A few months ago, after thinking long and hard, we got a pressure cooker. The decision process was helped by the fact that I found ours at a very good price, with 55 % off the normal price.
Lately, we try to eat very little meat: we actually don't get any chicken, meat or fish with our weekly groceries, and when we do eat meat we try to make sure it is organic / biological. I don't know if this happens to other pseudo-vegetarians, but sometimes I get this really strong cravings (though it happens less and less and it often changes with the season). It is difficult to recognize this, but I do actually enjoy meat.
Anyhow, to get a source of protein we rely on beans, lentils, chickpeas and other pulses. (Quinoa as well, but I think it's not a pulse). The thing with pulses is that either they take hours and hours to cook or you have to get them in tins or glass jars. I felt uncomfortable with the amount of glass and tin we were throwing away (and I don't have the patience to babysit the pans for hours), so a pressure cooker seemed ideal.
I grew up scared of "la olla express". You heard stories of pans exploding, and that little dancing, chirping valve on top, constantly moving was always a threat, announcing a disaster. As I researched whether or not to get it and what I could do with it I was surprised / amused to find out that they are very popular both in Latin America and in Asia because they save a lot of energy and mean less time spent in the kitchen, which translates as less warmth from hanging around the stove in already semi-tropical weathers. It also means that since food is cooked at high temperatures for shorter amounts of time, there are more nutrients available.
I am super happy with it. As it turns out the dancing valve is a thing of the past, ours has a security system that pops up with different shades of yellow-orange-red indicating the level of pressure, and when you are ready, the pressure just releases by itself until it reaches a safety level, meaning you can open the pan without any fear. So far I have made a few lentil dishes, and a lot of Mexican-style refried beans (that are then used on molletes , quesadillas or just as a side dish). I know though, that there are a million other things I could be making... does anyone have recipes / experience with a pressure cooker? What's your favorite dish to make?
I know what you mean about the meat cravings. When I was vegetarian every now and again I'd get a desire for some specific meat product (though not often), same when I only ate meat occasionally. Now Bunny and my mom eat way to much meat, so it's always available and for the most part I'd rather not bother with it.
ReplyDeleteI'd never thought of the pressure cooker for legumes, really. And they're hard to find the time to cook. That's something I might look into once we move. Hopefully we'll hear more about your pressure cooking adventures soon.
It's weird these cravings, and well, I also really like a good steak.
DeleteIn Mexico the pressure cooker is used a lot (mostly for soups), but beans and lentils are one of the most common things you cook there.
We have one fo the old school ones with the funny valve thing, I think it was my parents wedding present. They are awesome for cooking soups and stews.
ReplyDeletexox
Oh how exciting, I hope you will share some soup and stew recipes, I am sure you have some exciting recipes :)
DeleteI've never tried a pressure cooker, I wonder if my husband (who is vegetarian and cooks a lot of beans) might appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteDid I ever give you my lentils recipe? It actually only takes about 30 minutes of cooking (plus prep time) stove-top, so it's easy to make on a regular basis.
I think they can be very very versatile... there's an attachment that lets you steam veggies as well, which can be very useful.
DeleteI don't think you gave me the lentils recipe... so feel free to share :) I love lentils!
Here you go:
DeleteIngredients:
2 cups red lentils
3 average size leeks
1 onion
1 package of mushrooms
(some people also add carrots, but I prefer without carrots)
5 cups veggie stock (or split between veggie stock and some water)
Slice up the onion and the white parts of the leeks (plus a little bit of the green parts). If the mushrooms are not sliced, slice them as well. In a sturdy pot, heat up a bit of oil of your choice (I use canola) and add the onions and leeks, and saute for a little while (maybe 5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and saute for a brief period of time. Then, add the lentils, very quickly stir them with the rest of the veggies, and immediately after add the veggie stock. Bring to boil, lower the heat, and simmer until desired consistency (usually takes me about 30 minutes). Serve over rice.
Oh, I totally want a pressure cooker! I've been thinking of getting one for a long time now. I also plan to use them to make dulce de leche!
ReplyDeleteYes dulce de leche, an Argentinian friend just reminded me that I could make that too.
DeleteOh my.... me encantan esas ollas, pero creo que en mi casa harían más polvo que granos.
ReplyDeleteSi hay algo que aprecio de este país, es la comida rápida (me refiero a la de corta duración, no la de McDonald's) y fácil. Pero se me antojan unas lentejitas de mamá. A ver si me animo y compro unas este fin. Lentejas, por supuesto, porque la olla a presión está descartada. Por los momentos me urge más una licuadora para hacer piñas coladas para sobrevivir a este calor! ;)
Besos y que te vaya chévere con tu ollita!
