Hello blissful beings! Hope you are enjoying the Cooking Tool of the Month series! Are you burning in anticipation of what the rest of the year may bring? February we don our oven mitts and do some baking with Silicon Bakeware! I heard about these from my friend Chef AJ last year. I was leery to give them a try; are they safe, worth the money, will my muffins really not stick?? I'm an adventurous baker so I thought what the heck! 

First, research suggests that silicon bakeware is totally safe up to 428 degrees F, will not leach any toxins into your food, is an environmental alternative since you do not need to use oil or parchment paper, and is the only non-reactive non-stick cookware available (though I'm curious about these new ceramic pans). Is the jury still out? Do some say silicon is not safe? Yes. So make your own judgment and do what you feel is best, as always. This is the set that I bought because I knew I would use the muffin and loaf pans the most.

I have a love/hate relationship with baking. It's not my forte but healthier baked goods have become a passion of mine. I eschew most sugars, use whole grain flours, and reduce the oil/fat without sacrificing taste or texture. I want to enjoy my desserts, but not have to worry about it adding pounds or putting me in a sugar coma.

Do not be afraid to play around with different flours and sweeteners.

Yes dessert is a "treat", an occasionally thing, so it should be delicious. But I enjoy my treats even more if I know they are not demineralizing my body (from the sugar). And that means I get to eat more without feeling like crap

I must give credit to the woman who sparked my interest in a healthier way of baking. More Great Good Dairy-free Desserts Naturally by Fran Costigan was the first vegan baking cookbook I ever bought. Fran introduced me to using barley flour and mixing granulated sweeteners with liquid sweeteners. She's just brilliant and not called the "Queen of Vegan Desserts" for nothin'! 

I use this method of mixing different flours and sweeteners together in almost all my baking now. It makes it fun and more enjoyable knowing I'm making something that doesn't cause my health suffer. I have an enormous sweet tooth, so if I didn't make healthier baked goods my health would be shot. Believe me. 

Orange Coconut Cornmeal Muffins
Makes 6 

1/2 cup corn meal
1/4 cup barley flour
1/4 cup garbanzo flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon flax meal
1 teaspoon arrowroot
Dash sea salt
1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut (+1 tablespoon extra for topping)
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners or spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside. Whisk together the first eight dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Mix wet into dry until well combined. Spoon batter into muffin liners until almost full. Sprinkle extra coconut on top of each muffin. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted into the muffin.

Do you like playing with different flours or sweeteners? Do you value whole grain flours and more healthful sweeteners or do you not care so much?

Don't forget to try these cookies that are sort of like a Samoa girl scout cookie. Kind of. But you can see the combination of different flours and sweeteners represented here.

And don't forget to click the "Like" button below and share this post with your friends. Sharing is caring

First I showed you this video on how to use your pressure cooker and we checked out Jill Nussinow's new book The New Fast Food. We made a delicious Mediterranean Vegetable Stew with eggplant, red peppers, tomatoes, rosemary, spices and white beans. 

Second, I show you one of my favorites ways to use the pressure cooker: to make bean soups in the winter. Throw in a ton of veggies and you have a one pot meal on your hands! Perfect for taking to work in a thermos on cold days. This recipe for Azuki Bean Soup is a long-time favorite because I love red beans paired with sweet winter squash. 

We learned how to make fast, easy, and the most delectable seitan in the pressure cooker. This happens to be my favorite way to make seitan. 

Lastly I posted my all-time favorite way to use the pressure cooker: to cook beans from scratch. And that's just what I did to make this Sweet and Sour Kidney Soup from Meg Wolff's book A Life in Balance: Delicious, Plant-based Recipes For Optimal Health as part of Cookbook Mania. I must admit I wasn't doing a lot of cooking last week. I think I burnt myself the first week when I cooked out of 10 cookbooks! Cooking out of cookbooks takes more time for me that just whipping up my own food. With the windy weather last week this soup was just calling my name.

A Life in Balance is a macrobiotic vegan cookbook filled with wholesome recipes that are easy for everyone. If you are wanting to eat healthier and get off processed food this book is for you. It is also great for anyone that has a health condition. Meg Wolff has an amazing story of overcoming cancer and you can read more about here on her website.

I discovered an easy way of chopping fresh rosemary that I'm so excited to share with you! I'm sure someone already invented this but I just came up with it when I had this huge bunch of rosemary I couldn't seem to get rid of. I was putting it in everything (remember these amazing cookies?). What you do is hold on to the bottom stem and brush the leaves down against the grain. Then take scissors and chop the leaves. No chopping required! Continue to brush leaves against the grain, rotate and clip. 

