Maki sushi is probably the most well known type of sushi in the U.S. It consists of a layer of nori surrounding a layer of rice surrounding the fillings in the middle, all rolled into a cylinder and then cut into several smaller slices. The most well known type of maki sushi is the California Roll.

Supposedly today, June 18, is the “1st International Sushi Day”. I say supposedly, because November 1, 2006 (coincidentally the day we launched Sushi Day) was also the “1st” International Sushi Day. And it really wouldn’t surprise me if there have been others. Seems to me everyone claiming that today is International Sushi Day is referring to a group on facebook… so it seems to be a pretty arbitrary declaration of this new “international holiday”. But who am I to complain? Goodness knows I welcome multiple International Sushi Days every year… I’m down with celebrating sushi as often as possible.

So in honor of this “1st” International Sushi Day, of course I have to bring you all a sushi recipe. Because though I know most of you will celebrate by going out for sushi (anyone want to help me convince Son to take me out for sushi tonight? ), I’m sure there are at least a few of you who might want to try making sushi at home. So for you, the Red Dragon Roll – my favorite combination of tuna and avocado, with the added coolness of the cucumber to counteract the burning spice of the Sriracha sauce, and the crunchy combination of nutty sesame seeds, salty tobiko, and added umami from the fried onions on top.

Have a wonderful 2nd 1st International Sushi Day!

I am not a gamer. While I do enjoy the occasional video game (I enjoyed the 10-day free trial of WoW a few years ago, and I had a blast playing Halo 3 with Son), I spend very little time reading or looking at anything about video games, and even less time actually playing. (Except for Wii Fit. Believe it or not, it’s actually a pretty great game if you want to get in shape… assuming you actually use it on a regular basis.)

Son, on the other hand, is a gamer. If he’s not working or watching/playing basketball he’s playing, reading about, or watching clips about video games. WoW, Halo, NBA 2K9… the man sure does love his video games.

So when we found out that we could get passes for E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) this year… Son was incredibly excited. Me… not so much. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy walking around looking at a bunch of video games I’ll probably never play, and I feared I’d feel incredibly out of place there.

Of course, my worries were completely silly. I had a blast. Although many of the games meant very little to me (like I said, not a gamer), there were some I recognized – God of War 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, some of the Wii games, and the demo of DJ Hero (like Guitar Hero, but for DJs) seemed pretty cool. Of course, if you want a real review of how E3 was and what was there, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. Most of the time I didn’t really know what I was looking at and didn’t play a single demo, though I did enjoy watching Son and his friend Dave play some of the games.

One of the games that Son played was called Mini Ninjas. It was a cute little game… sort of what you might get if you mixed Ninja Gaiden with Raving Rabbids. (See? I do know what I’m talking about. Sort of.) They have it for PS3, XBox360, and the Wii… it comes out in September. We might end up buying it – Son seemed to enjoy it. But that got me thinking about this Katana Roll, if only because of the name. (What? Swords are über cool in my world.)

So this roll, the Katana Roll. Seaweed salad, imitation crab, and mayonnaise, rolled up with sumeshi in a rice paper spring roll wrapper then topped with fried onions. It’s a playful roll, slightly sweet from the imitation crab, crunchy from the seaweed salad, salty from the fried onions on top. Light, summery, delicious.

Note: I do not have a recipe for seaweed salad, though I’m definitely looking. I buy my seaweed salad from my local Japanese market – most Japanese and many Asian markets will carry some variation of it. When I do find a good recipe for seaweed salad, I will post it here for you without hesitation, promise!

My family was never much of an outdoorsy type of family. Never once did we go camping, although we did often go hiking on a local trail. I did get some camping experience with my girl scout troop, but I would still consider myself far more of an indoors, city girl than someone who embraces the wild outdoors.

So I’m always in awe of those who are outdoorsy. Those who go rock climbing, or camping in the wilderness, or whitewater rafting, or even just fishing on a serene lake. Heck, I’ve only fished once in my life – on the bank of a man-made lake in Arizona, for catfish. We didn’t catch a thing.

So for all you hardcore outdoorsy people out there, this roll’s for you. This roll is fantastic – it’s surprisingly amazing how well smoked salmon and honey mustard complement each other, and the cucumber is a nice cool addition to the roll as well. Smoked salmon and honey mustard may be my favorite new combination (not just for sushi… I’ve put it in spring rolls and sandwiches as well).

And for now… I’ll live vicariously through my friend Friar’s fishing adventures.

