We have a generous and ongoing crop of shiso this year. The plants crowded into pots are yielding little leaves, some of our plants have access to more soil and are producing huge hand sized leaves. Maki recently published a guide on how to make shiso 'tea' http://justhungry.com/fresh-shiso-leaf-tea#comments And I noticed a comment suggesting that they were unsure of what do use shiso for (except as a tasty noodle garnish). My favourite way is as an addition to rice: In Japanese; http://www.sirogohan.com/oobagohan.html

Kakigori is one of those Japanese foods that just never appealed to me. I've been visiting Japan for a decade and have successfully managed to avoid going in the summer time, so kakigori was never a must try on my trips and, anyway, I never liked Slush Puppies and I'd assumed that kakigori would be similar to these. Wrong! It's more like eating a fruit sorbet.

Has anyone tried to cook brown rice and adzuki beans together in a rice cooker? I think they have a similar cooking time, although maybe it would be necessary to presoak the beans... I have already successfully cooked brown rice and lentils together in my rice cooker, using the brown rice setting and adding just a little bit more water than I would have for just brown rice. This is a very easy vegetarian (and vegan) one pot meal, and you can add whatever seasonings you want to the water to vary the flavor.

I know some of our members have experience cooking for chemotherapy patients. What kind of food oddities have you encountered? A mentor of mine completely lost her sense of taste while on radiation therapy for cancer.

Hi everyone! I'm a bit new here. :) just wondering if any of you have authentic kamameshi rice recipes? Cooked in a rice cooker preferably :) thanks in advance! Been wanting to make this recipe for so long!

Help! I work in a community garden, and it's greens season! I already plan to make furikake with my radish and beet tops, and I've put "mixed Asian greens," arugula and turnip greens in stir fries, vegan tofu burgers, and curry, but I still have about another 4 cups of turnip greens, and more mixed Asian greens and arugula than I can eat in salads.

Hey Just Bento,

Hello! I have a wheat allergy, and it means I cannot eat many of my favorite foods :( so I am always on a mission to find good wheat free recipes! One of my favorite things is a shrimp tempura onigiri. I love them so much, and I used to eat them almost every lunch at work, but now I cannot eat them because the batter has wheat in it! Is there anyway to make tempura without wheat? Or is it just disgusting then? If you have any wheat free tempura recipes, please share! I would really appreciate it ^^ and my belly would thank you too :3 hehe