I used what veggies I had available with the kidney beans and it was delicious. The combination of the apple butter, mustard, tamari, and lemon juice really gave the soup that sweet and sour flavor in a light, natural way. My dad ate 3 bowls of it! If you don't like kidney beans you could easily switch them out for another or go sans beans and pile in the veggies. Some rice or udon noodles would be a really nice addition. 

Sweet & Sour Kidney Bean Soup
Adapted from A Life in Balance

Makes 4 big bowls

2 cups cooked kidney beans (I made them ahead of time in pressure cooker)
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1/2 onion, cut in half-moons
1 cup sweet potato, cut in 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup cabbage, cut in strips
1 medium carrot, cut on diagonal
1 cup cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons apple butter
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon tamari
Sea salt, to taste

Preparation

Place 2 cups of broth in a large saucepan or stock pot and bring to a simmer. Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook for a few minutes. Add the rest of vegetables, broth and beans and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together apple butter, mustard, lemon and tamari. Stir in to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Season with sea salt if needed. 

Guess what February's Cooking Tool of the Month is? We put on our oven mitts to do some baking with Silicon Pans! They are my new favorite baking tools, which I've talked about before on the blog. Let the experiments in the kitchen begin! 

Share with us your favorite pressure cooker recipes and also your favorite healthy baked goods recipes!

The pressure cooker is a magnificent tool in the kitchen. It saves time, money, energy and space. It is hands-down one of my most prized kitchen gadgets. I often joke in my cooking classes that I love it so much I want to marry it. Or that it will be placed in my casket with me when I die. All jokes aside, the number one reason I purchased a pressure cooker was to be able to make beans from scratch very quickly. There is nothing like fresh cooked beans! The stuff out of a can doesn't even come close to the taste and texture of beans cooked in a pressure cooker. 

You will want to follow your manufacturer's instructions for cooking times, but most beans after soaking 6-8 hours (or using the quick soak method described in Jill Nussinow's book The New Fast Food) take anywhere from 8-12 minutes to cook. What I often do is put them on to soak right before I go to bed and make them in the morning. Or get them soaking before I leave for work (if I had a regular 9-5 type job) and cook them when I get home from work. Easy peasy. (keep in mind some beans and lentils do not have to be soaked)

Beans are SO versatile. You can make a beautiful bean and veggie soup with them. 

Or you can make a bean pate with them. We're not just talking hummus folks. You can puree all kinds of beans with different herbs and spices to make a variety of creamy bean dips. For Cookbook Mania last week I made the White Bean Spread from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. This book was gifted to me and I was excited because I love her blog, 101 Cookbooks. Unfortunately, this cookbook is vegetarian all the way. There is some form of dairy in almost every recipe. I'm just too lazy to have to work around that, so I chose this bean dip. Using fresh beans from my pressure cooker made it pretty good. 

Beans are my preferred plant-protein source. I love them all! I have yet to meet a bean or legume I didn't like. They all have different tastes, textures, and uses. Full of fiber and protein they are my #1 superfood. Are you on the bean train yet? Maybe you have problems digesting beans. Maybe they give you gas and discomfort. If you make beans in the way I am about to describe, those problems will soon be far behind you. No more toot toot for you!

Kombu is a sea vegetable and is essential for aiding in digestion when cooking beans. You can find it at any natural food store and since it is dried will last a long time. You only need a one square inch piece per cup of dried beans. For an in-depth video explaining how to use the pressure cooker and it's features visit this video (and don't forget to subscribe to my channel!). 

Basic Beans
Makes 3 to 5 servings

1 cup dried beans, soaked 6 to 8 hours
1-inch piece kombu
Filtered water to cover beans
Spices of your choice
Sea salt or tamari

Preparation
Combine beans and water to cover in the pressure cooker and heat over medium-high flame. Skim off any foam that forms when beans begin to boil. This is a trick to reduce gas and bloating. Add the kombu to the pot. Wet the gasket of the lid and lock it in place. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking times of different beans.

When beans are done, turn off flame and let the pressure come down. Or, if you are in a hurry, you can run cold water over the cooker inside the sink. Stand back if you do this. Unlock lid and remove kombu. Either drain the liquid, then season and add spices, or, if you want the beans more creamy, keep some of the water, season, and continue to cook over low flame in the cooker for a few minutes.

