Under Pressure

Years ago, a friend originally from France cooked dinner for us one evening in a pressure cooker. I was intrigued at how quick and tasty the meal was. A also have a friend from India who extolled the efficiency and effectiveness of the pressure cooker (this is the same friend who sold me on the rice cooker). I've read about them ever since.

I went into Macy's on Black Friday with Mark with the intention of picking up some work shirts for him using the $10 off $25 purchase. We picked up the shirts and walked through housewares. There it sat in a green box. A shiny, basic pressure cooker for $20. It was mine. This past week, I've been searching online for pressure cooking recipes. I found Miss Vickie's. A treasure trove of information about pressure cooking.

Two nights ago I soaked a pound of black beans overnight. Yesterday, I sauteed some chopped onion in the bottom of the pressure cooker, tossed in the beans, and poured in six cups of water. After heating up on the burner for a few minutes, steam started to stream out. I set a timer for 12 minutes. I pulled the cooker to a cool burner after the timer went off, choosing the "natural release" option. When I opened the cooker, I had 6 cups of tasty, cooked black beans in approximately 20 minutes instead of 2 hours. The beans were well cooked and did not get mushy. My mom was over so she taste tested for me. Two thumbs up. Sissy asked for some, too. "Yum." I transferred them over to fridge and freezer storage. I now have fresh cooked black beans at the ready. I think I'll try chick peas today. I'm working my way through the bean category before I attempt a meal.