Sushi for Kids

Last night, Brian and I celebrated.  Well, the whole night was cause for celebration, actually, because it was our monthly "Family Camp-out Night" in which every single stitch of anything resembling a blanket is dragged downstairs and layered to make a most fluffy type of sleeping arrangement.

We watch movies and eat junk food and tell the girls that they really must sleep and laugh at Brian because he is being strangled by one certain girl who likes to sleep with her arm in a choke hold.

Our family campouts are exactly like real campouts....we sleep underneath the tall ceiling, gazing up at our ceiling fan..listening to the rush of water flowing into the fishtank, and to the [rancid] wild breathing of our sweet terrier, Chester beside us....yes, exactly like camping...except without the bugs, cold nights, scary outhouses, or that one rock that wasn't quite swept aside before the tent was placed on top of it.

But that wasn't the only cause for celebration.

You see, we were celebrating because every. single. member. of. The. Wieber. Family. now loves sushi.  Oh, to think of the family dinners in our future!!!

And not to brag (but, well, most certainly to brag because this is my spot to do so if I wish), but Brian makes the best sushi in the whole entire universe.  He has ruined every sushi restaurant for me, in fact, because it is very difficult to drop hard-earned (thanks, babe) dough on sushi that your husband truly could make better. And really, I'm not just being a flattering wife here.  I really mean it.  His sushi is seriously the best I've ever had.

So now, instead of making separate dinners for the girls on sushi nights, we will all eat together!  In the past, I have baked salmon or done something simple for the girls.  And then Brian always offers them a bite.  The girls have gone nuts over the smoked salmon, and Liv absolutely DEVOURS the nori (which to me tastes like crinkled fish skin....gross!), and they all have taken a liking to plain sushi rice.  But last night, the girls ate sushi the way grown-ups eat sushi!  See?

By the way, the chopsticks Holland is using have been WONDERFUL!

If you look closely at the above picture, you will see swollen eyes, and the unmistakable blush of a sweet girl who has gotten frustrated with her lack of chopstick skills.  She decided that an 8-year-old is too old for chopstick aids, and so tried to eat sushi the adult way.  She likes to catch on to new things rather quickly.

But I concur.  It is hard to eat sushi with chopsticks.

Right, Reesie?

Here she gives up and just shoves it into her mouth. (Her chopstick is more like a stick with an appetizer fork on the end....I have no recollection of where we got it, but it's been great for the kids!)

So today, we celebrated their newfound love for sushi (all night long, the girls were saying, "Thanks, dad, for the sushi!  And even our toddler was walking around saying, Thanks, Dad, Shushi!).

Yes, today we celebrated by eating PBJ sushi.  (Why, yes, that is a peach in place of the soy sauce and wasabi!)

This is a very simple, kid-friendly faux-sushi for the girls to enjoy.  I first smashed a piece of soft, whole wheat bread to make a very smooth "wrapper".  Then I put a thick line of chunky peanut butter (or what about nutella, or cashew, or almond butter?) and jam down the middle.  Then, I rolled up and laid the seam down touching the plate.  Then, cut into pieces.

This was another opportunity to practice chopsticks, and to have fun!

Liv is grinning here because she is using her adult chopsticks much better today.  She can pick up a new hobby in such little time.  Boy, I wish I were like that!

If my mom were the one making this sushi for the kid-me, she would have made marshmallow creme/peanut butter faux sushi because,

"Yes, she was THAT fun."

Now, my mind is swirling of the different combos I'll be making my kids in the near future....

cream cheese and cucumber

goat cheese, spinach, and ham

marshmallow and peanut butter ;o)

any other ideas??