Learning to love pressure

Cooking that is!


In all of my reading I have discovered that many cruisers use a pressure cooker to make easy meals that save on propane and water.  I'm not much of a cook, and I've always been afraid of grills and basically anything that combines cooking and gas or anything potentially explosive, so I wasn't exactly in love with the idea of a pressure cooker at first, despite the many reassurances I read about the safety of the new cookers.


Then I mentioned to my mom that it sounded like I needed a pressure cooker and, wouldn't you know it, she had just found one on sale and had bought it but hadn't used it a bit.  It was sitting in its box in the basement.  Soon I was the proud, but slightly wary, owner of a T-Fal pressure cooker.  Now I just had to learn to use the thing.  It sat neglected on the kitchen counter for some time while I read and researched but I couldn't quite get up the nerve to try it.  Finally, last weekend, Brian the Fearless declared that we should make dinner in the pressure cooker.  So I looked up an easy recipe for pork chops and we went to the store to get the accompanying carrots and potatoes in the recipe.  That evening we had possibly the best pork chops and carrots I have ever tasted in my life.  And the pressure cooker didn't explode or do anything dangerous or heinous!  We survived to have a really delicious meal.  We could cut the pork chops with a fork.  Yes, a fork!  And the carrots...mmmm...the carrots were the epitome of carrotness.  Sweet and tender.  We were officially hooked on the pressure cooker and have since made pinto beans and scallops in it as well, both of which were quick, easy, and to-die-for.  If the pressure cooker had fingers we'd both be ready to put a gold band on one of them by now.


While we're talking food and cooking, let me tell you about my new all-time most favorite cookbook, The Cruising K.I.S.S Cookbook II.  I got it at the Annapolis Boat Show - signed by the author!  It's meant specifically for cruisers but has loads of great information for any new cook.  She has recipes, galley equipment recommendations, cooking terms, conversions, provisioning recommendations, useful tips and SO MUCH MORE!  It's unbelievable what she crammed into such a compact tome.  One of the things I especially love is how she not only provides specific recipes but will also tell you how to cook something basic but then tell you different ways to flavor it or prepare it.  I wish I had discovered this book years ago!  It even has a section for pressure cooking.  We may never cook another way again.