sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

oh the joy of sushi rolling! it really is pretty darn simple, even a bird can do it with a tiger watching. it's all about prep and a sharp knife, so if you've got a sous chef hiding around somewhere you are absolutely golden. otherwise, get ready to slice and dice - well, okay just slice and slice. and slice a little more. there are a few basic things to know about sushi rolling. first of all, you want to use sushi rice and you want to prepare it with the rice:water ratio on its package, it's too starchy to drain off excess water if you guesstimate quantities and use too much water and it becomes paste. the second key to rolling sushi is that once the rice has been steamed, you want to add rice vinegar immediately, while it is still hot. this will make it the right consistency to spread and use in your rolls. use plenty of vinegar, stir it in and coat all of the rice, and allow it to cool before you proceed with rolling. i allow it to cool on the counter before i transfer it to the fridge. the third thing you want to know is that a piece of plastic wrap between the nori and the bamboo rolling mat will make rolling easier and prevent the roll from ever sticking to the mat. when rolling your sushi, make it tight, don't be afraid to really put some pressure on it, you want the roll to be solid and tight so that when you slice it, it doesn't fall apart. and the most important thing about making sushi rolls is that you have to have a clean, sharp knife in order to cut. keep a small bowl of cold water next to you as you work. the duller the knife, the more likely you will be rinsing your knife and wiping it clean between each slice. if the blade is dull or has sticky starchy residue from the nori and rice, it won't slice through, your roll will tear, things will fall apart, it will be a messy situation. there will probably be cursing. quite possibly tears. definitely frustration. if you have a clean sharp knife though, it's easypeasy, you just slice right through the roll and leave a trail of perfect little pieces of maki.

what you need to roll sushi:

sushi rice

water

rice vinegar

bamboo mat

bamboo or plastic paddle or spatula (to spread rice on the nori)

sheets of nori

plastic wrap

sharp clean knife

pickled ginger (optional)

wasabi (optional)

soy sauce (optional)

things i like to roll in sushi:

cucumbers

asparagus (i blanch them first)

oshinko

red peppers

yellow peppers

baby corn

bamboo shoots

water chestnuts

avocado

kimchi

jicama

a basic bird's eye view to rolling sushi

prepare your sushi rice, add rice vinegar, cool

prepare the ingredients for your roll - clean and slice and anything else you need to do them

spread a sheet of plastic wrap over your bamboo mat

place a piece of nori on top of the plastic wrap

spread a thin layer of rice across the nori

line ingredients up across nori horizontally (in relation to you), starting in the center and keeping centered

before you roll, dab your finger in your water bowl and lightly wet the edge of the nori closest to you and farthest from you - this will help the nori seal to itself

now you are ready to roll - bring the side of the nori closest to you up and over the contents, apply some pressure and create seal where it meets the other side, then roll so it is closed entirely, make it tight and always roll away from you. once roll is secured, unroll bamboo mat, remove from plastic wrap, transfer to cutting board

using the sharpest knife you have, slice your sushi roll

enjoy!

heart skips a beet.

that's right. something that can turn your pee red is actually really, really good for you. really.

i feel like there's no way to go about this without sounding like an over zealous bragging mother, but beets are a sort of wonder food and the list of their health benefits is extensive. beets have nutrients that help protect against coronary artery disease and stroke, birth defects, and certain cancers (particularly colon cancer), lower cholesterol levels, promote nervous system health (especially for the eyes), have anti-aging benefits, and, to top it all off, are excellent detoxifiers. the betalin pigments in beets trigger "hook up" activity in the body's phase 2 detoxification process. this is the metabolic step in which our body "hooks up" toxic substances with small nutrient groups so that they become neutralized, water-soluble & get excreted in our urine. what makes beets so special is that most of their health benefits are unique, in terms of the nutrients from the beet that deliver or contribute to the health benefit. there is more than one way to skin a cat, but many vegetables skin their cats the same way. beets, those ingenious little buggers, have their own cat skinning tricks. most vegetables give us antioxidants through beta-carotene, but beets contain two different antioxidant careotenoids that are not nearly as common in other vegetables, called lutein and zeaxanthin. similarly, their red color comes not from anthocyanins, as is the case for most distinctly red vegetables, but from unique phytonutrients called betalains. and variety, it is said, is the spice of life. so, the more types of antioxidants and nutrients we can get, the better for our bodies. each of them interacts with our bodies and our cells in a different way, no matter how slight, and that will affect exactly what they do and how, and, in turn, the way it benefits our health.

and the red pee thing has a name: beeturia. it is nothing to be alarmed about, it's simply a sign of the genetic inability to break down the beta-cyanin pigment in the beet. roughly 10-15% of the population fall into that category.

okay, so the early bird has laid the case that beets are a must have for low calorie high fiber detoxifying super cardiovascular nutrition. but i think many of us have yet to embrace the beet because they seem cumbersome and dirty when bought fresh or we have antiquated notions of them pickled in jars, on our grandparents' plates, or in some soup called borscht. hesitate no longer. they are super delicious and super easy. all you need is a little bit of time, the effort is minimal, the skill level low. get some beets and roast them.

easy peasy beet roasting. 101.

preheat oven to 375, make sure rack is in the middle of the oven.

if the beets still have greens attached, cut off the greens, clean them and set them aside. they have their own amazing nutritional value and are absolutely edible.

wash the beets.

wrap them in aluminum foil (you can wrap them together in a single foil packet with all the beets or you can wrap them individually).

place them in the oven, on a baking sheet if you have it, or directly on the rack if you don't.

roasting will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the size and the beet itself. to test, poke them with a fork (you don't remove the foil), they are done when the fork goes into the beet without any resistance.

when beets are done, remove from oven.

unwrap the beets and peel them as you rinse them under cold water. the roasting loosens the skin enough that it slips off easily and the water from the faucet cools the beets and helps keep the red staining on the hands to a minimum.

and there you have it - roasted beets.

so roast those beets and keep being naughty, no one is really making a list or checking it twice, and the beets will detoxify all your sins.