Ocean Friendly Sushi

These little darlings are filled with Raw Food Goddess, Alissa Cohen's Mock Salmon Pate.  The recipe is all over the web, including her own website (here), so I'll go ahead and post it for ya!

Mock Salmon Pate
2 cups walnuts
1 stalks celery
1 large red bell pepper
1 large scallion
1/2 - 1 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

I like this pate on top of a salad, or spread on crackers too, but here I rolled it up in the nori sheets with grated carrot and cucumber.  That's it, no rice needed!  It is super yum!

The best part though is my chopsticks:

They say "Be Happy" and I am happy that I didn't kill any fishies for these sushi!

Today I also made Tuscan White Bean Soup and Caramelized Onion Foccacia.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

1 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups cooked white beans (this is 1 cup dry, soaked, rinsed and pre-cooked)

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

3 leaves fresh sage, minced

5-6 cups water or vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

Saute veggies in oil.  Add beans and broth and cook 30-40 minutes until all is soft and as it should be.  Serve sprinkled with more fresh herbs if desired.  You can also puree half of the soup to make it creamier.

 Caramelized Onion Foccacia (yes I know I have no idea how to spell foccacia)

1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast

1/2 cup wrist-warm water

1 T sugar

Mix together and set aside 5-10 minutes until foamy.

4 cups flour of choice (I used half white bread flour and half whole spelt flour)

1 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

1 cup wrist-warm water

Mix together with foamy yeast mixture.  Knead 10 minutes until a soft, somewhat sticky dough forms.  Put dough in an oil-coated bowl, cover with a clean towel and set in a warm spot to rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.  Punch down and proceed as follows:

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

fresh Rosemary

Black olives, chopped (optional)

sun dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)

Olive oil for sauteeing and sprinkling over foccacia

Kosher salt or big sea salt crystals

Saute veggies and herbs.  Pat dough out into a large rectangle (or circle) and prick with a fork all over.  Brush with olive oil.  Top with veggies and herbs.  Sprinkle with salt crystals and bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes or until turning golden.

I wish you could smell my house right now!  Ahhhhhh.....  someone's been in the kitchen up to yummy things!

How cute is he?  Not that I'm at all biased.