I’m a serious sushi lover.  I love everything about it, from the fresh fish to the sticky rice, the wasabi to the pickled ginger.  And the experience itself just can’t be beat.  I’ve even been known to toss back more sake that what was really necessary.  The problem is that I just don’t get it often enough.  As the mother of two little girls, I don’t get out to dinner these days as much as I’d like – and when I do, it’s a rare occasion that it’s without them (and they’re just not into sushi yet, although I’m working on it).  We also recently moved to a small village in Northern Virginia, where the closest decent sushi bar is a pretty decent drive.  So I must make do, and making do to me means trying to incorporate sushi-like flavors into my diet where I can.

One of the easiest ways I know to do this is simply to enjoy an avocado dribbled with a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi powder or paste.  Avocado is such a healthy treat, and the soy sauce combination is reminiscent enough of sushi that I can at least imagine it’s the real deal.  Adding a bit of wasabi paste to my vinaigrette makes for a delicious asian dressing, and I love a little wasabi mixed in with homemade mashed potatoes.  Of course, nothing compares to fresh tuna, but this at least carries me over until I can get some.Another easy treat is wasabi-ginger mayonnaise.  I got this out of Fine Cooking magazine, and I use it on everything from sandwiches (it’s fantastic on roast beef) to veggies to salmon.  I keep a tub of wasabi powder on hand – it lasts forever – and use it whenever my sushi craving strikes.  No, it’s not the same as sushi, but it’s just yummy enough that I almost don’t care!

Wicked Wasabi-Ginger Mayonnaise

• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 T. wasabi paste; more to taste (you can use wasabi powder to make your own paste)
• 2 t. finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 t. kosher salt

Finely grate the zest from the whole lime.  Cut the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a small bowl (save the other half for another use).  In a medium bowl, combine 1 t. of the lime juice with the lime zest, mayonnaise, wasabi paste, ginger and salt.  Taste and add more wasabi paste if you need to clear your sinuses a bit more!