Blissful Tip
If you are using basic beans in another recipe they probably don’t need any spices added to them. If you plan on having beans as a side dish you can season them depending on what kind of flavor you want or if your meal is a certain ethnicity. Experiment with different spices with different kinds of beans.

What is your favorite way to eat beans? 

Amy emailed to tell me that "We chose to make this switch as a means to help manage my son's ADHD. He is a good little eater and so far loved your mac and cheese and cornbread muffins. My daughter is an extremely picky eater and we were delighted New Year's Day when she ate your muffins." Score!

Another testimonial comes from Allyson of the gluten-free blog Manifest Vegan. Allyson is not only a talented blogger and photographer, she is a busy mom who likes to feed her kids right. Here's what she and her two kids had to say about the tasty grub in Blissful Bites. 

My two kids, Landen (9 years old) and Olive (2 years old), are in love with Blissful Bites. Every recipe I have made from this book the older one has raved about, and the younger one (who is a very picky eater, I must add) always happily gobbles up. Both kids have been vegan pretty much all their lives, so they are no strangers to plant based entrees and desserts; but what they seem particularly drawn to is how many of the recipes are, quoted from Landen, “just like the food everyone else eats”.

One of their new most requested lunches is the “Macro Mac and Cheese”, Landen calls it “The most creamy mac and cheese ever ever.”. I am always happy to comply as it’s not as time consuming or full of unmentionables like many other mac and cheese recipes I make. And, even though my family is not too fond of squash, they are none the wiser that there is even any in there! You rock, Christy! Thanks so much for such a kid friendly book.

They especially love the “Wheat Free Fudgey Chocolate Brownies.” Of them Landen says, “These taste just like a hot fudge sundae, but with the chewiness of a brownie! I like these a lot”.

Olive just says (since she has a limited vocabulary), “Mmm…so good! More chocolate please, mama.”

Mom is: Allyson Kramer is the founder, food photographer, and recipe developer behind the website manifestvegan.com. Her first cookbook Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats hits shelves in the summer of 2012. Allyson has become an authority on vegan and gluten-free recipe development and known for her colorful food photography and simple food styling. She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and adopted animal friends. She holds a BFA in painting and sculpture and is a self taught photographer, writer and cook.

Have you grabbed your copy of Blissful Bites yet? What are some of your favorite cookbooks or websites for kid-friendly grub?

I'm kind of obsessed with making dressings, sauces and desserts with nuts. I think most of us vegan are (who are not allergic to nuts). Cashews get the most use around here because they take on a flavor and texture similar to milk products, making it the perfect substitute in vegan cooking. Last week I made a cashew-based dressing out of Bryan Au's book Raw in 10 Minutes. I'm all about raw food, but I don't want it to take forever, so I like the idea of this book. It was gifted to me by my friend Lindsey and I will probably make more things from it when it gets warm again. But, like many self-published books you will find typos, recipes not in a normal format, and other cookbook faux pas (I think he may have an update addition out). 

Please don't think I took the easy way out by choosing a dressing recipe as part of Cookbook Mania. I'm trying to eat more salads in winter and a rich and creamy dressing helps make that possible! Susan at Fat-free Vegan Kitchen posted an awesome and timely blog about how to get more motivated to eat salad in the winter. Brilliant. In my salad you'll find romaine, cucumber, carrot, cabbage and avocado with my raw nut meat sprinkled all over. A simple salad which was made into something divine with this dressing.  

A couple of weeks ago I asked around to see if the Magic Bullet was worth it and I've been using it to make dressings and sauces. It's nice to use for small amounts of liquid and easy to clean up. Be sure to always soak your nuts though for at least a few hours! This can either be made thick and chunky for a spread or raw tacos, or add water to get a more silky dressing texture. You could add extra-virgin olive oil, which is what Bryan suggests when making this a dressing, but I thought it was fine without it. 

Red Lava Dressing
adapted from Raw in 10 Minutes by Bryan Au

Makes about 1 cup dressing

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 2-4 hours
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1 tablespoon white miso
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1-2 tablespoons sweetener (liquid or granulated is fine)
Filtered water, as needed
Sea salt, to taste

Preparation

Drain cashews and blend with the rest of ingredients until smooth and creamy. Add water to get the consistency you prefer. Season with salt as needed, and adjust sweetness to your preference. 

What are some of your nut-based dressing recipes?

