Top 5 Reasons to Use a Pressure Cooker + Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe (vegan/gluten-free)

If you’re anything like I used to be, you equate pressure cookers with the 1950’s and a fear of getting hit in the face with scalding steam and a hot lid. I hear it all the time; “I have a pressure cooker, but I’m scared to death to use it.” Fear not, my friends! Nowadays pressure cookers have been built with safety features to assure ease of use without scalding, or sky-rocketing lids. There is definitely a learning curve as it’s a different way of cooking, but once you experiment and get a feel for it, you’ll wonder how you ever went without!

Electric pressure cooker

Stove-top pressure cooker

For those who don’t know, pressure cooking is a method which uses water to create steam that does not escape the vessel while the food is being cooked. A fraction of the water is used compared to other methods. Since there is less water to heat, it takes less time for the water/food to reach cooking temperature. As well, due to the intense pressure and heat, items cook faster than simply steaming, boiling or braising. And they are easy to use – put your food in the pan, lock the lid in place, turn on the heat, wait until it comes up to pressure, turn down heat and wait. The units are available in electric and stove top versions, and while some steps differ slightly between the two, the concept is the same. Some dishes such, as green veggies, require you to let the steam out manually, which simply means pressing the valve and allowing steam to flow. Others, like beans and grains, call for natural pressure release, which means you don’t do anything but wait until all the steam has slowly escaped on it’s own. If you aren’t yet sold on the beauty of a pressure cooker, let me share some other benefits with you:

TOP 5 REASONS TO USE A PRESSURE COOKER:

Time savings – “I don’t have time” is the most common reason I hear for why people don’t prepare more of their own meals at home. Well, a pressure cooker can help! Example: brown rice would normally take about 40-45 minutes when boiled. Using a pressure cooker it will cook in half the time. Garbanzo beans take 14 minutes of cook time (not excluding the time it takes to come up to pressure, and release naturally).
Nutrient retention – Since the food is exposed to heat for a shorter period of time, fewer nutrients are lost in cooking. As well, vitamins and minerals are not whisked away by water since there is so much less of it.
Energy savings – Thanks to shorter cooking times, the fire and/or electricity are used less.
No stirring required – If you’ve ever made risotto you know what a drag it can be, stirring and stirring and stirring. You can make arborio rice risotto in the pressure cooker, at 5 minutes high pressure, without having ever lifted a spoon. How cool is that?
Less water – water is a precious resource that is not as abundant as it once was, especially here in Southern California. The less water we can use in every aspect of life, the better.

Some typical dishes for which I use my pressure cooker:

Steel cut oats
Oatmeal
Beans, chilis and stews
Whole grains such as rice and quinoa
Sweet and white potatoes
Kale and other greens

So basically, pressure cookers are awesome. They can be used for anything you’d boil, steam or braise. The tricky part is converting a recipe and figuring out how much liquid to use. It just takes some experimenting. In the meantime I wanted to share this yummy recipe with you for Butternut Squash Risotto using brown rice. Easy and so delicious, without the constant stirring typical risotto calls for. Also, a wonderful cookbook for pressure cooking is The New Fast Food by Jill Nussinow. Invaluable, really. Have fun cooking under pressure, and I hope you enjoy this dish!

Family Favorite Pasta || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

This dish is one I make for the family at least twice a month – they love it (hence the name). The creamy red sauce is yummy without being overly fattening, and I love all the chunky mushrooms and lots of fresh basil. Hope your family likes it as much as mine!

Strawberry-Chia Pancakes || gluten-free | vegan | oil-free

Farmer’s market had incredible organic strawberries, and it’s Sunday. Seems obvious to me that pancakes should be created and consumed. And so it was.

Sunflower Banana Muffins || gluten-free + oil-free + vegan + no sugar added

These muffins are an excellent way to use those overly ripe bananas sitting on your counter. The flavor of banana and sunflower seed butter is a delightful combination. The texture is dense and very similar to banana bread (yum!). In addition to being tasty and satisfying, they are also healthy, void of gluten, dairy, eggs, oil or sugar. What’s left, you ask? Healthy and delicious whole foods, including dates as a sweetener, which are chock full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Fudgy Brownies || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

These delicious morsels are a cross between fudge and a brownie, hence the name Fudgy Brownies. They are so rich and sinful tasting, it’s amazing they are low-fat, contain very little flour, no refined sugar, and BLACK BEANS. That’s right, black beans. A whole can. I know it’s weird, just work with me. And be sure not to tell anybody until AFTER they tell you how awesome the brownies taste. 🙂

Hearty Lentil Soup

I love this hearty soup! Easy to make, and so satisfying. Give it a try!!

