Cooking Steel Cut Oats in the Pressure Cooker: 3 Minutes

Over at Pinch My Salt people are going ga ga over steel cut oats. And they have to cook them for at least 25 minutes. I, too, like steel cut oats and in fact Alex of the Facebook group Lorna Sass is my homegirl reviewed my DVD and saw that I have a recipe for a cooked cereal. He asked about cooking steel cut oats. And the recipe for that is the same as any chunky grain cereal.   Take 3 cups of liquid — I like to use 2 cups water and 1 cup... [Read More...]

Cashew Cheese Post by Maggie Sloan

This is another post by my "virtual" intern Maggie Sloan, a vegan nutrition school graduate working her way toward becoming a Registered Dietitian. I have learned how to cook some really awesome food since becoming vegan earlier this year. I love it! It’s so much more creative than the traditional American diet. I’ve eaten/made so many dishes I never would have thought about if I were not vegan. One of my favorites that I’ve... [Read More...]

Did You Say Vegan Burrito Contest? My Vegan Burrito

When I saw a post on Epicurious Vegan about making, and posting, about a vegan burrito to win a ticket to the Vida Vegan Bloggers Conference in Portland, OR,  I thought that I'd give it a go. I was busy doing other recipe development and generally have the ingredients for a burrito hanging around, although I don't always have the tortillas. I usually use sprouted corn tortillas stashed in my freezer to make tiny tacos but they are much... [Read More...]

Seasonal Vegetable Simplicity Results in Synergy: Onions, Mushrooms, Asparagus

Once again, I'd have a photo of the dish that I just cooked in my pressure cooker but I was too hungry to stop and shoot it. It also wasn't the most beautiful looking dish but it certainly hit the culinary mark  for me. Now that I am satiated, I can write more clearly about what I just cooked and why it matters to anyone but me. (Or maybe it doesn't?) Yesterday I was shopping at Trader Joe's and did a quick scan of their organic... [Read More...]

Why Using a Pressure Cooker for Brown Rice Makes Sense, Saving Energy and Time

I recently spoke to a group of vegans, vegetarians and those who want to eat more vegetarian food at Osmosis Day Spa and Sanctuary. I had a great time and got such wonderful questions. One of them was, "Why should I cook my rice (or maybe anything else) in a pressure cooker when I already know how to cook it on the stove top and time isn't an issue?" That question made me think, which I have become accustomed to doing well on my feet.... [Read More...]

Maggie Makes The Veggie Queen’s Hummus

This is another guest post by Maggie Sloan, nutrition school graduate from Alabama, who has been vegan since January 2011. Hummus is one of my all-time favorite foods! When I saw this recipe for hummus in The Veggie Queen cookbook, I had to make it. Hummus is also simple to make. All you have to do is throw everything into a food processor or blender and it’s done. This recipe is fantastic! I have never seen a hummus recipe that uses Bragg liquid... [Read More...]

Raw Kale Salad: A Green Time of Year

Today at the farmer's market a guy that I don't think that I know directly asked me if I'd seen any bok choy at the market. I said, "No" because, I hadn't. Then he asked me if I'd seen chard, and since I was right at the Triple T Ranch and Farm booth, I pointed to the basket of Swiss chard. He went over to it, and I remarked, "Why don't you use kale, there's lots of it here today?" He walked away... [Read More...]

Tempeh — Don’t Serve Without a Warning, Tempeh Vegetable Stir-Fry

I just had the most fascinating email chat with Mark Scarborough about tempeh. Now, how often does one get to do something like that with a kinda famous cookbook author? Not part of my usual day. Mark described his current desire for tempeh and vegetable stir-fries arising from having raised his own pigs and dealing with the aftermath in his meat-filled freezer . This may not be something that you can relate to, I can't (or it might be, don't... [Read More...]

Pressure Cooker Orange Scented Beet Salad

I developed this beet salad for Cooking Light magazine way back in the late 1990s. It's still a winner today. You'll get the idea of how easy it is to use the pressure cooker. to make this recipe. Pictured here are gold and chioggia beets but red ones work just as well, albeit a bit messier. Beets in just 3 minutes? Yes, slice them thin. And if they're young, you don't need to peel them. At least I don''t, This recipe is perfect... [Read More...]

Immune Boosting Bowl

I have been working feverishly for the past month or so to complete my pressure cooking cookbook. I've taken few breaks and haven't seen much of the world lately. Still, I managed to get attacked by a germ, a virus. I suspect that my son's return from a trip back east with a sickness, and his coughing, without covering his mouth, led to this moment. I just sent out my newsletter yesterday with this recipe. At the first sign of something,... [Read More...]