Deconstructed Sushi Rolls (Paleo)

I was so excited to try my own “sushi” recipe. Instead of using the traditional sushi wraps, I had planned to use cucumber peeled into thin slices with a vegetable peeler.

After I had all my ingredients assembled and ready to wrap, I started with the peeling. A quarter of the way through, however, I came to the realization that this was way too much work. Especially since I would be able to down a whole batch of rolls in a 1/100 of the time it would take me to make them.

And, to be honest, I probably would not go through the hassle to make these rolls again if they required so much work. Nor did I want to give anyone the false impression that I would be by posting the recipe.

Sooooo… to make life easier, I chopped up the cucumber and added it to the mash- thus making my “Deconstructed Sushi Rolls.”

But to keep a bit of the ‘fancy’ factor, I scooped these up into “sushi balls” with an ice cream scooper 🙂

Deconstructed Sushi Rolls (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz) can of salmon, drained of excess liquid 

1 Avocado, mashed

1 cup raw cauliflower rice

2 tbsp coconut aminos

2 tsp dried ground ginger

1 cucumber, cubed

Shredded carrot

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except carrot) in a bowl until evenly mixed. Use an ice cream scooper to plop into balls. Top with shredded carrot for a garnish, if desired.

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Cucumber Salsa

Well folks, today is day 6 of blazing heat along the East Coast. Such a pleasant change from the last few weeks of torrential downpour. My poor garden. It doesn’t know if its demise was the result of drowning or excessive heat 😦

Anyway, the heat. Normally, I love it. This time though, its a little too much for a little too long. Unfortunately, I do not have easy access to a pool. I did have access to this cucumber salsa however. And nothing is as cool as a cucumber.

Sorry. I know that’s corny. But how often can I say “cool as a cucumber”?

This salsa does contain some heat though. If you’re not a fan, leave out the jalapeño pepper.

Here’s a fun fact though: hot peppers are actually good to eat on hot days. Why? The pepper’s heat causes you to sweat. And when you sweat, evaporation soon follows. During evaporation, high-energy molecules change state, leaving behind the molecules with less energy. Less energy = less heat. Thus, we have a cooling down process.

See? I did learn something in Physics last semester 🙂

Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients:

3 medium tomatoes, diced

2 cucumbers, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, chopped

1/3 cup plain, whole milk yogurt

2 tbsp wasabi

1 tbsp jalapeño pepper

1 tbsp mustard with horseradish

1 tbsp horseradish

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried ginger

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cucumber-Yogurt Soup (AKA Tarator)

The only problem with summer is that I can no longer enjoy my hot soups. Which is why I so dearly love this cold one. Yogurt and cucumber are common ingredients, so it’s really easy to put this together. Before now, I always called this yogurt-cucumber soup. But as it turns out, this is pretty much a spin off of the Bulgarian traditional soup, Tarator. The only difference is, I didn’t use oil or chopped nuts (out of pure laziness). Still, this soup helps with my hot-soup-withdraw during the summer. Enjoy!

Cucumber-Yogurt Soup (Tarator)

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups plain organic yogurt

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a food processor, puree the cucumber until it becomes liquefied. Add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until soup-like. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Shrimp Cucumber Slices

It is now the start of summer, well the unofficial start anyway. And the weather agrees. 90 degrees in May! My sunburn proves it. So what better way to cool off with a refreshing appetizer? Light and simple, it’s the perfect way to cool down.

 Shrimp Cucumber Slices 

(Makes 26)

Ingredients: 

1/2 lb cooked and peeled shrimp, chopped into small pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

1 garlic glove, minced

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 tbsp sour cream

1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp mustard with horseradish

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp paprika

4 drops hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 large cucumber

Garnish: chopped chives and crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the cucumber and garnish. If you want to be fancy, peel the cucumber so that strips of cucumber skin are left. Chop cucumber into 1/4 inch slices and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. For each slice, top with a tablespoon of the shrimp mixture. Garnish shrimp cucumber slices with chives and red pepper flakes.   Let chill in the fridge for a bit before serving. Enjoy!