If you are not convinced yet that you need to own a pressure cooker, check out this video on how to make the most delicious seitan ever. When I've made it by boiling it in a pot, I never get the texture I want. Maybe I need to knead it more, maybe I'm just doing it wrong, but when I use this method in the pressure cooker if always comes out nice and dense. 

Seitan is something I rarely eat because of the gluten. I'm not allergic or gluten-sensitive, but I do feel better when I don't eat too much of it. If you don't want a slightly Italian flavored seitan than feel free to change up the spices or just leave them out and season the seitan after it's cooked. (don't forget to use the Like and share buttons at the bottom of the post)

Pressure-Cooked Seitan
Makes about 12-14 ounces

1 1/2 cup wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup barley flour (or other whole grain flour)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon each sage, thyme, and oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
2 dashes sea salt
1 cup vegetable broth (may need more broth)
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tamari

broth:
3 cups water
3 cups broth
1/4 cup tamari

Preparation

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together the rest of ingredients except broth in a small bowl. Add wet to dry and stir until well combined. Dough will start to form. Knead for 5 minutes and form into a log shape about 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches long approximately. Wrap log in cheesecloth and tie ends with twine. Place broth ingredients in the pressure cooker and bring to a boil. Place log inside and lock lid in place. Bring up to pressure, reduce flame to simmer and cook 30 minutes. Let come down from pressure naturally. Remove log and let cook slightly. Remove cheesecloth and slice seitan into rounds then into strips.

Use as you wish. This can be stored in a container with the broth in the fridge. Or cut into chunks and placed in a zip lock bag with a touch of broth. 

What are some of your favorite ways to use seitan? Share a link to one of your favorite recipes that uses seitan with us!

And how to you like the new theme song and intro clip to my video? Thanks to Ken for that intro clip and Audio Jungle for the song. It was really hard to choose!

P.S. I was featured with another vegan (Nora, my friend and Mercy For Animals Dallas head) in an article for the Ft. Worth Star Telegram called the Movers and Shakers of DFW. 

P.S.S. Nanette is used her CSA box to make recipes out of Blissful Bites this week. See what she made!

I can't believe I cooked out of TEN cookbooks last week! Seriously. I haven't been as motivated this week so I'm glad I got a head start on Cookbook Mania. Here are some of the meals I made. 

For dinner one day I made the Orange-Balsamic Glazed Tempeh from This Crazy Vegan Life by one of my favorite cookbook authors and nutrition gurus Christina Pirello. I used cilantro instead of parsley and basil. It was delish and only took 10 minutes to make (that's my kind of dish)! I served it with kale and the Sweet and Sour Carrot Salad from May Kaidee's Thai Vegan Cookbook. Another quick dish made from grated carrots, tomatoes, tofu, cashews, and a dressing of lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and dried coconut, topped with sesame seeds. These are both recipes I would make again because they are super quick and tasty. I'm all about the 20 minute meals! You will notice that this meal does not contain a grain. Normally I would have had some brown rice or quinoa on my plate, but I'm experimenting with eating less carbs right now. More at that later.       

My love affair with vegetables continued for dinner the following night. I used my pressure cooker to make the Pressure-Cooked Brown Rice and Hato Mugi out of The Enlightened Kitchen. If you've never had hato mugi it's one of my favorite grains. It's a type of barley, which can be find at all Asian stores. You.must.try.this.grain. I served it with the 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma from Appetite For Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (click on the book on left to purchase). A must have cookbook with low-fat recipes that anyone can make easily. I'm looking forward to making more recipes from this book and since I'm ahead of the game on my cookbook project I think I will make time for that!

I pretty much had everything I needed for this recipe on hand (which may be why I chose to do this recipe for Cookbook Mania). I never measure my veggies (or much for that matter) so my estimates are rough here. Feel free to up the spices and liquidness to your preference. 

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma
Adapted from Appetite For Reduction & posted with permission

1/2 cup veggie broth
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon each garam masala and cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
Dash salt
~2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
~1 cup carrot, cut on diagonal
~1 cup zucchini, cut on diagonal
1 cup broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon liquid sweetener
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (save some for garnish)
Salt, to taste

Preparation

In a deep skillet or stock pot heat up the broth and saute onion with ginger and spices for a few minutes. Cover and stir occasionally. Add veggies, broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until veggies are just tender, about 7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Mix in sweetener and cilantro, then season to taste. 