Pumpkin-Nog Pie | vegan, oil-free, gluten-free

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I’m sorry for not getting this recipe up before then, but hopefully some of you are looking for just the right vegan pumpkin pie recipe for the Christmas holiday. I’ve been “scolded” by readers in the past for not having a pumpkin pie recipe on my blog. Oops. I’ve been making vegan pumpkin pies for years but have never been 100% satisfied with them. Flavor is always yummy – pretty hard to screw that up, but the texture is where I felt improvement could be made and until I made it, I didn’t want to share a recipe. Vegan pumpkin pies, or those not using sweetened condensed milk, often come out too soft for my liking. I like a firm pumpkin pie and this pie fits the bill. In fact, it’s so firm that you don’t need crust at all! You can bake it directly in a pie plate! So, if you like a gooey, mushy pumpkin pie, don’t make this one! I also ADORE non-dairy, eggless eggnog (i.e. soy nog), and have combined the yummy pumpkin with it in this pie.

For Thanksgiving this year, I created a gingerbread crust for this pie at the request of my daughter. The crust was yummy, however, combined with this already spiced pie, it was a bit overpowering. My suggestion for this pie filling is to use it with a mild flavored crust. You can buy a pre-made plain wheat crust, or make your own, of course. I really despise working with dough – makes me anxious – which is partly why I was happy to create a crust made from oats, dates, walnuts, etc. Fatfreevegan.com has a yummy Oatmeal Cookie Crust that would work well too.

Also, if you don’t like eggnog, feel free to substitute any other type of nondairy milk.

Delectable Mushroom Soup | vegan, oil-free, gluten-free

Delectable was the word used by my sister to describe her feelings on this soup, so I figured I’d call it just that – Delectable Mushroom Soup. Much more fun than plain old Mushroom Soup. And honestly people, not to toot my own horn or anything but it really is delectable. I got lucky with this one, for sure. I had a ton of cremini and chanterelle mushrooms (thanks to Costco) and realized I’d never made a creamy mushroom soup before, and it sounded really good to me. I was hopeful the recipe would work out so I made copious notes as I went along. So glad I did. The best part? It’s EASY to make!

This soup is rich and creamy but not overly fattening. I used only 1/3 cup raw cashews which adds fat of course, but not too much. The items I used for garnish are optional and do add a small amount of fat. I grated a very small amount of Miyoko’s killer Smoked Farmhouse “cheese”, and a few drops of truffle oil on top of the fresh chives. Deliciously delectable. 🙂

Gooey Pumpkin-Oat Bars | vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, flour-free, low-sugar

I’ve said it many times – I. Love. Pumpkin. All things pumpkin, whether it be savory or sweet. I especially love the spices that are associated with pumpkin flavor – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice, etc. These delicious bars have them all. The bars are substantial and very moist (hence the name Gooey Pumpkin Bars). I only used rolled oats so no need for flour here. The only sugar in the batter is 1/3 cup and I used Sucanat which is minimally processed. The chocolate chips add sugar, of course, and are optional (but, um, why would you leave them out?). Seriously, you may opt to leave them out if you plan on eating these for breakfast, or leave them in for more of a dessert item. For gluten-free bars be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Mesquite-Lime Hummus

Honestly, I don’t know anybody who doesn’t l like hummus. I’m sure they exist but I’ve never met them. Such a simple thing – chickpeas and a handful of ingredients, whirled through a blender. And so many ways to eat it: with raw veggies, crackers, chips, on a sandwich or wrap, thinned out as gravy to top greens or grains…so many possibilities. There are also many flavors of hummus, and this one is really delicious. I love anything with a smoky flavor and the smoked paprika does a great job here, but the lime really makes this hummus come to life. I used about 2.5 TBS of lime juice and it’s pretty limey….use more or less depending on your tastes. Same with the cayenne. 1/8 tsp is quite mild. Now go make some hummus. 🙂