One big aspect of remaining independent is being able to make healthy food for yourself. As we age, our ability or energy to safely prepare meals in the kitchen may decrease. There are many ways to adjust and use kitchen gadgets to help you continue to feed yourself healthy meals without stress!
One helpful kitchen gadget to try is a rice cooker. Did you know that you can make more than rice in a rice cooker? You can make macaroni and cheese, eggs, soup, pancakes, chicken, and more using this little appliance.
In addition to the versatility, rice cookers are inexpensive, they prepare smaller portions perfect for one or two people, and they cook food in a fraction of the time. Rice cookers are a safe appliance as well, as they automatically turn to the warm setting after cooking is completed. This is a great appliance for the summer months especially, since it won’t heat up your whole kitchen like the oven would.
If you’re looking for a simple, summer recipe to try with your rice cooker, start with this Frittata with Summer Vegetables adapted from justbento.com.
Rice Cooker Frittata With Summer Vegetables
Makes 2 to 4 servings
The vegetables:
- 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
- 1 small red or yellow pepper, cut into small dice
- 1 small potato, peeled and finely julienned
- 1 small zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- The egg mixture: * 6 large eggs * 2 Tbsp. grated cheese of any kind (optional) * salt and pepper * 1 Tbs. olive oil
Equipment needed:
- Rice cooker
- chopsticks or fork to mix the eggs
- spatula or chopsticks to stir the vegetables around
Heat up the rice cooker with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic clove, and let the oil heat up until the garlic is lightly brown. Discard the garlic clove.
Add the vegetables. The key with the vegetables is to cut them up as small and thinly is you can, so that they cook fast. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the rice cooker bowl. Spread it around the bottom and about 2 inches /5 cm up the sides. Add the eggs, grated cheese, salt and pepper, and beat the eggs in the bowl (take care not to scratch the surface if you’re using a metal fork for this). Add the vegetables and distribute them evenly in the egg mixture.
Put the bowl in the rice cooker and switch on, using the regular rice setting. When the cooking cycle finishes, the frittata is done!