Cooking Tool of the Month – Pressure Cooker

Azuki Bean Soup is a very traditional macrobiotic recipe. You can find a version of this soup in almost every macrobiotic book. It happens to be one of my favorites, which is why I chose it for today's pressure cooker recipe. It comes from Cooking For Health: Stress & Hypertension, a series of books by Aveline Kushi. This is an old school macrobiotic book I bought when I was in culinary school (it was on sale at Half Price for $2). It contains the theory of macrobiotics, some really great drawings of knife techniques and traditional macrobiotic recipes. I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone (there are better macro books out there), but I had to make a recipe out of it for Cookbook Mania!  

Last week I showed you how to use your pressure cooker and a delicious stew recipe. You can check out that video here. Surprisingly there wasn't many comments on that post, which must mean I haven't convinced you how badly you need a pressure cooker (yet). So my quest continues! Wait till you see how to make delicious seitan this week! The pressure cooker makes awesome bean soups. And since it's winter I'm all about the soup. 

Azuki beans are little red beans popular in Japan and China. It's often used in pastries, desserts, and ice cream. You may think that is weird, but once you have an anpan (pronounced onpon) you'll understand why these beans make the most delicious pastry filling. There was a restaurant in LA that carried vegan versions of these red bean donuts, which was where my love affair began.    

Here's the recipe from Aveline's book with my changes. I added kabocha squash because it just tastes better that way. I didn't have fresh ginger but would have preferred it. I used dried ginger instead. Mine was more like a stew than a soup, so feel free to add more water when you season at the end if you want it more soup-like. I leave it up to you how beany you want your soup. The kombu is a must have ingredient in your pantry when cooking dried beans. It helps aid in digestion and also adds flavor to the soup. 

I served mine with sliced avocado and cilantro, which is a non-traditional way to eat a Japanese soup, but it was really good that way! If you visit Heather at Healthy Vegan Recipes she shares a video on my version of this soup found in Blissful Bites.    

Azuki Bean Soup
Makes 2 to 3 hearty bowls

2 inch piece kombu
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 cup kabocha squash, cubed
1 teaspoon ground ginger (1/2 teaspoon fresh, grated)
1/2-1 cup dried azuki beans, washed and drained
Filtered water
Tamari, to taste
Sliced avocado, for garnish
Cilantro, for garnish

Layer the kombu, onion, carrot, then kabocha in the pressure cooker. Sprinkle beans on top with ginger and add in water to just cover vegetables (about 2-3 cups). Lock lid and bring to pressure over medium high flame. When pressure is reached lower flame and simmer for 25 minutes. Let it come down from pressure naturally then remove lid. Season with tamari (I start with 1 tablespoon) and simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately garnished with avocado and cilantro.

Have you tried azuki beans before? What soups have you been making lately?

Since I'm behind a week on Cookbook Mania (I don't know what else to call it really, so we'll go with this unless you can think of a better title), I've been cooking up a storm this week. I made it through 8 cookbooks and the week isn't even over. I was stuck at home with what I thought was pink eye (seems to be better now), so I took advantage of that time at home and cooked my butt off. Dad and I are eating well this week! 

I cooked the Couscous with Tofu and Vegetable Salad from Modern Day Macrobiotics and served it with blanched kale and Roasted Root Vegetables with Roasted Garlic-Lime Dipping Sauce from Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry (click the image to the left to see more details about the book and see below for the recipe). When I'm cooking at night the light is horrible in my kitchen, so I apologize in advance for the lighting in any future blog posts. This recipe was delish! At first I was a little scared that the sauce was not going to mesh well with the roasted veggies, but it grew on me so much I poured it over my greens too. 

For breakfast the following day I made the Chai Spelt Pancakes from Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson. I love me some greasy diner food every once in a while but rarely cook that kind of food at home (Spiral Diner takes care of those needs for me). I love pancakes and I love chai tea, so this recipe called out to me (and it's one of the healthiest ones in the book). Julie let me share the recipe with you all and it's over on my HappyCow blog post today! Go get it, this pancakes are yum! This book is full of your diner favorites, not all of them are greasy but all the recipes look delicious (click the image to order this book)!

For lunch I went with a comforting Azuki Bean Soup from Cooking For Health series by Aveline Kushi. This is one of my old school macrobiotic books from when I was in culinary school. I will talk about that next week and share the recipe with you!

