The Veggie Queen's e-cookbook Guides You on Your Path to Quick Pressure Cooked meals!

If you are still on the fence about the value of a pressure cooker, invest $12.95 in Jill Nussinow’s e-cookbook, The New FastFood™: The Veggie Queen™ Pressure Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less than 30Minutes. Jill, a registered dietitian, known as The Veggie Queen™ presents all the information you need to help you select a pressure cooker (size, pressure settings, lock top), the advantages of pressure cooking (speed, ease, energy savings, taste, nutrition) and of course, dozens and dozens of delicious recipes.

I was especially pleased to find instructions on pressure cooking some unusual grains such as the Ethiopian grain teff and Italian farro. I think my favorite section though, is the dessert chapter. The pressure cooker is usually not the first kitchen tool you think of for dessert, but you would be amazed at the sweet treats that it can produce. Jill includes ten dessert recipes that are totally satisfying yet super healthy because of the grains and fruits that are their foundation.

There are some intriguing ideas presented here on why pressure cookers are more popular in Europe and why some of the best pressure cookers are manufactured there. Jill presents the theory that the availability of fast food and processed foods in the U.S. made the speed of pressure cooking less necessary. Europeans, without those “conveniences” took to pressure cooking more readily, to solve the problem of getting meals on the table quickly. And because pressure cooking was always more popular there, European cookers were manufactured to higher standards, with better materials (steel instead of aluminum) and with more innovations (spring valves instead of “jigglers” to release pressure). German pressure cookers by Fissler, such as Fissler’s Blue Point, are a good example.

So, visit Jill’s website (where you will find some preview recipes) and get a copy of The New Fast Food™ and then find the right pressure cooker from Fissler!

Mike makes meat: mmmmyummmm!

Ok, so I’m not much of a cook but when winter rolls around I often crave comfort foods such as roasts and stews. I would much rather have dinner magically appear in front of me. But once in a while I will make an attempt at tackling a recipe. Last winter it was beef stew, but 5 hours and 50 dollars later it was done and sadly lacking in depth and flavor.

Fast forward to last week: while reading an article in the current issue of Cook’s Illustrated (Best Beef Stew, Jan 2010) I was inspired by an in depth explanation as to why their test kitchen chose ingredients to maximize the flavor profile and complexity of this beef stew. And it seemed like a perfect recipe to adapt for use in my new pressure cooker. With recipe in hand and a good sense of determination, I set out to make amends with last years flop. When I got back from the supermarket I discovered that the four pound cut of Chuck Eye sitting in front of me was pre-sliced: not what the recipe called for. After a five minute reconsideration break and a glass of wine from the bottle bought for the stew, I rolled up my sleeves, put my reservations aside and moved onward.

I have to admit I was a bit intimidated. Not only was this my first time using a pressure cooker but also the first time making this recipe, while adapting the cooking time for the pressure cooker. I searched online for the suggested cook time, keeping the depressurization period in mind and it averaged at about 30 minutes in total. So, in the pot went all the ingredients. The pressure lid and the heat went on, and then I waited, impatiently. But a mere half hour later, I released the pressure on the lid, let it cool down for a bit and gave the stew a go. Success! Not only was using the pressure cooker so much easier than I expected but it cut my cooking time down by about an hour, with very satisfactory results. The stew was well received by those who tried it and now both the Best Beef Stew recipe and the Fissler Blue Point Pressure Cooker will have a permanent place in my kitchen.

Fissler Foodie Mike