Rice Cooker

Click on image to go to Amazon.com. No one paid me for this post. No one pays me for anything on this blog. The very idea is hilarious. I think about 5 people read this blog on a semi-regular basis.

Sometimes you have to face reality.

I don't recommend doing so regularly - too depressing. But every now and then, especially after a protracted struggle, you just have to acknowledge the truth.

In this case: I'm no good at rice.

I love rice. Wild, white, brown, fried, coconut, sticky, pudding and any other kind you can imagine. But I've tried for years to cook it the regular way (in a pot, with a lid). The results have been pathetic at worst and modest at best.

Meanwhile, I read a few food blogs devoted to Japanese home cooking and bento lunches. No shame in a rice cooker on those blogs. It's just another device and one that can make life a lot easier.

So I faced my rice reality and bought a rice cooker. It's moderate in size - 3 cups - because there are only 3 of us. How much rice can we consume?

Maybe a lot. Actually. It's kind of amazing to pop in a scoop of rice, slosh in the water, click shut the lid and press the button to produce cooked rice. I'm not an expert rice-eater and I can't say that the first batch blew my mind. But guess what? It was cooked. All the way. Not swimming in white water, not mushy, not crackling under your teeth in a way that elicits furtive little glances ("Should I mention that the rice isn't cooked? Better not.").

Several years ago I gave up on pie crust. Whatever gene you need to make good pie crust, I don't have it. So I buy Pillsbury like everyone else (not everyone, of course. I know at least five people who make outstanding pie crust. Just not me.).

This is a moment like that one. Eventually, you just abandon the search for The You You'd Like To Be and embrace The You That Is.