Young & Hungry

If you don’t like scallops, I don’t like you.  I mean not really, but you do lose major cool points in my book of judgment and ridicule.  Scallops, although still bottom feeders, are superior to their friends The Oyster and Mr.  Muscle.  Yes, they consist mostly of an abductor muscle, which is the delicious part you eat, but I was surprised and slightly disgusted to learn that scallops also have eyes to help detect light and motion and can be hermaphrodites, consisting of both sexes at the same time or switching sexes mid-life.  Now that sounds like a crisis.  Luckily for the scallop, they are notably one of the prettier of the species, having very symmetrical shells that are musical as well as functional when on a daily swim or escaping predators on the prowl. 

 

Outside of the physical realm, scallops are associated with Saint James and fertility.  Going forward one might take special consideration of the occasion for which they are making scallops, being the apparent symbol of fruitfulness that they are.  Perhaps had I paid more attention to mythology or art in my time abroad I would have remembered that in The Birth of Venus, the Roman Goddess of fertility and love, was in fact on a lovely half-shell or scallop shell.  Upon further investigation one learns that the Greek Goddess Aphrodite was also carried to Earth in the shell of a scallop thus earning the scallop its reputation as an aphrodisiac. 

 
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Given my counterpart’s passionate ode to her grill pan, I am hereby deciding to proclaim a love of my own….this time for what has become one of my kitchen essentials: my rice cooker.

Perfect...every time!

The beauty of the rice cooker is that it, quite simply, takes the guesswork out of cooking rice. Rice, that basic staple, is actually a bit tricky to prepare well and the rice cooker results in a perfectly fluffy, perfectly textured rice every time. Plus, if you’re willing to splurge for a more advanced model, it is evolved enough to have settings for white rice, brown rice, and a steam setting (for steaming such foods as vegetables,) making it a genius and versatile kitchen appliance. And all for the bargain price of $40!
 
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