Being asian, rice pretty much is a staple for my diet, so I’m no stranger to a rice cooker. Rice cookers, for the most part, are pretty ugly. Granted, the Japanese have come up with some super cute mini space-y ones, but usually, they decorate them with some kooky floral design and they’re always white. About the time I started Happy Mundane (wow, back in March 06!) I went to the Chicago Home and Housewares show. As I was strolling through all the miles of gadgets and appliances, I spotted this little guy. It’s from Zojirushi, and it’s the Zojirushi NS-XBC05YR Rizo Micom 3-cup Rice cooker and Warmer. At the time, it hadn’t come out in the US yet. I kept in contact with the PR rep for awhile and it kept being pushed back for release. Well, I just saw on Cookie mag’s website that it’s available now! It’s yellow and kinda cute no? It has all these preprogrammed settings, like risotto and steam cooking. It also comes in a stainless version, but the yellow one is my favorite. Sunny and warm, just like a good bowl of rice… (ok, minus the sunny part) Available here.
