Sushi - easy and yummy

My Year 7 students are always asking if they can make sushi. I tell them it's a Year 8 recipe.  So the first thing they ask me when they become Year 8's is "Are we making sushi?"

I'm not that keen on it - the messy rice pots take a bit of cleaning and there is always sticky rice everywhere, but the students enjoy it so much I keep making it with them!

If they get the rice right and you demonstrate how to roll it, then they are fine. Lots of fussy eaters will eat sushi when they make it themselves :)

Here's the recipe I follow:


Sushi

3 sheets nori paper

1 c sushi rice
1 ½ c water
2 T Sushi vinegar
Soy sauce and wasabi (optional) to serve


• Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.


• Transfer the rice to a saucepan and add the water.


• Cover, bring to the boil and cook for 12 minutes.


• Remove from the heat, cover, and stand for 10 minutes.


Spread the cooked rice over the base of a large flat shallow non-metallic dish and sprinkle with the sushi vinegar


• Stir with a spatula for 5 minutes or until cool to touch.



To make the sushi

 1. Make two different fillings by mixing together your chosen ingredients in a bowl.


2. Place a sheet of nori on a bamboo mat.


3. Spread rice over the nori, leaving a 2 cm border at the top. Add your chosen filling(s)


4. Brush the 2 cm border with water (to make your sushi roll stick when you roll it.


5. Carefully roll up the sushi.


6. Cut into slices.


7. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi!




Filling options – Make two different fillings for your sushi from a combination of these ingredients.

90 g canned tuna, drained

3 T mayonnaise

1 soft boiled egg, peeled and chopped

2 t chopped chives

3 T mayonnaise

½ c shredded cooked chicken

2 t hoi sin sauce

2 t honey

2 t soy sauce

¼ c grated carrot

¼ c finely cut strips of cucumber

A delicious breakfast cereal - Ba Ba Ba Boom!

This is a new recipe for my Year 7 "Presents in a Package" unit.

I developed this recipe during the school holidays and I am using it for the first time next week.

I hope the students enjoy it.  I've made a few different versions and it is really yummy.

Ba ba ba Boom! Breakfast Cereal

Ingredients
2 c rolled oats
¼ c unprocessed wheat bran
¼ c wheat germ
¼ c pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds
1 t ground cinnamon
1/3 c honey
1 T vegetable oil
½ c flaked coconut
½ c of rice bubbles, corn flakes, puffed wheat, bran flakes or Allbran
½ c sultanas or raisins


1 T of dried fruit of your choice (coarsely chopped): You may choose up to 5 fruits from the following list (a total of 5 T)


Apricots
Apples
Cranberries
Strawberries
Dates
Peaches
Mango
Goji berries
Yoghurt-covered raisins
Cherries
blueberries


1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Collect all ingredients and equipment before you start cooking!

3. Spread rolled oats out evenly in a large oven tray and roast uncovered for 5 minutes.

4. Stir wheat bran, wheat germ, pepitas and cinnamon into the oats.

5. Mix honey and oil together. Drizzle evenly over ingredients in tray. Stir to combine. Roast uncovered for 5 minutes.

6. Add coconut to oven tray. Stir to combine. Roast uncovered for 5 minutes.

7. Remove tray from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

8. Return oat mixture to large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.

9. Place ½ c of cereal in a bowl and serve with milk or yoghurt.

10. Divide remaining ingredients between your snap lock bags and attach label.

Pizza Mix

Everyone loves pizza and a homemade dough is so much better than a bought one.

This is quite an involved lesson as making the dough, kneading it and then putting the pizza toppings together all takes time, but it is well worth the effort.

This is a quick-mix dough which does not need rising time which is an extra bonus.

The thing which makes this dough special for the students is that they choose the various herbs and spices to flavour the base and to make it an original product. Everyone makes their own pizza too (instead of in pairs), which means they all have the chance to make a base.

As with all of these lessons, the students make and package the mix first before making and baking a real pizza.

Pizza Mix

4 c flour
2 x 8 g sachets instant yeast
2 t sugar

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and sugar.
2. Add 1 or more flavourings of your choice from the list below.

Flavouring ingredients:

1 t Garlic powder
1 t Oregano
1 t Parsley
1 t Basil
1 t Tarragon
1 t Thyme
1 t Rosemary
1 t other herbs (as provided)

3. Take out one cup of mixture and put it in a snap lock bag. Take out another cup of mixture and put it in a second snap lock bag. Attach the instructions – this is for you and your partner to take home to give as a gift.
4. Divide the pizza mix left in the bowl into 2 bowls.

