THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

greenbee

*faints*

vanoonoo

I've bought a pressure cooker. Thought I should let you all know

maryb

I use my pressure cooker more than any of my other gadgets. But the timings in the booklet for any veggies are usually way too long and that put me off using it for everyday cooking for a long time. For potatoes I now bring it to pressure and then depressurise it quickly if I am roasting them. If I want them cooked, I depressurise it slowly.

I just love the way stewing steak cooks to melting flavoursome tenderness in 20 minutes. I never got on with slow cookers for casseroles, I always found the meat tasted rank in a really odd way and I never managed to work out what I was doing wrong.

I've just done my Christmas pudding in the pressure cooker. It turns out beautifully every time.

Perfect for gammon joints, 8 minutes per lb then in the oven for 20 minutes and the stock is lovely for soups.

Every chicken carcass gets chucked in with an onion, a bunch of thyme and some garlic, 45 minutes and you get stock you could eat by itself, it's so good

Lemon curd is amazing. You just beat the eggs, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl that fits in the cooker, dot the butter over the top, cover with foil and do it in the pressure cooker for 15 minutes and leave to depressurise slowly, then just stir. It never curdles.

Can you tell I'm a fan of pressure cookers?

richj

maryb wrote: »

I use my pressure cooker more than any of my other gadgets. But the timings in the booklet for any veggies are usually way too long and that put me off using it for everyday cooking for a long time. For potatoes I now bring it to pressure and then depressurise it quickly if I am roasting them. If I want them cooked, I depressurise it slowly.

I just love the way stewing steak cooks to melting flavoursome tenderness in 20 minutes. I never got on with slow cookers for casseroles, I always found the meat tasted rank in a really odd way and I never managed to work out what I was doing wrong.

I've just done my Christmas pudding in the pressure cooker. It turns out beautifully every time.

Perfect for gammon joints, 8 minutes per lb then in the oven for 20 minutes and the stock is lovely for soups.

Every chicken carcass gets chucked in with an onion, a bunch of thyme and some garlic, 45 minutes and you get stock you could eat by itself, it's so good

Lemon curd is amazing. You just beat the eggs, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl that fits in the cooker, dot the butter over the top, cover with foil and do it in the pressure cooker for 15 minutes and leave to depressurise slowly, then just stir. It never curdles.

Can you tell I'm a fan of pressure cookers?

Hi Mary,
do you recommend any pressure cooker books? we've just taken th plunge for similar reasons to you, never really got on wit hthe slow cooker.
cheers
Rich

maryb

Sorry Rich, I'm still using the booklet that came with my original Prestige Hi-dome nearly 40 years ago (though I now have a lovely sleek Kuhn Rikon, Swiss made).

I think there are some very good websites with pressure cooker recipes though they tend to be American so use cup measures, or if you can find it, one of those little Right Way paperbacks has some good basics

I've seen quite a few books in the cookery section of Waterstones but haven't really delved into them

Sorry I can't be more help

culpepper

Regarding the items being stolen at work..
I had my scalpel stolen so often that I got one of those little rotary tools and engraved my name into the scalpel handle and anything else that I could engrave with it, I used to paint little designs on everything that could not just be wiped clean.
For things like staplers etc..maybe buying one in lurid pink and / or customising with paint, knife & glue gun would put the culprit off.
The more people that 'admire the artwork' the more likely that it remains unsnaffled.
I remember a colleague having his sharp scissors stolen and him making do for about 6 weeks before they finally 'turned up'. He always pointed out afterwards that they weren't the same pair ,I think one of the managers bought the new pair because cutting everything with a craft knife was affecting the resulting work

ivyleaf

Great to "see" you vanoonoo !

Thanks for starting off the original thread!

mardatha

Waves to Vanoonoo :beer:

moneyistooshorttomention

culpepper wrote: »

Regarding the items being stolen at work..
I had my scalpel stolen so often that I got one of those little rotary tools and engraved my name into the scalpel handle and anything else that I could engrave with it, I used to paint little designs on everything that could not just be wiped clean.
For things like staplers etc..maybe buying one in lurid pink and / or customising with paint, knife & glue gun would put the culprit off.
The more people that 'admire the artwork' the more likely that it remains unsnaffled.
I remember a colleague having his sharp scissors stolen and him making do for about 6 weeks before they finally 'turned up'. He always pointed out afterwards that they weren't the same pair ,I think one of the managers bought the new pair because cutting everything with a craft knife was affecting the resulting work

Certainly one way to deal with this:).

All my work property was owned by the employer (because I refused to buy anything from own money) and it used to get borrowed sometimes without asking me. When I got fed-up with having to ask (yet again) for some item I knew I already had I then started "personalising" it and could then readily spot it on whichever desk it had "moved" to and would just pick it up and take it back again.

jk0

culpepper wrote: »

I had my scalpel stolen so often that I got one of those little rotary tools and engraved my name into the scalpel handle and anything else that I could engrave with it, I used to paint little designs on everything that could not just be wiped clean.

Just hoping Culpepper isn't a surgeon.