In case it's somehow escaped you, which I doubt highly, it's summer (apologies for presuming you're all from the northern hemisphere). And in many places it's freaking freaking hot. Freaking. Hot. And who wants to be in the kitchen when it's hot? When you'd rather be having water gun fights with your kids? Or playing kickball? There's only so much grilling you can take, you know?
Which is exactly why you need a rice cooker. In it you can prepare a delicious, healthy, one-pot meal while you're out playing. Or sipping something cool. This is mine. It doubles as a slow-cooker and it also steams stuff; how cool is that? And it cooks brown rice perfectly, a feat many rice cookers seem to fail at.
Here's what you do: For three kids who eat a lot and me, I use 1 1/2 cups of rice with 3 cups of water. Put it in the cooker. To that I add as many chopped veggies as I want, so use what your clan will eat: broccoli, onions/garlic, squashes, mushrooms, chopped greens like chard, kale, spinach or collards, etc. I also often add legumes like lentils (plus more water to compensate), or you can add pre-cooked beans, and I have some awesome dried seaweed. That my kids WILL eat. If you're a meatatarian you can add chunks of chicken, beef, whatever. Tofu works, too. Or you can add cooked shrimp afterward like in the photo. The possibilities are endless. About all that's missing is spice...I use Indian curry pastes, cilantro
and other herbs, whatever flavor sounds good that day. I add those
after everything's cooked, but you wouldn't have to. Submerge your meat in the cooking liquid, pile the veggies on top, and in about 30 minutes (white rice) or less than an hour (brown rice) you have dinner. The cooker even keeps everything warm after it's done, which helps if you've gotten serious about the sipping.
