What do Jelly Rice Cakes represent?

The jelly rice cakes Lily and Ricky make together represent the idea that imperfection can be beautiful. Lily placed too high an emphasis on making the perfect rice cakes, wanting to be the perfect daughter and granddaughter, etc., until RIcky tells her that just because a thing is not perfect does not mean it is not good. This lesson changes the way Lily views not only the strange rice cakes she and Ricky bake, but also the way she views herself and her own personality traits.