Sushi, Deconstructed

Okay, not really deconstructed. And probably not really sushi. But I'm sick, and I'm bored, and it seemed high time to put up another post here.

My coworker let me try her version of this stuff the other morning, and it was DELICIOUS. Her salmon was way better than mine, and I think she also used some fancy plum paste - umeboshi? It was tantalizing. Mine didn't have the same kick, but it was still very yummy.

Basically, it's a hollowed-out cucumber partially filled with thinly sliced crisp vegetables, and then stuffed the rest of the way with cooked salmon. Next time, I will probably use an organic and unwaxed cucumber so that I feel good about leaving the skin on, since I think that would make the final sliced "sushi" round look even more attractive to the eye.

I have actually made this for myself two nights in a row now. Last night I used a little bit of avocado; tonight I didn't have avocado, but used some green bell pepper instead.

This can serve two people if served with a small soup, noodles, or rice (I think if you serve it with rice, it comes closer to qualifying as "deconstructed"). Tonight, I had it with some udon noodles with the extra chopped carrots and bell peppers.

- 1 cucumber, peeled (if desired), cut in half crosswise, seeds scraped out with long paring knife or some other skinny utensil
-about 3 oz (1/2 tiny can) canned salmon (cooked fresh salmon, or smoked salmon, would certainly be delicious as well)
- 1/2 small carrot, cut into very thin square strips about half the length of the cucumber (you will probably have some extra carrot to snack on)
-some other vegetable or fruit cut into thin, long strips, such as bell pepper, avocado, daikon radish, regular radish, green onion, etc.
-rice vinegar or other vinegar, if available
-soy sauce, plum sauce, anything else you would like to use for dipping
-black sesame seeds for garnish (totally optional)

1) Toss the salmon with a little bit of vinegar in a small bowl (not pictured below - this is just a gratuitous picture of all the ingredients).

Here are the veggie strips (below)

Here are the hollowed-out cucumber halves.

Take each cucumber half and fill the hollow about one-third of the way with the vegetable strips.

Then, stuff the rest of the hollow with the salmon, bit by bit. Take about a half-spoonful at a time and press it down to the bottom of the hollow with the paring knife.

When no more salmon will go into the cucumber, slice off the end with a sharp knife so that the cross-section is smooth.

If desired and if you have time anyway, store the cucumber halves upright (see below) over a towel in the fridge while you get the rest of your dinner ready. I found that my salty salmon helped drain the cucumber and veggies of some of their water even in the short 15 minutes that I had the cucumber halves propped up.

Now comes the fun part - like peeling the backing off a temporary tattoo, or drying your hair so you can see what color you actually just dyed it, you get to slice the cucumber halves into rounds. The portion below came from half of a cucumber.

...that's it! Serve with soy sauce and/or anything else you like to accompany your sushi.

Spoils of Summer - Pasta with Raw Tomato-Avocado Sauce

This recipe is based upon one that appears in a tomato sauce book that I have out in the kitchen, or, as I like to call the un-air-conditioned part of the apartment, the inferno. I will go look it up and properly cite the author soon. The author credits her friend, whose name is Flavia - that I do remember.

While your pasta water is heating up, you just dice up some tomatoes and avocados, mince or sliver some garlic, and toss with some torn basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little sugar if the tomatoes aren't on their A-game.

Once you drain the pasta (I always use the long and skinny variety, but have used everything from angel hair to the kind that's so thick that it's hollow - anything seems to work), you can either toss it hot with the pasta, which allows the avocados to almost melt their way into coating the strands, or you can rinse the pasta with cold water and serve the dish cold. Either way, you toss the mixture with the pasta and serve. Yum!

Pork Tacos with Slaw and Spicy Pepitas

Wow. I just don't have the energy to type a whole lot about this recipe. But I do love it. It was published in Cooking Light in October 2008.

First, the recipe for the pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds):

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted pumpkinseed kernels
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add kernels to pan; cook 10 minutes [Carrina's note: 10 minutes was waaaaay too long - more like 4] or until browned, stirring frequently [rule of thumb for how long to toast (while stirring constantly): once 4 or 5 seeds have popped - you'll hear it and they'll look flat and burned - the rest will be nicely puffed]. Remove from pan; cool completely. Makes 1 cup.
So here's a picture of the pumpkin seeds before they've puffed up:

And here they are after they've been puffed! They crunch really nicely. It's a really quick process, and just requires being vigilant for about 4 minutes (especially since the spice coating makes it hard to see if they're burning - you just have go by how puffed they are).

Now, the recipe for the tacos:

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking spray
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 (16-ounce) package coleslaw (about 3 cups)
12 (6-inch) white or yellow corn tortillas
6 tablespoons light sour cream
6 tablespoons Spicy Pepitas

Preparation
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray; rub spice mixture over both sides of pork. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill [Carrina's note: or broiler. If broiler, move the rack up close, but not so close that it almost touches. For my oven, this means the second notch from the top].
3. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side or until done. Cut pork into 1/4-inch slices. Combine pork and 2 tablespoons juice in a medium bowl, tossing to coat.
4. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons juice, bell pepper, onions, jalapeño, and coleslaw in a large bowl, tossing well.

5. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat griddle with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining 6 tortillas. Divide pork mixture evenly among tortillas; top each tortilla with 2 tablespoons coleslaw mixture, 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Spicy Pepitas.

The picture below is from when we used up the leftover coleslaw mixture for lunch the next day. We added some avocado (in retrospect, really not necessary since the coleslaw and sour cream provide more than enough creamy texture), and I added spicy peanut sauce from Fire on the Mountain (left) to my taco.