A Pressure Cooker...For Your Microwave? Is That Even Possible?

    For many MANY years, my Mother has been using a pressure cooker for lots of recipes. It's become almost a tradition in the household. I'm not complaining! Some of the best and most tender meats I've ever eaten are cooked in a pressure cooker. I have always wanted to have one for the RV, but they are large and hard to store. Since I wouldn't be using it very often, I really couldn't justify that amount of space. Last year, I came across a Microwave version of the pressure cooker. Wow! Seemed too good to be true. It was plastic, didn't take up too much space and weighed very little. The question...Did it work? Well...Kind of.

Nice Package!

First off, this is really NOT a true pressure cooker no matter what the labeling says. It's really a glorified steamer. Pressure cookers work by raising the pressure inside the container so water boils at a higher temperature. (No really...look up BOYLES LAW) Things cook faster. It works. In fact, you can cook a cheaper cut of meat until it's tender/fall off the bone delicious in WAY less time than you can on, let say, a BBQ. A little side note here...I "pre-cook" ribs with dry rub or marinade in the pressure cooker for around 22 minutes for a full rack cut in half. Then put them on the grill for about 5-8 minutes a side to get a crust. You get fall off the bone amazing ribs in a fraction of the tradition time. It's not perfect, but man...it's good! Back to "sort-of" pressure cooking,

So this cooking gadget has no real way to seal the lid to the body, it does have two plastic latches, but it leaks enough that almost no pressure builds up. There is an adjustable steam vent at the top. You load in your food, add some liquid, pop on the lid and set the vent, Pop it in the microwave and Voila! you have cooked food. OK...sounds easy, and it is. But it isn't pressure cooking, it's steaming. It makes anything you can make in a steamer perfectly, every time. Likely due to the vent on the lid. I made white rice, brown rice and lots of varieties of vegetables without a hitch.

I did try a meat recipe. In a word, YUCK. It was awful. More like soup than anything else, After that debacle, I looked around online and found a couple of other devices billed as microwave pressure cookers. One was only $17.00 shipped, so I ordered it. It has a seal for the lid and really looks quite a bit different than the one I have now. I also saw one by Nordicware and one made by Tupperware...haven't been able to locate one to buy and test, but they are a lot more expensive. Looks like this story is only just beginning. There are also several Electric pressure cookers that I know work well, but I fear they will use too much power and since I already have a small one, I know they take up much more room.

As always, don't believe everything you see hyped on TV about better/faster/healthier cooking. Take everything with...well, a grain of salt.

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

Don't Scratch Your Non-Stick Pots & Pans!!!

    If you've ever spent your hard-earned dollars on non-stick pans, you know how easy it is to scratch one. Once scratched, they become trash. It isn't safe to continue to use them -- especially Teflon-coated pots and pans. Ingesting the coating can be really bad for you. I've ruined a few in my day. I know you can go to a big box store and buy a whole set of cheap pans for $20.00, but for well-made heavy ones it's really sad to see them go in the trash -- and I use them a lot, especially for my "One Pan" meals. So, how do you scrape out a nasty mess from the bottom of the pan? Easy...get a tough little silicone scraper.

I used to use a wooden spatula or a plain plastic one when I needed to scrape out some gunk at the bottom of a pan. The wooden ones work pretty well, but don't have quite a sharp enough edge to really get underneath anything left on the bottom. The plastic ones do have an edge, but you can't really use them on hot pots. Just off the stove is the best time to remove leftover food bits. Try that with a plastic spatula and you have a black (usually, unless you have another color!) gooey mess to deal with. I've left melted black lines on my skillets with the cheaper plastic spatulas...nasty. When they cool off, it's really tough to get them off.

You can already buy silicone bowl scrapers. They've been around a long time and work great when you are attempting to get every last bit out of your bowl. I use it all the time when making my "Mock Almost-Mousse" dessert. It's good till the last...umm...drop or, more accurately, bit. But they are way too soft to use to scrape at food residue, especially baked-on or cooked-on pieces. Now you can buy ones that are cleverly designed with a plastic support for the heavy silicone blade. Simply put, they work. I have scraped off overcooked egg chunks and brittle, cooked-on cheese bits with ease. All done in a still-hot skillet, without any damage to the non-stick coating.

I cook often in my RV, on the road, so anything that makes cleaning easier is always going to be tops in my book. Add to that fact it's small and easy to store and you have an RV utensil drawer keeper. They come in various colors and styles, but I liked this one. Small enough to store easily in a small space and large enough to scrape a lot of stuff in a short period of time.

Of course, with my new non-stick CERAMIC frying pan, I may not even need one. But for my Teflon coated pots...it's a MUST!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

FOUND IT! - Powered Whisk That Requires NO Power! (With Recipes!)

    A while ago, I wrote an article about a miraculous powered frother I'd found. I was hopeful that it would be able to make fresh whipped cream. It did...well, sort of. It really works amazingly to froth my favorite coffee beverages, but as a cream whipper, well, not so much. It was a bit of a bummer, but I have been using it daily to put a beautiful froth on my coffee and other beverages both hot, cold and "adult." I was still on the lookout for a powered whisk that would make whipped cream and NOT use too much power. I believe I've found one! With some reservations.

At home, in my sticks and bricks house, I have a really nice stick/immersion blender that has a whisk attachment. It makes short work of turning heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla into perfect fresh whipped cream. I wanted to be able to do that on the road as well. While shopping around a local liquidator shop, I spotted one of those "as seen on TV" sections. Sitting on the shelf was a "powered" whisk that said, right on the box, that it would make whipped cream. There was even a picture! Normally I don't go for this stuff. Especially if I hadn't even seen the infomercial. But at $2 for TWO of them, why not give it a whirl?

See It's On The Box!

I admit, after seeing the picture of lovely whipped cream on the box, and looking at the handle shape of the devices, it didn't occur to me that they wouldn't take batteries. I mean there was no indication of a electrical cord or plug....Hmmm. Well, as soon as I opened the box it became obvious. They aren't powered by electricity at all. You use good, old fashioned, muscle power. First, let me tell you it does work, It makes whipped cream just like it shows on the box. How? Well you put the ingredients in the bowl, place the whisk at the bottom, and push. Then release. Then push again. faster and faster. As the handle travels up and down, the end of the whisk spins at a fairly brisk clip. Mixing lots of air into the mix and creating whipped cream.

MMMMMmmmm...Mousse!

Now the down side. It's work. Not a huge amount of work, mind you. But work nonetheless. It's great that you don't need any type of electrical power. But you do lose a bit of convenience. I'm still going to bring it on the road with me to see if I can generate the gumption to actually USE the thing. Now, I do have a significant incentive. There's this very basic dessert, kind of like a Mousse that you can make from the basic whipped cream recipe. Get yourself some Dark Chocolate (or Milk Chocolate if you wish) cocoa powder. NOT sweetened!! Mix in about 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder per pint of heavy cream. Whip the mixture until you get thick, heavy chocolate-y goodness. You can chill it in the fridge for a while to get it more solid, but it's not really necessary, especially if you want it NOW! Add some of your home made whipped cream on top (Again, heavy cream, vanilla and sugar) and enjoy.

Sometimes the simplest things make us happy. Now, even with no power at all, I will have the ability to make one of my favorite non-guilty dessert pleasures. Try it....you'll like it!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com