Raw Sushi!!

I lovelovelove sushi :) It's something I could eat every day and probably not get sick of. My favourite? Avocado rolls :)
I bought an eggplant a few days ago, because it was on sale. I love eggplant, but had never eaten it raw before. The idea of rawzagna came to mind, but a mandolin slicer is one of the few kitchen gadgets I have yet to obtain, and excuse me for being to lazy to slice it thin with a knife :) Not only that, I didn't have any fresh or sundried tomatoes, so that option was out.
I did, however, have some raw Nori wraps that I'd picked up at Rawthentic Eatery. And, um, did I mention I love sushi?
I made a pate to go inside the sushi roll, as well as sliced avocado (obvs), and a handful of yummy veggies, including the eggplant. Ummm, btw, raw eggplant is pretty yummy. I had feelings of skepticism, but it passed my taste test. Thumbs up.
Raw nori sheets have more flavour and scent than conventional toasted ones. When I was rolling it, it was like I was near the ocean (in a good way).
I've had this authentic, bamboo, six person sushi set for two years and have never used it until now. I bought it in Thailand, and have always wanted to make sushi. I guess I thought it would be hard...? Wow, so friggin' easy. I think I'll be eating raw sushi more often :)

I paired my sushi roll with a big, green salad, and topped it with my avocado-orange dressing.

FYI: Mushrooms go fabulously with this dressing, but this is mostly because I love pairing mushrooms & avocado together. They just marry well.

Don't be intimidated by all the ingredients in the pate. The veggies I threw in were a use-up-what-I-have-in-the-fridge invention, so feel free to use whatever is laying around. Also, it makes a lot of pate, so there is plenty for many, many sushi rolls. If you don't use it all, you can save it for more sushi, or use as a dip for raw veggies, or spread it on crackers :) It's a pretty flexible food. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
Pate:
1/4 cup almonds, soaked
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbs minced ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbs lemon juice (from half a lemon)
1/2 cup red pepper
2 tbs onion
5 stalks asparagus

For The Rolls:
raw Nori sheets
strips of red pepper, eggplant, zuchinni, and carrot (or whatever you wish)
rip avocado

Directions:
1) For the pate, add all ingredients to your food processor and let 'em be destroyed. Done!
2) For each roll, use 1-2 Nori sheets (they are quite thin, but I only used one for each roll). Spread 1/4 avocado length-wise on a 2inch section of the Nori sheet. Spread pate on top.
3) Add strips of veggies onto the pate.
4) Lightly, but firmly, hold the edge of your Nori roll and fold over, holding all of the ingredients in the roll.
5) To cut, I recommend using a sharp paring knife. Have patience, and be gentle.
6) Place sliced sushi on a plate, and design arrangement. Serve with wasabi, ginger, nama shoyu, or Bragg's liquid aminos.
7) Eat, savour, appreciate.

Namaste.