This little fella makes me so happy.  I had no idea I could love an appliance to this degree.  My whole family has been won over by him.

I remember my mother’s pressure cooker.  That was the thing nightmares were made of. Seriously.  That bad boy came out when it was time to can.  “Stay back!”  “It’s VERY HOT!” “Don’t touch it until that arrow, you see that arrow?  The arrow is all the way at the bottom!”  Holy cow.  Who wants any part of that?!

As I have pondered gardening and anticipated actually producing a tomato this year, my thoughts turned to canning.  You can laugh, it’s okay.  But can you sense how hopeful I was?  I begin thinking about Mom.  She filled up shelf-after-shelf of mason jars brimming with vegetables, pickles, fruits, jams, jellies.  She worked really hard during canning season.  No time to stop and read the latest Reader’s Digest.  Honey, it was harvest time. She was a wonder to behold.  So was our garden.  Don’t know if it was Dad’s idea, yeah, probably. But, it was something.  Corn, melons, beans, squash, tomatoes, apple trees, grape vines … I digress.  Maybe I could can some vegetables this year.

Early this spring a fellow homeschooler posted the sale of her electric pressure cooker.  I felt compelled to carpe diem!  The fact that it was electric, and red, shouted this was my time.  She even threw in a cookbook.  Why?!  As I flipped through the pages of the cookbook I realized this was NOT my mother’s pressure cooker.

I haven’t stopped using it.  I’ve made hard boiled eggs, to perfection.  Cooked rice, to perfection.  Baked chicken, made desserts, baked meatloaf, created the most fabulous chicken tortilla soup.  I have converted my own recipes with the help of various websites from the internet.  Cooking with the pressure cooker is so easy, fast, and I DO NOT heat up my kitchen.  This is paramount, in the summer, in Central Texas.  It just seems counter intuitive to blast the kitchen with heat when you’re attempting to cool the house.  Are you with me?

I have always loved crock pot cooking, don’t get me wrong.  It’s great to do all the prep in the morning and have a meal ready by evening.  The aromas.  The simplicity. Heaven. Until last Sunday.

Thought I’d let my old friend do the honors for baked potatoes.  How easy would that be? We came home Sunday evening, big storm rolling in behind us.  Nice to have dinner ready before battening down the hatches.  I steamed some broccoli, shredded a little cheese, cooked bacon for a special topping, set the table.  The potatoes weren’t done.  “Seriously? What HAVE you been doing all day?  You had one job.  The power didn’t  even go out, for crying out loud.  At least you’d have had an excuse.”  Yes, I berated Mr. Hamilton Beach. In his defense, he took it like a man.  Looked me straight in the eye and maintained his silence.  Wise.

The crock pots have been relegated to warming duty.  Move over.  There’s a new appliance in my garage.

Here is a great website that I found:  www.pressurecookingtoday.com.  I made her recipe for Mongolian Beef and Broccoli.  I tossed in a generous helping of red pepper flakes. Don’t know if we were sniffing because of the pepper or crying over how delicious the food was. Amazing. Why eat out when the food’s better at home?

My father-in-law used to always compliment my cooking.  He loved everything I made. [Background: He lived on the East Coast where his cost of living was higher.]  We loved his visits.  Inevitably, as we’d begin eating dinner he would stop and say, ‘Katlin!  I’d pay $17.95 for this meal back home.’  Or he’d ask, ‘Do you know how much I’d have to pay to eat like this at the shore?’  God love him.  Bet he’d tell me to buy two pressure cookers, so I’d never have to be without one.

By the way, I am going to can tomatoes.  Boom.