I always laugh when I hear Alton Brown and his followers declare, as an absolute, No single purpose kitchen gadgets! When did this become a law? There are many of us who don't put up such barriers to happiness. There are many of us who go overboard and do have too many toys in the kitchen, but I've got bigger things to worry about. Alton Brown, you're not the boss of me! Of course my love of clay pot cooking is well documented and after several months, I'm still smitten with my clay rice cooker from Japan. The Kamado-san makes rice an event. It's a little more of a bother than a rice cooker or cooking stovetop in a pan, but for me it's worth it. White rice is the easiest and only requires minimal soaking. But for brown rice, author Naoko Takei Moore, in her seminal book, Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking, suggests a 6 to 12 hour soak. I used two cups of rice and two and a half cups of water, plus a smidge of Rancho Gordo Flor de Sal. Once the steam is coming out of the vent, you cook for another twenty minutes or so and then let it rest for 35. I don't know if there's more perfect rice to be had. Of course, new crop whole grain brown rice from Massa Organics makes a huge difference. I remember my father serving buttered rice as a side dish. Actually, it was probably margarine (it was the 1970s, please forgive him) but the rice was always brown. I made a small bowl of brown rice and butter last night and I can see serving this myself. It was delicious. Massa Organics Whole Grain Brown Rice at Rancho Gordo (Available in March only)