Does anyone else remember the episode of SCTV with John Candy hosting a show called "Fishin' Musician" that featured The Tubes? Anyone? Well anyway, at the end of the bit the band played their song "Sushi Girl" and singer Fee Waybill ate a full raw fish (head, tail, scales and all) filled with rice. As a youngster, I remember thinking "that's sushi? GROSS! I'm never eating that!" It was many years later that I discovered the error in my thinking. I now know the pleasure of well-cut piece of raw fatty tuna with some soy and wasabi. Yum!

Now, I've never really mastered the art of making sushi at home - very fussy business, and frankly you're usually not gonna get near the results of a real sushi chef. However, I do often prepare that popular Japanese starter in my kitchen, miso soup. Unlike the main course it usually precedes, this stuff couldn't be much easier to make.

First thing you need is miso paste. These days you can find it in most decent grocery stores, and as if in tribute to Mr. Waybill and company, it's often found in tube form. Gotta love any food that comes in a tube, right? You'll also want some firm tofu, green onions and a regular white mushroom or two.

Boil about 2 cups of water and add miso paste to taste. As usual, I'm not real big on this whole "measuring" business that people are always on about, but if I had to guess I'd say around a tablespoon should do the trick. Stir 'til the paste is fully dissolved, finely chop and add the onions and mushrooms, cube and add the tofu. And there you have it. Hey, I told you it was easy.

Bon appetite!

by Jay Moonah