Shiitake mushroom rice with green bean and asparagus salad with sesame dressing

Very tasty, and very simple to make. However, you need to have some ingredients that not everyone will find straight away in the pantry, but a quick visit to an Asian or specifically a Japanese grocer and you’ll get sorted.

Speaking of asian grocers - there’s been much public discussion about the benefits of the Goji berry in recent times. Go to your local supermarket and a small packet will cost you $5, try your asian grocer instead and they’ll set you back less than $2. Considering I’d never had them before, I thought at that price I had to try them, plus the guy behind the counter wanted me to spend $10 before I could use the EFTPOS. I can’t say they were fantastic - somewhat similar to raisins, just a little more tacky, and even with all the superfruit claims I can’t quite believe they helped Li Qing Yuen live until he was 252.