Kitchen Gadget # 5: Rice Cooker

I spent another day in the kitchen testing, testing, testing. What kitchen gadget did I use quite a bit today?

You said it, rice cooker!

I know, I know, rice is super simple to cook on the stove top. Boil some water, add rice, lid, simmer for 20 or so minutes and done. But, for some reason I absolutely love my rice cooker!

I use it all the time! This small one is my favorite of the two that I have. I have a larger rice cooker but I never seem to know when the rice will be done. Makes it more difficult to time food. The manual just gives a ball park which doesn't seem to work well for me. Their ball park and mine are so different. Besides that, I tend to make 1-1 1/2 cups of rice at a time so a little rice cooker is just what I need.

Today, while cooking for the week, I made some jasmin rice to go along side my chili and basamati for a pumpkin saag.

The good thing about my larger rice cooker is it's ability to cook brown rice. My pressure cooker does a fine job as well. But, that's for another day.

There are many different brands out there to choose from. This little Rival has worked well for years! Easy to clean. Easy to use. Holds the perfect quantity of rice.

I've made quinoa and couscous in my rice cooker as well. Couscous is so very simple. I bring the water to a boil in the rice cooker, add the couscous and the lid and let sit for about 10 minutes. Perfect every time!

This evening for dinner I went all pumpkin!

Pumpkin Saag. Slightly modified recipe out of Veganomicon.  Naan. Basamati rice. And, to make it all super, Wasatch Pumpkin Ale.  The Pumpkin Saag was so good! I'm glad I added more seasonings to it though. Started off a bit bland for my taste.

You can find the recipe here.

With the seeds, I roasted them with some chili powder and salt.

Pumpkin Seeds, spiced!

Seeds from 1 pumpkin
Water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-4 tablespoons chili powder
Salt to taste

Clean out the pumpkin. Remove all the seeds and wash well in a strainer. Place in a bowl with the other ingredients, mix well. Roast at 400º for 20-30 minutes.

This recipe was modified from one I found from a lovely blogger on Twitter, Queen of Quinoa.

Dinner was excellent!

 Do you cook anything different in your rice cooker?

Cheers and happy eating!