Sushi Nori
2½ cups Japanese short-grain rice (Calrose will work)
2½ cups cold water
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 sheets nori
Can of tuna or smoked salmon
Wasabi paste if you have it. I always do
Sesame seeds
Soy Sauce
Rinse the rice in a colander thoroughly under the tap until the water runs clear, then drain well. Put the rice and the cold water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.
Cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and allow to stand 10 minutes more, still covered, then spoon the rice into a large bowl.
Mix together the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves, then drizzle over the rice. Mix together gently to coat the rice with the sushi vinegar, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
Take the nori sheets and place between damp paper towels or dish towels to make them more flexible.
The filling can be anything you like. Some favorites are smoked salmon and green onions. Tuna and cucumbers. Omelet strips and avocado. BUT since this is the end of the world, we are just going to use plain tuna, seasoned with a few drops of liquid smoke and a cucumber from my neighbor's garden. I am also assuming the world is going to end in the summer when we have our gardens producing for us.
Assemble the Sushi
Take a sheet of nori and place it on a light weight dish towel or bamboo mat. Spread about a cup of the cooled rice on the sheet with wet finger tips, leaving about 1 inch of the nori showing on the far edge. (The sheet is more oblong than square so you want to leave the longer edge free of rice.
Spread a strip of wasabi paste lengthwise in the middle of the rice square. Distribute your filling. Tuna and cucumber that has been cut into strips lengthwise, like small french fry shapes.
Using your towel or rolling mat, roll the sheet up like a jelly roll, but somewhat firmly and tightly. If the edge with no rice on it has dried out just brush it with your fingers and some water. Lightly squeeze the roll to make sure it is sealed and set aside.
When done, cut into 1 1/2 pieces. Serve with toasted sesame seeds and more wasabi paste mixed with soy sauce for a tangy dip.
Might as well break out one of the bottles of Champagne in the pump house and sit on the deck to admire the beautiful red, orange and purple sunset provided by the vast amounts of dust in the air from the destruction of New York City by a suitcase bomb smuggled across our porous borders.
