"Keep it simple" is my culinary mantra. Originally, it was because I have no cooking skills (I didn't grow up with any real role models, sorry mom), but in the past few years I've been learning that simplicity often tastes better.
I credit my husband for helping to sensitize my tastebuds by showing me that the best spaghetti sauce is a simple mix of olive oil, onion, garlic and one or two basic spices (am still working on getting the timing right; it partly relies on the order you add them).
Learning to simplify your food
Simple isn't always easily found. Some of the most obvious recipes are things we would never consider without help, like rice balls.
As a mom - and as a snacker - I'm always looking for more finger foods (especially anything vegetarian). Lately the only carbohydrate my daughter will eat is rice, which triggered a memory for me of a snack I'd seen eaten by my friend Yuko (orginally from Tokyo, but an expat here in Barcelona like me. For more on her simple life here see video Downshifting from Tokyo to Barcelona).
A couple weeks ago, I happened to be having lunch with Yuko and I asked her how she made them. "It's simple", she said. "I just put warm water on my hands with a bit of salt and shape the rice into a ball." She's a very understated type and tends to make everything appear easy. "You don't put anything inside?"
"You don't have to, but you can add meat or tuna."
We're mostly vegetarian and tuna is too big a fish for me these days (see my video The end of fish?: a guide to help turn the tide). "What about vegetables?"
"Just make sure you steam them first."
A healthy comfort food
Just to be sure she wasn't oversimplying things for my benefit, I did a bit of research. It turns out that rice and water (and salt) is the simplest form of onigiri (the most common name for Japanese rice balls, also known as Japanese comfort food, or Japanese soul food), but it can be filled with just about anything: fish or meat, but also veggie options, like tofu, seitan, chopped pickles or vegetables (I'm going to try steamed broccoli soon).
It is most often made with white rice, but can be made with brown. The more important element is that the rice is of a stickier variety: so not jasmine or basmati, but a medium, or short, grain rice (look for "sushi" or "risotto" rices).
In this video, I took advantage of some of the brown rice leftover from lunch, wet my hands, shaped a few balls and let my 2-year-old add a bit of salt and taste-test my first rice balls. It took all of 30 seconds. She ate 5 in less than 5 minutes.
See video on faircompanies - A healthy, homemade fast food: rice balls.
[Note: For a to go version, you can pack these in tupperware, bamboo leaves or plastic wrap (recycled of course].