How rice of you!

My son, Jipper, who is all of ten years old, announced that if---"big if," he emphasized---he didn't feel too old for trick or treating next year, that he wanted to go as Jerome Bettis.

Okay, that costume should be relatively straight forward.

Jipper also knows what he likes in the food department. Uh, most everything.

As he was gnoshing on sushi a while ago, I got to thinking about making the little tasties at home. However, when eaten at the pace of a growing boy with a hearty appetite, that's a lot of little rice discs whizzing past.

I wondered if I might find a similar dish, but in a less-painstaking size.

I did (thanks, greggman): Japanese Onigiri (also called Musubi or Omusubi). Basically Japanese fast food, these rice balls are larger in size than sushi and are not elaborate to prepare.

Here's how it happens: Make some rice. Mix in some goodies, such as chopped shrimp, tuna, pork, scrambled egg . . . you get the idea. Add spices as you wish and even sauces such as chili or mayo (which is quite popular in Japan). Wet your hands, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, grab a scoop of the mixture and shape it into a ball.

There you go: onigiri.

Of course, like every other food in the world, something will be lost in the translation. Your onigiri probably won't taste like those picked up by hungry commuters at a combini in Japan.

But it will be "you"! Think of it this way: this is your onigiri and your onigiri is a blank slate. The only constraint you have is: keep it fresh.

The rice doesn't like time.

In Hawaii, they sometimes make onigiri with Spam.

***Photos at greggman.com and nhk-book.co.jp

You can even make onigiri into funny shapes and action figures,

such as snowmen, dancers, and elephants.