The Dreaded Pressure Cooker

After my last entry, I realized I had to dedicate some time to the discussion of the pressure cooker. I realize I do A LOT of my cooking with one which is not necessarily great for you because it may be off-putting when you want to try a recipe.

So first let me say: Do not believe the hype people! I've had many friends over the years see me in action in the kitchen and tell me that they won't buy a pressure cooker or don't use the one they have for fear that it will explode in their face. Sounds scary, yes, but in 10+ years of using one, I've never had one explode or even come close to exploding. As long as you properly clean your cooker, you have nothing to worry about.

Pressure cookers are a great addition to your kitchen. The #1 reason? It cuts the cooking time by more than half!!! Now, I don't know about you but I don't have 2 hours of hanging out time waiting for meat to get tender, beans to cook through, or veggies to soften. My meals are cooked in 20-30 mins max, and usually in less time than that. The drastic reduction in cooking time uses much less energy making pressure cooking an extremely energy efficient way of cooking meals. The decreased cooking time also allows the food to retain more of its vitamins and nutrients.

So what I'm trying to say is, just think about it, let it marinate. Maybe get reacquainted with the one you already have collecting dust somewhere in your kitchen. Maybe stop by the pressure cooker aisle in the kitchen accessories area of the store and give 'em a look. The new models lack the noisy quality of the older, more familiar models and they're easy to use.

You don't need to commit to anything now, but I highly recommend you give a pressure cooker the chance to change your life (at least in the kitchen, anyway). Plus how much easier will it be to make a lot of my recipes!? :)

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