but pleasant presentation.

Sorry in this case there are no exact measurements, as polentas vary from type and brand, and many different kinds of cheeses are suitable! I would also recommend using mascarpone instead of Koskenlaskija if you don't have any of that available. Crumbled feta might also give a nice salty flavor to add.

Buon Appetito!

Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Comfort food at its finest. Broccoli soup is easy to make and satisfies a craving for warm, creamy and cheesy, without being high in fat.

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 heads of broccoli chopped + the leftover stems of another head
• 1,5 dl cream
• 1 carrot diced
• 7,5 dl of vegetable broth, or 2 vegetable bullion cubes and 7,5dl (3 cups) of water
• a pinch of nutmeg (optional, but I think this really makes a difference)
• salt and pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3,5 dl (2 1/2 cup) shredded cheddar or mild cheese

1. Start making the roux, by melting the butter in a pot or dutch oven and adding the onion. Allow onion to yellow and become translucent, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and continue to stir until the flour has become golden in color.
2. Gradually whisk in the cream until thick and incorporated. Add the broth, nutmeg, salt and pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
3. Add broccoli and carrot and continue simmering for about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
4. Remove bay leaf and blend with an immersion blender, or transfer soup into a blender and pulse briefly, leaving small chunks.
5. Add cheese and whisk over medium heat until melted.
6. Garnish with grated cheese and serve hot, in a bread bowl if you like. (this soup is very good with a sour-dough bread bowl)

I didn't have time for the bread bowl, but I wanted to use my fresh broccoli. It's still snowing outside my window and this was the perfect thing to warm me up. This really rivals Panera Bread's version, even better I think. Which is especially nice if you're living somewhere without Panera!

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart

I love eggplant. I love the rich color of the aubergine, the name deriving from a French word derived from Sanskrit.... I love the complex flavor that one can get from an eggplant after it's been degorged (or sweated) and it has soaked up all the sauce and oils.

Did you know, that the eggplant is technically a fruit, and botanically classified as a berry? The color fits, the rest- maybe not. But the eggplant stands out on it's own. The fruit is native to India and the surrounding regions, but is now cultivated in many countries, from Italy to America, Spain to China. Therefore, eggplant has made it's way into many different ethnic cuisines.

Health-wise, eggplants are suspected of lowering bad cholesterol- the studies have not yet been confirmed. However, we do know that they are high in folic acid and potassium :) Did I mention I love eggplants?

This tart has been adapted from 'Vegetarian Suppers' by Deborah Madison.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Tart

Ingredients:

pie crust (recipe follows)

1 large eggplant

1 tbs fresh chopped basil, or two tbs of dried

3 tbs nicoise olives, chopped

2 eggs

1/2 cup light cooking cream

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

2 cups of cherry or small tomatoes, halved

olive oil

salt and pepper

Pie Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole grain flour

half cup cold butter chopped into cubes

1/2 tsp salt

ice water

1. Preheat the oven to 225C. Prick the eggplant with a fork and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the eggplant looks deflated.

2. While the eggplant is in the oven, prepare the pie crust: combine flour, salt and butter, either in a blender or with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Add just enough ice water (1-2 tbs) to pull this mixture together into a soft dough, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.

4. Roll out dough into a circle and form in a tart pan, refrigerate or freeze for another 10 minutes.

5. Once the eggplant has cooled, scoop or squeeze the flesh of the eggplant out of the skin shell and leave in a colander to drain excess liquid.

6. Mix and mash eggplant, feta, basil, salt and pepper, cream and eggs in a bowl.

7. Pour mixture into pie crust.

8. Cover mixture with tomatoes, cut side up.

9. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle additional basil if desired.

10. Bake at 225F for 30 minutes or until set.

Tips:

• If the crust you made comes higher in the tart shell than the mixture when baking, add some small strips of aluminum foil around the crust so that the crust doesn't brown or burn before the tart is finished cooking.
• Make sure to drizzle olive oil on top of tomatoes to avoid browning the tomatoes too much.
• Let tart set up to 15 minutes once out of the oven before enjoying. It will slice easier that way and be prettier too.
• Use different colored tomatoes for a nice finish. I used small yellow and red tomatoes.

