Somewhere, shoved way back in a one of my kitchen cupboards, sits a rice cooker that has spent years gathering dust. 

It's nothing fancy, just your average $25 model. But it doesn't get any use, because it's so easy to throw rice & water into a pot. I admit that my rice doesn't always come out perfectly, but I'm usually successful enough that my rice cooker is just another underused and nearly forgotten kitchen appliance. 

But I remembered it again after reading an article in the New York Times about how it's possible -- not to mention quick and easy -- to cook an entire meal in a rice cooker. In fact, it's perfect for those of us who love one-pot meals.

Actually, it wasn' t the article that sold me. What caught my eye was the photo, which featured a healthy-looking concoction of steamed eggs, salmon and greens. 

That's when I realized it might be time to pull my rice cooker back from oblivion and get better acquainted.  

Especially since the article came with a couple yummy-sounding recipes, including Rice Cooker Bibimbap, the dish shown in the photo, and Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani.

Until now, I'd always thought of biryani -- a complex Indian rice-based dish -- as a cooking project, one that requires a lot of time, even more prep, at least 3 different pots and mostly, a lot of expertise. And I never considered making bibimbap for myself, though I love the stuff and order it all the time at my favorite Korean restaurant.   

The secret to these one-pot meals is the "cook" function, which makes it possible to brown spices, sweat garlic, onion and chilis and steam everything from spinach to salmon. After that, just throw in the rice, wait about half-an-hour, and voila!

In terms of ease, it's on par with popping a frozen meal into the microwave. The article mentioned that a cooker can also be used to whip up quinoa, oatmeal and similar grains.

In fact, if it's possible to make these, it might even be possible to concoct simple, everyday versions of paella and risotto in a rice cooker. Inventive cooks have figured out how to bake bread, flan and even cakes in their rice cookers.

I'm not sure I'd use a rice cooker for anything that complicated yet. For now, I'll just stick to easy stuff... like bibimbap and biryani.  

Photo credit: New York Times