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Saturday Morning, This One Anyway

Mikiesboy

Entry posted by Mikiesboy

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Some of you may know of my recent passion. Well Michael, writing, poetry- those are given, but this is about food and my latest and possibly most favourite gadget. Not sure if that is a fair name for this machine because it's amazed me from day one. Frankly it's a pressure cooker, a good one, and very safe one, invented or maybe reinvented by a Canadian. I like that, so i put it in here.  I am talking about the Instant Pot. 

 

No I'm not a food blogger (okay, i am today) and I bought and paid for my Instant Pot with my own credit card. But I love the darned thing. It has helped me in the kitchen more than most other things i've tried. Rice is a miracle in there. Seriously. Unbelievable. Pasta al dente in 3 to 4 minutes. Lemon chicken thighs with potatoes in 15 minutes. I'd swoon if it wasn't so unmanly. :)

 

Right now i am cooking beans, simple red kidney beans. I love them and I know dry beans are less expensive and healthier than canned. I have prepped them the usual way on other occasions. That means, soaking and then cooking on the stove, but I've never gotten them to be how i like them. My preference is buttery soft beans. Crunchy and under done is not my cup of tea.

 

Other bean issues are the bloating and gas they can cause. But they are so good for you. You can de-gas them. Why not do that when they are cheap, healthy, fill your belly, help with cholesterol and are full of good things? 

 

Why am i writing this? Well, i wanted to make chili. The recipe i found said you can just throw the beans in dry. When I related this information to a fellow food loving friend, he said, "Hmmm. Well let me know how that works for you." I could tell he was chuckling. 

 

Beans don't really affect me in that way, but my sleeping partner, well that's another story. I said to my friend, "Well, if I'm sleeping on the sofa, you'll know why."  He replied, "Yes. Yes I will." He has his own husband, and they enjoy beans, too.

 

This chat led me to do some research.  There are lots of opinions out there, such as, yes, it's fine to put them in dry. Others said, soak and then pressure cook first. Other said, when you cook beans from dry don't cook them in acidic things - um, tomatoes are kinda acidic (sarcasm isn't attractive, i know).

 

I thought, I have to rethink this. I don't want Mike taking chili for lunch and killing the rest of the squad an hour later. So I soaked the beans overnight. This morning, I put them in my Instant Pot with a clove of garlic and some bay leaves, covered them with water and cooked them for the recommended time, on high pressure, for 25 minutes. 

 

They are done now and I am letting the Pot cool and release pressure naturally. There is a quick release option which vents the steam. It looks like something out of a video game!! But the slower method is still part of the cooking process and in this case slower is good. I'm going to pause writing here. And wait until the beans have cooled, so i can tell you what they are like!!  Can't wait. See you soon!!

 

Back .. well the beans are buttery soft and delicious.  I think I may reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes next time but I am very happy.

Time to go and put the chili together and then let The Pot do its thing.  

 

I never really thought about pressure cooking but it is terrific. Now, the Instant Pot isn't a one trick pony. It has multiple settings including Soup, Meat/Stew, Rice, Beans/Chili, Yogurt (on my list to try), Mulitgrain, Porridge, Poultry and it is a Slow Cooker and Steamer, too.  So, some bang for your buck. We bought one for our nephew when he moved and he tried it here before he moved .. he likes it but I fell in love. 

Thanks for reading and happy Potting!!  

 

AFTER CHILI UPDATE:  Okay, i like this. I've eaten two bowls .. well one must try it right?  This is not the chili from the chili mix package. It is not super thick and gloopy.  It is fresh tasting, mildly spicy and not full of that chili mix/spice flavour i'm not so fond of.  But it is moreish and I really have to NOT go back to the kitchen to get more of it. However some will be coming with me tomorrow when I start work. 

  • Like 21

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Mikiesboy

I'm not selling them!!  I just get excited about odd things. Seriously stood there after cooking long-grain white rice, eating it out of the Pot with a fork. Mike came in and said, "Really?"

 

I shovelled in another forkful and said.. this is the best rice I have ever cooked at home. It's wonderful.

 

The chili is great .. its a good recipe i found in the Toronto Star.. has cumin, cocoa, coffee, worstershire sauce, etc.. I'm going to try Ron's idea with the peppers.

 

Honestly.. i need to just be quiet about this ..lol  It's just made things easier.  There is a learning curve though. Like the fact that making one cup of rice or 3cups take the same amount of time.

 

Thanks LL... I will try and be less in love ...LOL :)

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LitLover
59 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

Thanks LL... I will try and be less in love ...LOL :)

 

Please don't!  I love your passion and your joy. 

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Bucket1
1 hour ago, LitLover said:

lol they should really hire you for their advertising.  You have me convinced that I want one... seriously 

He forgot to say you can make custard in it... tim, you definitely should be on commission

  • Like 3
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Former Member

I was telling Timothy M about my adventure making Sekihan (a Japanese Sweet Rice with sweetish red Azuki Beans) tonight and he referred me to this blog posting. In Japan, it’s a celebratory food. It’s pretty easy to make, but my mother and my grandmothers never made it, so I had to look up recipes online. But it’s been one of my favorites since I was a child.

 

The rice is a special short-grain variety that is usually called Mochi Rice in the US. It is very different from regular Japanese rice – it’s much stickier.

 

Azuki Beans are often used in Japanese confections (treats more than desserts). The recipes instruct you to soak the rice at least an hour or overnight. You boil, then simmer the beans, then drain and reserve the liquid. After the liquid cools, you put it all together and cook it in a rice cooker (the greatest, most essential invention ever – endorsed by billions!). You eat it at room temperature with Shiogoma (a mixture of black sesame seeds and salt) sprinkled on it.

 

I was very happy with how it turned out and I have the ingredients to make several more batches.

 

Blame Timmy for my invading this posting with a wild tangent.

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Mikiesboy
3 hours ago, droughtquake said:

I was telling Timothy M about my adventure making Sekihan (a Japanese Sweet Rice with sweetish red Azuki Beans) tonight and he referred me to this blog posting. In Japan, it’s a celebratory food. It’s pretty easy to make, but my mother and my grandmothers never made it, so I had to look up recipes online. But it’s been one of my favorites since I was a child.

 

The rice is a special short-grain variety that is usually called Mochi Rice in the US. It is very different from regular Japanese rice – it’s much stickier.

 

Azuki Beans are often used in Japanese confections (treats more than desserts). The recipes instruct you to soak the rice at least an hour or overnight. You boil, then simmer the beans, then drain and reserve the liquid. After the liquid cools, you put it all together and cook it in a rice cooker (the greatest, most essential invention ever – endorsed by billions!). You eat it at room temperature with Shiogoma (a mixture of black sesame seeds and salt) sprinkled on it.

 

I was very happy with how it turned out and I have the ingredients to make several more batches.

 

Blame Timmy for my invading this posting with a wild tangent.

Thanks for sharing that! I love to read about what people are making at home! Invade anytime!

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Parker Owens

And now I have to go and find where I can buy one of these. You sold me!  I have made chili and other dried bean recipes before, and all have the underdone bean problem. Ditto my yellow-split-pea soup....

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Mikiesboy
9 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

And now I have to go and find where I can buy one of these. You sold me!  I have made chili and other dried bean recipes before, and all have the underdone bean problem. Ditto my yellow-split-pea soup....

Oh you must get one!!  From dry red kidney beans to butter.. i swear!!!!  And the chili.. omg I should post the recipe really.. no chili powder or mix in sight but I do like Ron's idea about blending the peppers ... if you have questions.. let me know!!!

  • Like 1
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