Herbed French Vegetable Stew

This stew was inspired by a lot vegetables that I just had on hand and was very simple to put together in a big dutch oven. Letting it stew for several hours gave the apartment a nice warm aroma and tasting it gave me a nice warm comfy feeling inside..... mmm... I could just sit and watch the snowfall and watch a good movie while eating this stew.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
2-3 large waxy potatoes
1 large onion
1 can of green beans, or about 2 cups of frozen french cut green beans
2 cloves garlic
2 cubes vegetable bullion or 3-4 cups of vegetable broth
herbs de province
1 tbs tomatoe paste
parmesan cheese (optional)
3 tbs pesto rosso (optional)
olive oil
salt and pepper

I first diced the onion, celery and garlic, and sauteed them in about 2 tbs olive oil until the onions were transparents and the herbs were fragrant.
Then, I julliened the potatoes and carrots. I added these and the vegetable bullion cubes, plus 4 cups of water to the dutch oven and brought this to a slow simmer.
I then added the tomato paste, pesto, and salt and peper, gave it a stir, and continued to let simmer for 2 hours. By then, the vegetables had soaked up much of the broth, and rather than be soup-like, it was a delicious hearty winter stew.
Bon Apetit!

Sushi

Making sushi at home can be a fun activity to make your favorite kinds of sushi and can be a great way to save money. With a little practice, sushi making can go relatively fast, making it an easy and healthy dinner option.
Sushi is the tradition of raw or fermented fish and vinegar rice that started out as convenient street vending food in Tokyo Japan. There are so many versions of sushi now, that sushi can be made to any preference and with a wide range of ingredients.

My Brazilian friends J and F have been making sushi at home for a while, and they've really mastered the art. I just watched this time, to soak up a few tips and make a mental inventory of all the ingredients I would need. Now that J and F have the hang of it, the preparation goes relatively fast.
They start with the rice ahead of time.

Sushi Rice:

A short grained rice with more gluten in it should be used for sushi, because it sticks together more easily.

Rinse the rice several times until the water runs through clear. That way any talc or other starches can be removed before cooking

Cook rice in almost equal ratios to water. For example, 3 cups of rice to 3.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil uncovered, then cover the rice for approximately 20 minutes.

Let the rice cool.

Vinegar seasoning:
5 tbs rice vinegar (only rice vinegar will do)

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Bring these ingredients to a slow simmer in a pan until the sugar dissolves and remove from heat. Gradually stir the seasoning into the rice and allow to cool uncovered.

Now for the other ingredients, these can be varied to preferences of course:

seaweed or nori sheets

fresh fish (the very freshest possible)

cooked shrimp/crab meat

carrots and cucumber julienned to matchstick size

mayonnaise

wasabi paste

soy sauce

pickled ginger (I've been told that this is to cleanse the pallete in between tasting different sushis)

chives or spring onions

The amounts of the ingredients depends on how many you plan to serve and can be judged by just eyeballing the amounts.

J & F made Temaki sushi, which is a type of presentation of sushi in which the ingredients are rolled up into the nori in the shape of a cone. The nori sheets can be quartered into four squares for this. If making this kind of sushi, it is easier if some of the fish is chopped very finely, mixed with a small dab of mayo and wasabi paste, and sprinkled with diced chives. Then the rest of the ingredients can be added as you wish.

Other great ways of preparation are to slice the fish (in this case, we used salmon, as it is most commonly available, fresh and inexpensive in Finland) thinly, and to leave it raw or to quickly sear the fish slices on each side. To sear the fish, the pan must be hot before adding the fish, and you should have tongs or chopsticks on hand to flip the slices quickly. To sear the fish briefly give the fish a smooth texture.
On the seared salmon slices, J spread some of her special seasoning mix on top for flavor. This consisted of mayonnaise, wasabi paste and chives. I'm sure a little lemon juice would also be nice, or if you prefer cilantro or lemongrass to chives it could be a good option.

If making makisushi, or the rolls you are used to ordering at a sushi restaurant, you will need also a bamboo mat, or some other surface that can be easily rolled. For uramaki, in which the rice is on the outside of the roll, you will need some sesame seeds to sprinkle before adding the rice, so it does not stick to the mat. If making futomaki or hosomaki, with the nori on the outside, you don't need to worry about sticking as much. Spread the rice thinly along the mat or the nori before adding filling. You will need a very sharp knife to cut the roll into slices afterwards.

Most importantly, remember to relax and have fun. There is no one right way to make sushi, and as long as you use fresh ingredients you are bound to have a delicious and healthy meal!

Douzo meshiagare! (Enjoy your meal!)