Just Bento

I love cabbage rolls, whether rolled or deconstructed, but regular sized ones are a bit too large and sloppy in my mind to put into all but the largest bento boxes. These are little bento sized cabbage rolls, just a bit bigger than a ping-pong ball. They aren’t too showy to look at, but are deliciously juicy hot or cold. They are kept compact and slim by using napa or Chinese cabbage instead of regular cabbage leaves, since napa cabbage leaves are thinner and more tender, and using the smaller inner leaves that are about 10 inches (25cm) long.

Another feature of these mini cabbage rolls is that I tried making them in a rice cooker, and they came out great. I’ve also given instructions for making them on the stovetop, but if you’re looking for more ways to utilize your rice cooker, you may want to try it out that way. continue reading...

A quick and easy trick for keeping the ‘bun’ part of a rice burger from falling apart. continue reading...

Here is something that I had in my archives - a sushi roll bento, made with ingredients that you might not have thought belong in a sushi. Plus, how to make a fat sushi roll without a sushi mat! continue reading...

Here’s the first recipe from my minimal non-kitchen kitchen (see previously). This recipe has proved itself to be a keeper already - I’ve made it 3 times in the past couple of weeks. It is basically a vegetable frittata that is cooked in a rice cooker. continue reading...

At the moment my life is rather full of excitement in many ways; there’s the book of course, my mother had major surgery just today (in Japan), my father is almost ready to go home after many months in the hospital and a physical rehabilitation center (in the U.S.). But the part that is having the most immediate affect on daily life around here is the fact that I’ve just moved to a new house, which at the moment has no kitchen. continue reading...