Why is there a rice cooker in here?

Microwaves creep me out.

I don’t like the idea of (more) irradiated food, so I avoid using them whenever possible. However, spending many hours on campus.Reheating leftovers at school and preparing simple food are ways I can maintain a healthy diet. But how to reheat without “nuking it?”

My stainless steel rice cooker has proved quite useful. Non-toxic, shiiiiny, and straight forward, this cheap kitchen appliance is familiar to many a college student. Get ready for some easy recipes that can be prepared with little more than a power outlet.

Ginger-Cinnamon Tea

The office smells warm and spicy as the steam from the pot puffs out the small venting hole on the lid of a pot.  DJ walks in and inquires, “What are you making, Natalie?”

The water bubbles and tosses mysterious plant material around and around the walls of the bowl. What’s brewing inside looks more like bark picked up off the bike path than a soothing beverage. But the simmering cauldron holds a something delightfully simple:

It’s ginger-cinnamon tea.

This warming beverage seeps in and soothes away pain, inflammation and digestive upset. Ginger’s long history includes world travels from it’s native habitat of southeast Asia. It was traded for over a millennia, prized for it’s healing and culinary properties. After European colonization, commercial markets spread the plant across the globe and it used in cuisines around the world.

Add four cups of water to the rice cooker with a stick or two of whole cinnamon and a few tablespoons of fresh-diced ginger. Simmer for 20 minutes and serve to suffering staff. And people who like spicy ginger things. Bonus points if you use the ginger-cinnamon tea to brew OTHER herbal tea, like mint, licorice or chamomile. Add coconut oil, fresh lemon juice or raw honey for additional benefits (always add honey last before drinking).

The rice cooker is so easy. And once you get it going, it just does it’s thing. After the water gets to a rolling boil for a period of time, most cookers will automatically switch to warm.

This is just the beginning of what can be done. Check back for more ideas.