Ah, simplicity! When I was a child my mother would occasionally serve rice balls in which a single tart umeboshi rested at the center. These have long been a favorite, but I admit that umeboshi might be an acquired taste. Commonly called “pickled plums,” ume aren’t really plums but are more closely related to apricots. Whatever they are, I cherish them.

http://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/self-portrait-with-umeboshi-poem-by-robert-okaji-self-portrait-poetry-series/