Some people are just a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Even when they’re going through pain or hard times, they always seem so bright and happy – the kind of person who makes everyone’s day better. My friend Wendi Kelly is one such person. As with quite a few of my other good friends, I met her through the Escaping Reality RPG. And the great thing about this woman is that every time I interact with her, whether on ER, or through facebook, or other means of communication, she never fails to make me smile and brighten up even my worst days.

Because today is Wendi’s birthday, I just had to dedicate this roll to her. It’s so bright and sunny, just like she is. Happy birthday, Wendi!

I am a very shy girl. In social situations I’m awkward, quiet, and generally über polite to a fault. Because of this, I have very few people that I can consider really great, close friends. But every once in a blue moon, I meet someone with whom I just *click*. Whether it be online or off, once in a while I just know that I’m going to become very good friends with this person.

Nicole Brunet is one such person. We had probably “seen” each other in passing on certain blogs before then, but we really met almost a year ago when we both joined a new RPG. (Incidentally, I’ve made quite a few great friends from there. Harry and James have gotten together a damned good group of players there. ) Since then we’ve not only become two of the biggest addicts on ER (I mean… addicts? Nah. We don’t have a problem, really.) and fantastic friends. You could call us kindred spirits, even. (No pun intended. )

And… today’s her birthday! Happy birthday, Nicole! So, me being me, of course I had to make her sushi. I chose the Sassy Shrimp Roll for her, because Lizzy Nicole is a bit of a sassy one at times (and we all love her for it!) And because this roll was really freaking good. Only the best for my friends.

Sometimes I think we, as humans, overcomplicate things. We pack our schedules to the gills, we insist on cutting-edge technology for the most mundane tasks, and we are constantly going, going, going. Rarely do we stop and smell the roses, and appreciate the simpler things in life.

It’s amazing how some of the best things are actually the simplest of all. For example, this sushi. Goodness knows I’ve made some ridiculously complicated (though very tasty) rolls in the past couple of years that I’ve been blogging. But recently, I was reminded that sometimes, simpler is better. Who knew that the simple, almost boring combination of tuna and avocado could be so… non-boring? Exciting, even. Heck, you can get rid of the wasabi mayonnaise, and even the sesame seeds… but you must try the avocado. And. Tuna. So simple, and yet so darned addictive… never would I have dreamed that such a simple combination can be so amazing.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about love, and dreams, and what it all means. Why do some people work their lives away in a job they hate, just to pay the rent, while others get to have the life of their dreams? Why do some marriages fail after only a few years, others go for decades then fall apart, and yet others can still be going strong after 70 years?

A week ago, Son and I went with my family to my great aunt and uncle’s 70th wedding anniversary and renewal of vows. You read that right – 70 years. And they’re still happy. The way they look at each other… it’s plain as day that they still love each other deeply. How can, after 70 years, two people still be so madly in love with each other? (To put that into perspective, that’s over three times my lifetime, or eighteen times as long as Son and I have been together.)

I may not know today what goes into a love story such as theirs, but it gives me a lot to think on and strive for in my own life.

This sushi? Bright, beautiful, and happy, just like my great aunt and uncle. Also, very delicious. Crunchy, smooth, cool, warm, salty, spicy, yum.

Harry and James, James and Harry. Our dear Men with Pens. Both are really amazing guys that I’m proud to call my friends, and both are sushi lovers one is a sushi lover. I’m still working on the other one.

Harry was the easy one. He loves sushi, especially salmon. Salmon, salmon, salmon… he apparently can’t get enough of it. (I’m pretty sure he’s actually a cat, though I’ve never actually met him offline, so I can’t say for sure.) It was ever so simple to figure out a sushi he would love, and whaddaya know? I made it, and it was pretty gosh darn delicious.

And then… there’s James. The difficult one. Turns his nose up at sashimi, won’t go within 100 yards of a fish egg, and generally refuses to try sushi. So troublesome, that one, when all I wanted to do was make sushi for him! But, as we all know, I certainly do love a challenge, and of course in the realm of sushi… I always prevail.

Thus the Gatekeeper Maki was born. A non-sashimi, not-a-fish-egg-to-be-seen sushi, suitable for The Gatekeeper himself. It’s a bit of an Italian-style sushi roll, what with the tomato, olives, and pesto… with the addition of smoked salmon (which we’ve discovered he will eat), it’s quite fantastic indeed. Now to get him to actually make and eat the roll…

Don’t forget to enter my contest to win a copy of the book, Sustainable Sushi, by Casson Trenor. You have until Saturday night to enter!

Recipe after the jump…