After a long weekend spent with family, I came back to Birmingham for a night at
Avondale Brewing Company with the ladies of
Birmingham Sushi Classes. I've been looking for a good sushi class to take for a long time. I love to go out for sushi, but it gets pretty expensive to go to my favorite sushi spot. Birmingham Sushi Class was the perfect solution to that problem. If you're looking to sign up for one of their classes, Bonnie will make it easy for you to enroll in the class of your choice, but make sure you plan ahead because their classes book up to six weeks in advance. After taking the beginner sushi class, this doesn't surprise me at all. They also book private classes if you have enough people in your group! The classes tend to stay around 12 people per class.
Chef & Instructor Kelly Viall had some sushi prepped and ready for us to try when we came in to class, three pieces of three different rolls, along with a warm bowl of soup. I had a Veggie Roll with eel sauce, a California Roll, and a Shrimp Roll with Spicy Mayonnaise. While we ate our sushi, She started the lecture part of the class. She covered everything you could think of in the lecture, beginning with supplies and ending with the plating of your sushi roll. Once she got through the information part of the lecture, she started with showing us how to make and season good, sticky sushi rice. I won't share any class secrets, but I can now make my own Eel Sauce and Spicy Mayo.
After she taught us to make rice, we moved on to the actual rolling of our sushi. We were supplied with a bamboo rolling mat, a cut piece of Nori, a pair of gloves, and a plate of pretty julienne cut vegetables to fill our roll. First we watched her make a roll, then let us make our own and even showed us how to make a few different shaped rolls. Finally, she showed us the best way to slice our rolls and a few lovely ways to add sauce.
These classes don't just cover the hands-on part of sushi making. Kelly gives you the information you need to feel safe about serving raw fish. Not just basically, but she tells you how (and where) you can find sushi grade fish & what to watch for when you're shopping. You're even sent home with a list of the best places to shop for your supplies.
If you're a sushi lover, I highly recommend signing up for a class from Birmingham Sushi Classes. Both Bonnie and Kelly are extremely helpful and accommodating. There was never a dull moment in our class. Everyone stayed engaged the whole time and Kelly really kept the group entertained. She encourages you to try and make your own version of your favorite roll, which I am planning on doing. I can't wait to pick up menus from my favorite sushi spots around town and see what I can do, I'm even picking up my rice cooker on the way home tonight.
Interested in signing up for a Beginner Sushi class or talking to Bonnie about scheduling a private class? Click on the Birmingham Sushi Classes logo on the right side of the page to visit their website.
Any other coffee lovers out there? I could pretty much drink coffee any time, but in the summer I am all about a good iced coffee. Enter Icebox Coffee, a local company that cold brews their blends right here in Birmingham. The first time I came across the company was downtown at Pepper Place Market, where you can pick up a cup while you're wandering through the vendors on Saturday morning. Their coffee concentrate comes in the niftiest bottle, where you can easily measure the about you're using to create whatever coffee concoction you're craving.
The bottle I received was New Orleans Blend, and first I mixed 1.5oz of concentrate with 4-5oz of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a half packet of sweetener, and some ice. Also, I got out my handy little milk frother and foamed a little milk to add to the top. Their recipes call for using 1 oz. of concentrate for every 4 oz. of milk or water, but I like strong coffee so I used a little more. Yum. It was a refreshing, light pick-me-up that I definitely needed.
I decided to try something a little different, so I mixed up two servings of cold coffee according to their directions and poured it into popsicle molds. To each mold I added about 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon of hazelnut cream. They didn't come out as creamy as I had hoped, so next time I think I'll use milk instead of water when I mix up coffee pops. They still tasted great!
I've found that the rest of my Icebox coffee has been perfect for mornings when I forget to make a pot of coffee or am running late--I just pour a little in a to-go cup, add almond milk and splenda and head out the door. Sunday morning I whipped up a little 2point Weight Watchers Iced Mocha with it. From what I hear you can find Icebox Coffee at Whole Foods (here's a list of other places to buy), and I'm definitely going to have to pick up another bottle. They just released their Madagascar Vanilla and I'm dying to give it a try! Have you had Icebox Coffee? If you want to try before you buy a whole bottle, stop by their booth at Pepper Place on any given Saturday morning during market season!
Icebox Coffee provided me with a sample of their coffee in hopes that I might review it. I am not being compensated for this post. Any product that I recommend is solely because it is something I enjoy.
Does anyone else just love 
I love their selection of glittery gold decorated glasses and metallic embossed note cards. I'm pretty sure that every time I stop in I find something new to fall in love with. That burlap wine bottle bag (plus a bottle of wine) would make the cutest happy for a couple of newlyweds moving into their first home.
What kind of southern girl would I be if I didn't point out that most of the things you find at Swoozie's can be personalized. Y'all know southerners love their monograms. From bags to glasses and cutting boards to stationary, you can add a personal touch to almost any of the gifts you pick up. (And since it's graduation time as well as wedding season, they have great graduation gifts, too!)
One of the latest additions to the event is a trunk show from 
Earlier this year I connected with a couple of other local bloggers here in Birmingham, who quickly became friends and we got to talking about the lack of networking for us in the Magic City. In just a couple of hours at 
It's been cold and cloudy in Birmingham lately, but that didn't keep the local vendors from coming out to Pepper Place on Saturday. Over the weekend I decided to brave the cold for some good salsa, fresh vegetables, and crusty baked bread. There was even a little bluegrass band braving the freezing wind to play for the market-goers. I'm fairly certain that this Saturday (December 14) is the last market of the year, so I plan on making my way down to Pepper Place early this weekend to pick up some Herbs de Provence Goat Cheese and Spicy Salsa to take home for Christmas. After that I'll be counting the Saturdays until the market reopens next year.