Instructions for making the pizza

• 1 c pizza mix
• 1 T olive oil
• 90 mL warm water

• 2 T tomato paste or pizza sauce
• 1 c grated cheese (mozzarella is best)
• Your favourite pizza toppings – mushrooms, pineapple, ham, capsicum, onions, etc

1. Preheat the oven to 190 ºC.
2. Put the pizza mix into a bowl.
3. Mix the warm water and oil together
4. Pour the oil and water into the dry ingredients and mix until the dough just comes together.
4. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for approximately 5 – 8 minutes or until elastic (when you press the top it should bounce back and leave no indentation).
5. Divide the dough into two pieces and form into round, flat shapes.
6. Place on an oven tray which has been lined with baking paper.
7. Spread the pizza bases with tomato paste then sprinkle with cheese.
8. Arrange other pizza ingredients on top of the cheese and bake at 190º C for 15 to 20 mins or until pizza crusts are crisp and the cheese is melted.

Super Yummy Chocolate Brownie Mix

This brownie mix is one of my most popular lessons. The students just love designing their own original brownies.

It's a super-easy recipe that works well whatever is added to it. Although it is part of my Year 7 "Presents in a Package" unit, I have also used it in my Year 8 "City Cafe" unit as it is one of those easy, never-fail recipes that is also very, very yummy.

For the first part of the lesson, the students make up the mix and package it. Then for the second part of the lesson, they make the mix again, but this time they mix in eggs and oil and bake it in the oven. Students love taking home a finished product in addition to the brownie mix.

Although the brownie mix is supposed to be given as a gift to a friend or family member, most of my students use it as an opportunity to make the brownies again at home. I am happy that they do this because if they are cooking at home, it means they are gaining confidence and learning new skills :)

Brownie Mix
(Between 2)

1 c plain flour
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c cocoa
2/3 c sugar

• Combine flour, baking soda and salt, brown sugar, cocoa and sugar in a bowl. This is your basic brownie mix

• Add ½ cup of your choice of ingredients from the following list:

• White chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate chips
• M & Ms
• Marshmallows (cut into quarters) or mini marshmallows
• Glace cherries
• Dried apricots (chopped)
• Dried cranberries

• Stir your chosen ingredients into the basic brownie mix.

• Evenly divide your mixture into two bags (1 each to take home) and attach the instructions. Don’t forget to write your extra ingredients in the space provided

Instructions to add to your Brownie Mix before giving it as a gift:

Combine contents of bag with:

2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75 mL) vegetable oil

Pour into a greased/lined brownie tin.

Bake at 180ºC for about 15 minutes until the top is set.

How to make Brownies (if you just want to bake them without just making the mix)

½ c plain flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1/3 c packed brown sugar
3 T cocoa
1/3 c sugar

2 eggs
½ t vanilla
1/3 c (75 mL) oil


• Preheat the oven to 180°C.

• Line a brownie tin with baking paper.

• Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, cocoa and sugar in a bowl.

• Add ½ cup of your choice of ingredients from the following list:

• White chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate chips
• M & Ms
• Marshmallows (cut into quarters) or mini marshmallows
• Glace cherries
• Dried apricots (chopped)
• Dried cranberries

• Add the eggs, vanilla and oil to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

• Pour mixture into your prepared tin.

• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until top is set.

• Leave to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into small pieces.

Hot Chocolate Mix

This is a great starter lesson for a Year 7 class and is part of my "Presents in a Package" unit.

Through this recipe, students learn about correctly measuring ingredients and then have the choice to design their own hot chocolate mix using a range of different ingredients.

Because this is a simple recipe, it allows enough time in the lesson to teach students about classroom routines, finding equipment and learning to work with a partner.

Once the mix is made, give students the opportunity to try their mix by making a hot chocolate to drink in class.


Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe

(Serves 2)

Basic recipe

• ¾ c non-fat dried milk powder
• I T plus 1 t powdered coffee whitener
• 3 T plus 1 t icing sugar
• 2 T plus 1 t cocoa powder (unsweetened)


Preparation:

1. Collect equipment: Measuring cups, measuring spoons, bowl, sieve, dinner knife, whisk, dinner spoon, coffee mug, teaspoon.

2. Collect ingredients.

3. Sift the milk powder, coffee creamer, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl to remove any lumps.

4. Mix thoroughly with a wire whisk to blend.

5. Add variations from list below and mix thoroughly

6. Divide between two snaplock bags.

7. Attach instructions and ingredient list.


Variations

• 3 T mini marshmallows
• ½ t ground cinnamon
• 3 T dark chocolate chips
• 3 T white chocolate chips
• 2 T raspberry powdered drink mix