Sushi Nori Maki Rolls
Recipe courtesy Christine Waltermyer

Makes 24 pieces of sushi

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 sheets of toasted nori sheets
1 cup baked, marinated tofu – cut into long, thin strips
1 avocado, de-pitted and sliced into long, thin pieces
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and sliced into long, thin strips
3 scallions, ends trimmed
1/2 cup pickled ginger, drained
Shoyu or tamari soy sauce, for dipping

Directions:
First, prep your sushi making area.  Fill a small bowl with water and add a pinch of salt.  Set aside.  Keep a damp cloth handy as well.  Next, lay out all the ingredients you will need in front of you in a row.  You will also need a plate and a serving platter for your finished rolls.

Lay down your sushi mat, with the bamboo positioned in a horizontal direction.  Place 1 sheet of nori on top of mat, with the shiny side facing down and the perforated lines in the nori running vertically.

Dip your hands into water (this helps to prevent the rice from sticking), then scoop up approximately one cup of rice with your hands and spread evenly over nori sheet.  Smooth evenly, keeping 1 1/2-inch of nori uncovered at the top and covering the remaining portion of the sheet right up to the edges.

In the center of your rice, make a horizontal line of one third of all of your filling ingredients: a few strips of tofu, avacado, cucumber, one scallion and some pickled ginger.  Making sure that all of your filling ingredients are close together, place your thumbs under the mat and lift the nori up and over the filling, tightly rolling the rice and nori over the fillings, while snugly tucking them inside.  Give the roll a gentle squeeze, then pull the top part of the mat out so you don’t roll it into your sushi roll. Continue rolling the sushi forward until you reach the end of your nori sheet.  When sushi is completely rolled you can use the mat to squeeze the roll securely and tightly together.  Release mat and set roll aside on a plate.  Repeat process with remaining nori, rice and fillings. 
When finished, use a sharp knife with a lightly moistened blade to slice each sushi roll in half, wiping the blade as needed for clean cuts.  Next slice the 2 pieces in half and finally cut all four pieces in half to create 8 pieces.  Arrange nori maki sushi pieces in a decorative pattern on a party platter.

Other possible fillings:
Marinated and cooked shitake mushrooms, asparagus & pickled daikon radish

Thin strips of blanched carrot, red cabbage and watercress with sauerkraut and almond butter

Fresh watercress, pitted black olives, baby corn and roasted red peppers, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette