That's How I Roll, or Turning Japanese (in the Kitchen)

In this month's issue of The Atlantic is an article about kitchens. It's quite interesting, and in my opinion worth a read. They state that as cooking becomes more about pleasure and less about utility we spend more money on kitchen implements (which we will use less). This has been shown to be true historically. 

Recently I made a small ($2.25) kitchen tool purchase: a bamboo sushi mat and rice paddle. This has proven to be one of my most enjoyable, as well as money saving, purchases. 

My friend Steve taught me a few weeks ago to make sushi. I believe he learned from his wife, and I don't know where she gained this knowledge. I decided as soon as I learned that I needed to buy a mat an paddle, though I put it off for about a month, thinking they would cost about five times the actual cost. 

My very first rolls that I made without help were rice, cream cheese, red bell peppers,  and cucumbers. Since I have also used tofu and avocado. I've torn a few rolls (I guess that's what I get for buying the cheapest seaweed paper I could), but I have no problems eating a pile of sushi ingredients with a fork. 

This has been for me a great investment: I was spending more each month on sushi than all my other restaurant purchases combined. This week I've eaten 5 rolls, which have cost me only a few dollars. I made a quart of vinegared rice, over half of which is sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be rolled. 

Cooking can be fun. Or it can be cheap. But as sushi reminded me, it can be both of the above, as well as delicious. 

In this month's issue of The Atlantic is an article about kitchens. It's quite interesting, and in my opinion worth a read. They state that as cooking becomes more about pleasure and less about utility we spend more money on kitchen implements (which we will use less). This has been shown to be true historically. 

Recently I made a small ($2.25) kitchen tool purchase: a bamboo sushi mat and rice paddle. This has proven to be one of my most enjoyable, as well as money saving, purchases. 

My friend Steve taught me a few weeks ago to make sushi. I believe he learned from his wife, and I don't know where she gained this knowledge. I decided as soon as I learned that I needed to buy a mat an paddle, though I put it off for about a month, thinking they would cost about five times the actual cost. 

My very first rolls that I made without help were rice, cream cheese, red bell peppers,  and cucumbers. Since I have also used tofu and avocado. I've torn a few rolls (I guess that's what I get for buying the cheapest seaweed paper I could), but I have no problems eating a pile of sushi ingredients with a fork. 

This has been for me a great investment: I was spending more each month on sushi than all my other restaurant purchases combined. This week I've eaten 5 rolls, which have cost me only a few dollars. I made a quart of vinegared rice, over half of which is sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be rolled. 

Cooking can be fun. Or it can be cheap. But as sushi reminded me, it can be both of the above, as well as delicious. 

That's How I Roll, or Turning Japanese (in the Kitchen)