My First Onigiri, or Rice Balls

Tonight we had such a yummy dinner, and the kids really enjoyed helping out. First, we picked up our initial organic farm share of the season. The box was about half full, since it's been a slow start for gardening this spring. Next week promises to have a full to busting box with kale and lots of greens, but this week we got butter lettuce, spinach, arugula, scallions and a generous quart of the sweetest strawberries around.

Then we came home, and I let my 4 year old pick out what would go in the rice balls, using leftovers and fresh picks from the fridge. We decided to make 4 kinds, one of each for each person. We used two cups of cooked pink Madagascar rice to encase the following:
roast chicken with neufchatel
pan-fried whiting with tamari and dulse flakes
raspberries with fresh mint
and adzuki beans with white miso and a little nutritional yeast

My favorite was the roast chicken, followed closely by the raspberries. My son adored the raspberries and the fish. And my 16-month old daughter devoured it all. YUM!

The pink rice is not really the right kind of rice to make onigiri, but it sure was pretty. I am looking forward to receiving my new rice molds, which should make the process even easier -- and less messy.

We served it dinner on small plates with butter lettuce underneath, and had fresh strawberries for dessert.