Sushi Salad - the new Un-Roll

So now that Vancouver has sustained warm temperatures for more than a single week (hurray!), it's time to find meals that don't require turning the stove on (much) as that tends to raise the temperature of our tiny apartment about 20 degrees when we do. Being second floor dwellers, we're already suffering from the first floor's heat as it rises so anything we can do to reduce the amount of heat in our own home is essential.
Hence the sushi salad. Okay and I admit the fact that I only had two sheets of nori left (which in roll form produces exactly 2 rolls), made me want to try out this genius of a recipe on krista and jess, where it is much more fancily named "deconstructed sushi" and more beautiful arranged (in a mason jar for lunch transport).

Anyways, the great thing about this salad is a) you can use up leftover rice, b) you can prep everything before and have it sitting in convenient containers in your fridge and c) you do not have to deal with sushi mats! Not to confuse anyone, I do love a good sushi roll. I just am not quite capable of making them well myself (which as my wife would say is probably due to the fact that I try to use quinoa, brown rice, basmati rice, etc. instead of good old fashioned sushi rice) and dislike trying to dislodge all the small particles of rice from the bamboo of the sushi mat. 

Sushi Salad (for 2 hungry people)
1 1/2 c. cooked rice *note white rice, brown rice, and quinoa have all been used successfully to make different versions of this salad!*
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 - 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 sheets nori, cut into appropriate sized pieces (will be some left over)

Veggies used (note this is probably enough for 4 salads, except the avocado):
2 medium sized carrots, shredded (I however used the peeler to create thin curly strips)
1/2 of an English cucumber, sliced into thin strips (matchstick if you will)
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 whole avocado, sliced

Toppings:
Scrambled eggs for vegetarians (for 2 people, create an omelet of four scrambled eggs, and then cut into strips)
Pickled ginger, sliced into thin strips
Wasabi (optional)

1. Bring the rice vinegar, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer and make sure the sugar is dissolved. Stir through rice. (If the rice is cold from the fridge, rewarm to room temperature before stirring sauce through). Set rice aside.
2. In a bowl, layer the rice, veggies, nori, rice, veggies, egg, nori and top with thin strips of pickled ginger. Drizzle more soy sauce if desired over the dish. Enjoy.