{"id":4237,"date":"2013-04-16T15:22:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T21:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2013-04-16T15:46:24","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T21:46:24","slug":"running-down-pressure-cookers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/04\/running-down-pressure-cookers\/","title":{"rendered":"Running Down Pressure Cookers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve used pressure cookers for 25 years. My current beauty is this “Fagor Splendid<\/a>” 4-quart model. We eat delectables from it two or three times a week.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram<\/a>
How pressure cooker cooks under pressure. Shown is a Fagor Splendid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My pressure cooker is unlicensed, and it’s gonna stay that way. The gummit better keep its cotton-pickin’ hands off it and out of my kitchen.<\/p>\n

How did I get started in this? There was a cooking demonstration at a Dillard’s in the Little Rock area in about 1989. The teacher was cookbook author Lorna Sass<\/a>. No fool, I left for Wal-Mart and bought a cheap one there (she told us what safety features to watch for). And then to B.Dalton for Sass’ now-classic book on the device Cooking Under Pressure<\/em> (since then I’ve bought her\u00a0Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen<\/em> and most recently Pressure Perfect).<\/em><\/p>\n

There were no background checks or registration in the 1980s or recently on pressure cookers. That Mirro lasted through the last decade. I bought this sleek European model in late 2011 — on the Internet. Fagor is based in Spain, incidentally.<\/p>\n

Those were innocent times.<\/p>\n

Pressure cookers have gotten bad press from the beginning, but their energy efficiency kept them popular in many countries. In recent decades, though, essentially all of them have multiple steam escape valves and locking devices to prevent accidents.<\/p>\n

Sadly, following the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon attack, we learn they can be a component in homemade bombs, or as they’re now called, IEDs, improvised explosive devices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pressure cooker is a mainstay for quickly cooking barley, rice, beans, stews, soups. It works great on meat and poultry, but as a vegetarian since summer 1990 (and in recent weeks moved all the way to being a vegan) I’ve found it superb for whole grains, including steel-cut oats, and preparing legumes without<\/em> soaking them, allowing for less meal-planning for a change.<\/p>\n

The stovetop pressure cooker suits me far better than an electric slow cooker (Crock Pot). The purpose is largely the same, oddly: To minimize the time getting dinner on the table after work.<\/p>\n

It’s our right as Americans:<\/p>\n

Healthy wholesome foods guarantee us a strong Constitution.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Copyright 2013 Ben S. Pollock<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve used pressure cookers for 25 years. My current beauty is this “Fagor Splendid” 4-quart model. We eat delectables from it two or three times a week. My pressure cooker is unlicensed, and it’s gonna stay that way. The gummit better keep its cotton-pickin’ hands off it and out of my kitchen. How did I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5996,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2018\/03\/vegan-queso\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":0},"title":"Vegan Queso Tastes Right, Feels Good","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Behold, a dairy-free cheese recipe you might want to make often. Tastes authentic without making you feel bloated from dairy. Finally. It's a spicy queso, with the main ingredient cauliflower, emulsified with cashew butter or just cashews. Like most contemporary recipes my source calls for fresh. If you're cooking the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condiments"","block_context":{"text":"Condiments","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/condiments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diagram of a Fagor Splendid pressure cooker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/pressure-cooker-diagram1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4677,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/12\/hoppin-ben\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":1},"title":"Forget John, It’s Time for Hoppin’ Ben","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a vegan version of Hoppin\u2019 John, the black-eyed pea dip\/salad\/soup said to bring good luck when eaten on New Year\u2019s Day. (A mess of greens and cornbread (Southern non-sweet recipe) complete the traditional charm). Photo by Christy Pollock Like split peas and lentils, black-eyes do not have to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holiday Cuisine"","block_context":{"text":"Holiday Cuisine","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/holiday-cuisine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hoppin' Ben 2014","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2675,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2011\/02\/moms-chili-if-she-was-vegan\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":2},"title":"Mom’s Chili, If She Was Vegan","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is Mom's Spaghetti Sauce, circa 1970s (my sister kept the index card): Brown 1 pound ground beef, drain. Add 1 Tablespoon salt, half an onion chopped, half a stick of butter, 1 (large) can tomatoes cut up, and 1 large can (2 small cans) tomato paste. Cook covered in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main Courses"","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2005\/07\/a-block-is-not-a-brick\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":3},"title":"A block is not a brick","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"July 13, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock Wednesday, July 13, 2005. So what I do is just admit my fear. Look at this gap in time: days since the last Brick, feels like a month. Why? A lack of topics as well as a lack of opinions? No. It was the feeling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Difficulties"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Difficulties","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/briefs\/technical-difficulties\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":140,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2005\/05\/koran-in-a-barrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":4},"title":"Koran in a barrel","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"May 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock Sunday, May 22, 2005. So ... if the International Red Cross says some Americans in some way desecrated the Koran in front of Iraqis, Afghans or other Muslims (with comparable incidents already reported months ago as part of the Abu Ghraib initial and follow-up reports\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1423,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/07\/parting-shots\/","url_meta":{"origin":4237,"position":5},"title":"Parting Shots","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"July 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"VENTURA, Calif. -- Following are reflections that don't fit in the reportage articles from the weekend's annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. A proud moment came in helping select the year's scholarship contest winner. Paul Bowers of the University of South Carolina -- the other USC, was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Few Bullets More"","block_context":{"text":"Few Bullets More","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/nsnc\/ventura-2009\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4237"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4254,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions\/4254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}