Paleo / AIP Dessert Sushi

Normally I use this intro section to write about where I got the idea for whatever I'm writing about, but I don't really remember with this one. I think it was just a combination of thinking food that looks like other food is cute, typical dessert sushi being a little too much of an indulgence, and making my first homemade fruit leather.

I knew fruit leather would be the perfect dessert nori. I experimented with different amounts of kiwis, blackberries, and spring mix to try to get a close color. My favorite mix was 3 kiwi fruits with a bunch of spring mix, focusing on the green leaves. Adult spinach would probably be a good substitute.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175, and wash and peel / cut the fruit. Toss everything into a blender and purée. Line a cookiesheet with parchment paper, pour the purée on the paper, and spread it thin, to about 1/8" thick. An offset spatula is great for this. Bake for 3-5 hours. Easy-peasy!

This site also has a recipe that comes out pretty green, but uses some stove top time on the apples before dehydration: http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-sneaky-green-apple-f...

This is a recipe for AIP coconut macaroons that is not my own, but I knew it would make a great dessert version of sticky rice.

There is a screen cap of the recipe above, just make the main macaroon recipe, no chocolate ganache. I used a whole packet of Knox gelatin (I know, it is not a good, ethical, grass fed option, but I'm working with a budget and I wanted to see if this recipe would work with what I had on hand already), which the people at Knox say to use if the recipe calls for 1 tbsp (even though the packet has a greater volume than that). Even though this recipe only called for a half tbsp, I thought using the whole packet would help bind the mixture more, so I could make fun sushi shapes.

Cut up some fruit to serve as the fish (and vegetables). I used mango and melon for my sashimi, and kiwi to be avocado / cucumber. Slice into long, flat "sticks" as much as the fruit's natural shape will let you.

I used a left over side of a kiwi, faceted a bit with the knife, as my wasabi paste, and I used a vegetable peeler to cut some cantaloupe into ribbons to look like pickled ginger.

Above are photo sequences for making hosomaki, uramaki, and nigiri sushi (I'm learning some vocab as I go!). Luckily, I had a few bamboo placemats that worked really well as sushi mats. After watching a youtube video, I gave it a try and learned some tricks along the way. Please look at the photo tags for my tips and tricks.

I'm very pleased with how these came out! It was a lot of fun, and I think maybe I am ready to try rolling real sushi now haha. Give me a vote if you enjoyed this instructable, and let me know what combos you make in the comment section!