Monday, November 23, 2009

stuff going slow

Yesterday we went on a day trip to visit some friends in Romsey. It's great going there, so close but far enough out of town that you feel like you're in the bush. And you can smell the paddocks and mountains, not cars and traffic. You can even hear any cars and traffic. It rained the whole way there, which was pure joy.

These friends are chefs, and a visit there always involves a lovely eating experience. For those of you who are not chefs, this does not mean we get a multi course degustation, matched to wine. In my experience when chefs cook for chefs, the smart ones go simple, fresh and use the best. It's the best way to cook anyway and leaves you plenty of time to chat and gossip. We had braised chicken and rice followed by a tomato and cucumber salad with some amazing, creamy feta that turned this simple dish into a luxurious lunch finale.

Well, lunch was being prepared when we got there and from a cupboard appeared something I haven't seen in ages- a pressure cooker. Saucepan style, handles that clip together and a little steam whistler on top. My children and I perched at the end of the kitchen bench watching that contraption whistle like a train, mesmerised. Lest it be said that our braised chicken was ready within the hour, tender and bone meltingly sweet and soft.

I decided right then that I have been stupid all this time, and I'm gettin' me a pressure cooker. Stuff your slow braised, 8 hour, overnight anything. The environmental impact of running the oven on 70 degrees for 12 hours for your pork belly or even just running the electric slow cooker overnight ..well, it flies in the face of current energy consumption directives.

That aside, the major factor influencing my home cooking currently is time. Most days I have less than 20 minutes to get a meal on the table and I rarely have the energy to get organised the night before. If I eat pasta more than once a fortnight I go spare, it's never enough of a meal for me, I actually get why Italians have it as an entree. A baby in the house means stir fry is off the menu for a while (regardless of what the baby books say about finger foods, crunchy veg and the joys of mopping noodles off the floor, I'm not doing it.)

But with a miraculous pressure cooker, I can have my usual go-to dishes, faster. Braised chicken and lentils, lamb and potatoes, even bean soups are go. And when I've run out of ideas, I'll just cruise the cookbook section of the op shop. Once I've picked through the microwave cooking and the 'Taste for Life' anthologies, I can see some gems being unearthed there. Can I do creamed rice in it? Wouldn't that take like, 4 minutes? Imagine how fast I could get a bolognese out of there, for sure. Gosh, I could throw together the meat sauce at the same time as the bechamel and have lasagne ready in an hour. That could save my marriage.

Hold me back, I'm off shopping....

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