Then I made some cookies that were suppose to be more like a graham cracker from Love, Eric by Eric Lechassuer, Graham Rosemary Squares. I'm trying to follow the recipes as stated for this project because I have a tendency to change a recipe completely and do my own thing. When I started the recipe, I kept looking at the photo in the book and looking at the instructions. I knew there had to be something missing here. The first thing to do was to whisk together the dry ingredients, which included sliced almonds, rolled oats and pastry flour. The photo showed a flat cracker with no chunks. But the almonds and rolled oats are very chunky.

I continued on through the recipe and realized without a doubt when I mixed the wet into dry ingredients, that something was amiss. The dry ingredients actually needed to be blended in a food processor first into more of a pastry flour. That was missing from the instructions. So, I just made them into cookies with all the chunks and they were delicious! I had no idea how very delicious rosemary would be inside a cookie. Bliss!

Bryant was sweet enough to let me share his recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen with you. I love me some roasted root veggies. It's one of my go to recipes in the winter. Dad was the one that actually chose this recipe. Good call Dad! But before I share the recipe I must tell you how EXCITED I am about Bryant's new book The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus. It is hands-down one of the most beautiful books and the recipes are right up my alley. A proper review will come at a later date, but just take a "Look Inside" on Amazon to get a wonderful feeling looking over this creative new cookbook. 

Roasted Root Vegetables with Roasted Garlic-Lime Dipping Sauce
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1/2 pound of each, carrot, celery root, rutabaga, sweet potato, turnip, all peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Roasted Garlic-Lime Dipping Sauce
One head of garlic roasted
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced cilantro (I doubled this)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables and toss with olive oil and salt. Transfer veggies to a large roasting pan and roast for 1 hour, tossing every 15 minutes for even cooking. Transfer veggies to a large bowl and toss with 1/2 the dipping sauce. 

For the dipping sauce (make ahead of time): Roast garlic by chopping off small portion of the top of head, exposing cloves but leaving it intact. Place in foil, drizzle olive oil on top, wrap in foil and roast in 325 degrees F oven for 1 hour. Squeeze out all the cloves and blend with the rest of sauce ingredients until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

What cookbooks have you cooked out of this week? Share with us some of your favorite meals or new culinary adventures!

Today I will show you how to use a pressure cooker and a delicious recipe from Jill Nussinow's new book, The New Fast Food. Watch the video for the low down (and please ignore my father's horrid green kitchen).

My favorite brand of pressure cooker is Fagor. I would love it if you bought it on Amazon using the search function in the left sidebar on my homepage. That will contribute a few cents to running this blog feature and to my east coast book tour in March. People always ask me should I get the small 6 quart one or a larger one? I say go for the 8 quart one. It still works for a small amount like 1 cup of rice, but works great for batch cooking. Might as well make a big pot of brown rice to use for different things throughout the week (i.e. sushi, rice salad, morning porridge, rice/bean burgers, rice pudding). Or make a big batch of beans and freeze them so you always have fresh cooked beans available.

Jill's book, The New Fast Food, is a combination of very easy recipes or some more gourmet. It has extensive charts showing the cooking times for every grain and bean imaginable and makes cooking with a pressure cooker a snap.

The modern pressure cookers of today are full-proof and not scary like the one's our grandmothers had! So don't be skerrrd! If you have a busy life or you just don't like spending hours in the kitchen, the pressure cooker is your new best friend! Enjoy this recipe and get your copy today!

Mediterranean Vegetable Stew with Olives 
Makes 6 servings

6 minutes high pressure; natural release;
3 minutes high pressure; natural pressure release

2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1/2 cup vegetable broth)
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (I used anise seeds)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (didn't use)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup dry cannellini or other white beans, presoaked or quick soaked
1/4 cup dry white or red wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1 eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 31/2 cups)
1 (28- ounce) can crushed tomatoes or 3 cups peeled, seeded and diced fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped Kalamata or green salty olives (I left the olives out)
Zest of 1/2 lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker over medium heat. Add onions, and sauté until just transparent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, bell pepper, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper and rosemary and sauté another minute. Add the beans, wine and broth and lock the lid on the cooker. Turn the heat to high and bring to high pressure over high heat. Lower the heat to maintain high pressure for 6 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you. Add eggplant, tomatoes and olives. Do NOT stir. Bring the cooker back to high pressure for another 2 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. Remove the lid and add the lemon zest and salt, if using. Stir in the parsley.

Printed with permission from Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, The New Fast Food™

So are you convinced yet? Are you going to run out and buy a pressure cooker? Or do you have one already and you are in love with it just like us?