I tried Mochi and I liked it...

Though some folks may view my dietary preferences as restricted,  I think of myself as pretty open minded when it comes to trying healthy foods.  While I don't eat meat, I eat fish and dairy.  Admittedly I'm not experimental at all when it comes to eating meat; when I have been a meat-eater in the past, I've never strayed from the basics such as chicken, turkey, cow and pig. But if a food is vegetarian and not highly-processed, I will try anything.   If it's a vegetable I've never seen, I'm totally intrigued and excited to try it.  An exotic fruit, yes please.  Gluten-free baked goods or pastas or chips,  OK!  A rare berry found only in the rainforests of the Amazon, an ancient seed, herb or grain, a wild weed that I can find in Prospect Park- yes! yes! yes!  I also love to try foods like superfoods or tinctures.  If it is sold at a health food store and some people might think of it as weird, I would love to try it.  As long as there is not a long list of ingredients and additives, I am there.

So I finally broke down and bought some Mochi from Grainaissance. I really didn't know anything about it aside from the fact that it is vegetarian, gluten-free, needs refrigeration, comes in savory and sweet flavors and seems kind of expensive as it is usually a $7 (or more) item.  But I have to say, I'm really glad I bet the $7 because this new-to-me food is really yummy.
The Mochi, "bake and serve rice squares" , are actually fun to bake, which is a claim they make on the package.  It struck me as kind of silly that they advertise it as fun to bake, but I also think it's kind of sweet, because it really is fun.  They puff up and ooze a little... and it's kind of like roasting marshmallows, but not. To bake them, you have to cut them into squares and give them space on the cookie sheet (which I didn't do) otherwise they will explode onto each other and make gobs of weirdly textured thingies, but even if you mess that part up, it's OK, they're just more... artful looking.
The flavor I had was "Super Seed" and I chose that because it sounded neutral.  I thought it could go well as both a savory and a sweet option, depending on what I paired it with.  When I first took it out of the oven and tasted it, I quietly thought to myself that it would be delicious dipped in a peanut sauce.  Then my friend tasted it and said she thought it would be delicious with peanut sauce.  So, that recipe has already written itself.  I spread some strawberry jam on a piece of mochi that had cooled off, and it was good!
The texture is not surprisingly like that of a sticky rice situation, but more....oozey.  ???  It's kind of difficult for me to describe, but definitely sticky and gelatinous.
I am very excited to try their other flavors- so many sound so good! The top 3 that I am interested in trying are cashew-date, chocolate brownie, and raisin-cinnamon.  Top one of those off with some vanilla ice cream, or pureed frozen banana and you have a semi-healthy indulgent dessert. The Pizza is intriguing as well.  I bet it would be good with some strong sharp cheese or pesto on it.
Anyway, check it out yourself here on their website if it sounds like something you'd like to try.