La licuadora para toda casa mexicana es super básica, es como el molcajete de la mujer moderna, para salsas, arroces, sopas....
DeleteYo tengo una del blokker (de vidrio para que no absorba sabores) y me encanta. Y estos dias hemos estado haciendo smoothies. Que buena idea... piña colada . Mmmmm
Muchos saludos y a disfrutar este verano del milagro!
I've been wanting to get one of those for a long time but have always been paranoid because of the horror stories I've heard! Glad to hear you have been able to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm craving some Mexican-style refried beans!! SOOO good! Funny story, my cousin and her sons are visiting right now, they used to live in Belize like 10 minutes from the Mexican border so they are used to really good Mexican food. We ordered some the other day from a restaurant I thought was pretty awesome and they were disappointed telling me that didn't taste like Mexican food at all! lol... This is a Mexican restaurant owned by Mexicans (yeah, there are some Mexican restaurants owned by non-Mexicans here!) but I guess that once they cross the border things don't taste quite the same...
Oh the horror stories. But I think if you follow a set of basic safety rules it should be ok.
DeleteHmmm, I don't know about NY, but the Mexican food in San Francisco was very very good. Very close to the real deal, nothing to do with what you can get over here, even in Mexican owned restaurants. I guess it has to do with the ingredients that are available. But also, Mexican food can be very different / particular depending on the area and the food near Belize (Mayan influenced) would be quite different with the kind of influence I saw in the US (from the Northern States, where they make this huge flour tortillas, machaca (dried meat), lots of meat....).
"La olla express" jaja... Yo viví con ella, mi mamá la usa TODOS los días, para TODO. Y la verdad es que aprendí a usarla y me quité el miedo, y no sabes cómo la he extrañado acá. Frijoles, pozole, lentejas, papas, guisados, sopa de chícharo seco (hace años que no la como), alubias, etc. ¡Rico! Y sobre todo gastas menos energía.
ReplyDeleteSí, en mi casa también se usaba casi diario. Para la sopa, para los frijoles, etc... Pero siempre era aquello de "no la toques", "no te acerques", "ni se te ocurra abrirla si no está fría". A ver si cuando estés por aca hacemos pozole o algo,que antojo.
DeleteY sí el tema de gastar menos energía y no tirar tantas latas ni frascos la verdad es que me convenció, compensa la "inversión". Y creo que es como la licuadora, uno de esos clásicos que hay en casi todas las cocinas mexicanas y que se usan para todo.
Seguro que algo haremos :)
DeleteWe have a pressure cooker and love it! It is actually a combination pressure cooker, slow cooker and rice cooker. We call it the superpot and use it a few times a week. I use it to make beans (we are also cutting down on meat - but I know what you are saying about cravings. I have set a goal of reducing my meat consumption drastically rather than eliminating it altogether. I have tried to be completely vegetarian in the past and it has just been too difficult so now I just try to eat less. Sometimes a lot less, but if I have a craving or go to someone's house and there is meat on the menu I'll eat it.). Anyway, back to the pressure cooker - I suspect they are a lot safer than they were in the exploding days but people still have negative associations. Good luck, share your recipes!
ReplyDeleteSuperpot sounds like a great name for it :) And yeah, I think massively cutting down meat consumption is a lot easier to do than completely eliminating it. I went vegan for a few months during my time at university, but I just could not do it. I guess being conscious of which products we get is also a part of it.
DeleteAs soon as I make more stuff I will share for sure ! (And I also think pots are safer now but everyone is scared).
Hahaha la olla express, I grew up with that fear too! and that immediately makes me think of my mom, and me complaining about how the whole house smells like beans whenever she was cooking. I had no complains when it was time to eat the beans though.
ReplyDeleteNew pseudo vegetarian here! Actually Matt and I have stopped buying meat with our weekly groceries too but mostly due to how expensive meat is here, especially compared to tofu, beans, and that. My problem now is that I do not really know what to eat instead, I must investigate this topic further if I want this to last. Also, thanks for the quinoa instructions in the other post!
Oh yeah, the smell of beans through the house, such childhood memories,
DeleteYeah, meat is expensive here too, and not good at all. You could get lots of ideas from My new roots or 101 cookboks.
We eat a lot of rice / quinoa / pasta with some kind of stir fry, or bolognaise-like sauce, or ratatouille, in the winter soups.... But using lentils for instance you can make recipes that ask for minced beef... and so forth. I still have a lot to learn too. Or you can make quinoa + nuts based burgers (http://thecelebrationgirl.com/cashewburgers/).
But it is definitely a process.