RICE COOKER BRINGS COUPLE TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN

I had never even heard of a “rice cooker” until my wife mentioned it. We were registering for wedding presents and, while I tried to coax her into the electronics department, she insisted that we needed to waste a valuable present on something that makes rice.

“But rice is so easy. You just put some water in a pot, throw in the rice, turn on the heat, and cover it! Why waste a present on something that’s so easy for us to do on our own?”

I’ll never forget her immortal words: “You’ll see.”

Beep. I aimed the gun at the rice cooker and added it to the registry, thinking this was going to be one of those appliances we’d put in storage and never use.

I was wrong. The rice cooker is magical. It knows exactly when the rice is ready and exactly when to stop cooking it. Perfect, consistent rice every single time.

I’m not a huge fan of rice. I like it all right. It’s just that this cooker allows us to worry about the other dishes we’re trying to prepare on any given night, which is crucial because cooking isn’t easy for us. So while we tackle the sauce for a new dish or try to make sure the meat is cooked just right, the rice cooker quietly does its thing in the corner. No supervision required.

The surprise for me was that this gadget gives is more time to worry about other dishes and more peace of mind. Sometimes cooking can be a bit stressful (especially new dishes) and that makes you not want to do it. Ordering Thai food is much easier.

But when there’s rice involved (or steamed vegetables, which the rice cooker can also make), we know that a third of our dinner is going to be so easy that it encourages us to try new dishes and cook more often than we order food. That makes us eat healthier and spend more time together cooking, which is a great way to catch up after a busy, stressful day.

As usual, my wife was right. The rice cooker turned out to be one of the best wedding presents we ever got. We eat healthy, affordable, home-cooked meals more than we order out. It doesn’t get much better than that!

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