Rice Stash

Frozen rice balls on a cookie sheet; plastic measuring cup in the upper left corner.

You can't have too much rice. Rice in the freezer is like money in the bank. Here is an example of stash-building: When you're cooking rice, cook extra rice. Cook a LOT of extra rice. Then freeze it. When it comes to convenience, frozen rice is the gluten-free equivalent to sliced bread.

For these rice balls, I used a half-cup measure; use whatever size is appropriate for your diner. Dip it in water between scoops. Lay the rice balls on a plastic bag on a cookie sheet. Freeze. When they're frozen, pop them into a ziplock bag for future lunches. Knock the loose rice off the plastic bag and use it again.

Most of the bento sites recommend reheating in the microwave; however, I don't own a microwave. To reheat frozen rice without a microwave, just put the balls into a small pan with a little water, set the heat on very low and it will steam while you go about your morning. (If you pull a couple out to thaw before you go to bed, they'll heat even quicker.) Begin heating the rice as soon as you get into the kitchen so it will have time to heat through then cool down again to room temperature. The reason you heat-then-cool the rice is that rice is unpleasantly hard right out of the fridge--warming and cooling softens it up again.

Here are a few easy staples you can prepare ahead and keep on hand: rice, fruit-juice gelatin cups, boiled eggs, homemade cookies, toasted sesame seeds, steamed broccoli. Keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and buy things like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots, tangerines and apples for the fridge. All these foods keep well and will ensure that you have plenty of food and color for a beautifully packed bento.