Mary Bellamy

Tom and I decided to stick with our Valentine's Day tradition of sushi. Because nothing says love like seaweed. This year, like last year, we had the sushi at home, but this year there were a few key differences

• Tom learned to roll the sushi as well


• we did not eat a roll that contained the following ingredients: banana, peanut butter and bacon and was then cooked by the following method: deep-frying. Last year's Elvis roll will not be repeated.


After an hour or so of prep work, we had the rice cooked, dressed and cooled, and all the ingredients were grilled/blanched/chopped/mixed, etc.

Tom watched me with the first roll, a peanut-glazed spinach roll, and then felt confident to try it with the next roll. He and I made Manhattan rolls and Green Goddess rolls.

Then came the piece de resistance - the Cowboy roll. This one was our clear favorite. It had grilled steak, wasabi mayonnaise, minced red onion, spinach and blue cheese.

Of course, no meal is complete without dessert, so I whipped up a Twinkie roll. The closest substitute I could find for tobiko was strawberry Nerds, which gave the roll a delightful crunch. As Tom said, "It tastes better than it has any right to."