The scenario: It's January 7, and your body could use some rest and recovery from all your holiday indulgence. Time to treat yourself to a nice simple lunch or dinner of nanakusa-gayu, the dish made specifically for that purpose! Nanakusa-gayu (literally meaning "seven-herb rice porridge") is a dish eaten all over Japan on January 7, a smooth, well-proportioned meal with ingredients specially chosen to help your stomach relax and get all healthy and happy! This recipe makes enough for four people, so feel free to make it for your family or invite some friends over to enjoy it with you!

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Japanese rice
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 1 daikon
- 1 small turnip
- Any 5 of the following herbs, fresh: Chives, watercress, coriander, cilantro, parsley, basil, mint, lemongrass, fennel, dill (I went with chives, cilantro, parsley, mint and lemongrass)
- Sea salt

Recipe:
1. Put the rice in a bowl and rinse it under cold running water.
2. Drain the water from the bowl and gently rub the rice in circles with your hands.
3. Repeat this process until the water runs clear, then drain as much water as possible.
4. Put the rice into a pot, add the water and cover it with a lid, then let it sit for about 30 minutes.
5. Bring the rice to a boil over medium-high heat. You can remove the lid to check on it and stir it a little during this time.
6. Once it's boiling, gently mix with a rice paddle or wooden spoon, making sure no rice is stuck to the bottom of the pot, then turn the heat to low, place the lid back on and simmer the rice for another 30 minutes. During this time, do not remove the lid.
7. While the rice cooks, wash and peel the daikon and turnip, then cut a 2-inch chunk of the daikon and about half of the turnip into thin slices.
8. Prepare a separate pot of boiling water with 1 tsp of sea salt. In this pot, cook the turnip and daikon slices for about 3 minutes, then move them to a bowl of ice water to cool them.
9. Chop up enough of each herb to fill 1 tsp and put them together in a small bowl.
10. Carefully drain the bowl, gently squeeze the water out of the turnip and daikon slices, and cut them into small pieces.
11. After the rice cooking time is finished, turn off the heat and set the pot aside for 10-15 minutes to let it steam. The rice should be soft, thick and sticky at this point. Leave the lid on for now. Once the steaming time has passed, take the lid off the pot, add the daikon, turnip and herbs, and mix gently.
12. Divide the rice into bowls and sprinkle sea salt over each serving.
And just like that, you've made yourself and your loved ones a wonderful pot of nanakusa-gayu! Practice making this at any time of the year if desired, but especially be sure to keep this recipe handy for any future January 7--you might even find yourself with a new annual tradition!