Vegetables - Pressure Cooker

I cook a large batch of vegetables at least three times per week. The cooking liquid from this dish turns into a flavorful broth which is delicious served on top of potatoes or rice.

The recipe can vary according to which vegetables are on sale at the market. I fill my 8-quart pressure cooker 2/3 full of veggies, add water and cook under pressure for zero minutes. Then I cool the veggies off as quickly as possible.

1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 medium onion chopped, about 1 cup
2 Tablespoons water

1 1/4 cup water
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (no-salt added), undrained  or two to three fresh tomatoes, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano

zucchini squash cut in half lengthwise, then cut in 1/2" slices (about 3 pounds)
broccoli or cauliflower cut into large florets, stems cut into 1/2" slices (about 1 pound)
cabbage, cut into 1" x 2" chunks (about 1/2 pound)
green beans, cut into 2" lengths (about 1/2 pound)
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced

1 cup frozen peas or corn

Before beginning to cook, gather and prepare all of the ingredients.  Place the mushrooms, onion and 2 Tablespoons water in the pressure cooker. Fill a large bowl with cut veggies such as zucchini, broccoli and cabbage. Set the sliced carrot and celery on top. In a small saucer, place the fresh garlic, garlic powder, onion power and oregano. Measure the 1 1/4 cup water and get the tomatoes ready.

Saute' the mushrooms and onion in 2 Tablespoons water until onion begins to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 1/4 cup water and the tomatoes. Turn off heat. Stir in garlic, garlic power, onion powder and oregano. Pour the large bowl of cut up vegetables into the pressure cooker. Cover and bring to pressure for zero minutes. Stand by so you can quickly release the pressure as soon as pressure is reached. (On my Instant Pot I select "low pressure" and the "less" heat setting.)

For the frozen peas or corn, I like to wait and add them after pressure cooking the rest of the vegetables. Place the frozen peas or corn in the bottom of a large bowl or food storage container. Set a colander over the bowl. As soon as the lid can safely be removed from the pressure cooker, pour the cooked vegetables and liquid out of the pressure cooker pot, into the colander over the bowl. The hot cooking liquid will thaw the peas or corn in a few minutes. When the veggies are cool enough to refrigerate, combine in the food storage container with the cooking liquid. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.                                                                     

Potatoes - Pressure Cooker

We eat potatoes everyday because they are inexpensive, versatile and satisfying. I cook a big batch of potatoes about three times per week. Some days we eat potatoes with soup or stew on top, other times with mustard or salsa, or even plain. They are also good diced and added to salad. This is how I pressure cook potatoes:

Place a rack or steamer basket into the pressure cooker. Pour in 1 1/4 cups of water. Arrange 9 to 12 medium-sized washed potatoes in the basket. Make sure not fill the pot more than 2/3 full of potatoes. Cook under pressure for 15 minutes. Small potatoes only need about 12 minutes. I use the "high pressure" and "normal" settings on my 8 quart Instant Pot. Allow natural release. The skin of the potatoes often cracks during cooking and that is okay.

Using tongs, transfer the hot potatoes from the pot to cooling racks. When the potatoes have cooled enough to go in the refrigerator, place them in a food storage container. Keep in refrigerator up to five days.

Sometimes I cook a sweet potato or two on top of the white ones. If the sweet potatoes are extra large, I'll cut them in half before cooking.

Potatoes - done cooking

Potatoes - cooling

Potatoes - ready for the fridge

These days I prefer pressure cooking potatoes to baking for several reasons. Pressure cooking is easier because the potatoes don't need to be pricked all over with a fork prior to cooking. Pressure cooking time is less and it doesn't heat up the kitchen as much as baking. Clean-up is faster. And finally, pressure cooking might be healthier than baking, since less acrylamide will form during wet rather than dry cooking methods.

Easy Oven-Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are one of the easiest, cheapest, and most satisfying foods to have on hand for quick meals or snacks.

Bake white, gold or red potatoes, as many as will fit on a baking sheet.

9 large potatoes before baking

Scrub the potatoes.

Prick each potato several times with a fork.

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet.

Bake at approx. 425f for 60 to 90 minutes. Use a timer.

Allow the potatoes to cool. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

Pricking the potatoes before baking ensures that they will not burst and make a mess inside the oven. I usually stick each potato a dozen times with a fork before baking.

Half way through the baking time, turn the potatoes over. If they are beginning to get dark on the bottoms, turn the temperature down 25 degrees. When the time is up, test for doneness by sticking a fork into the side of a potato. The fork should go in easily.

Ovens and potatoes vary so it will take a little experimenting to find the perfect temperature and time to bake your potatoes perfectly without burning them. Small potatoes bake faster than bigger ones.

To bake sweet potatoes, first line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Some syrup oozes out of sweet potatoes while baking and the parchment will make clean-up easier for you.

Baked potatoes only take a minute to reheat in a microwave.

Enjoy potatoes plain or topped with sauces, soups or stews. Cut them up and add to sandwiches, burritos or bowls of vegetables and beans.

baked potato with black-eyed peas

Vegetable Stock

Many plant-based soup and stew recipes call for vegetable stock. Stock is also a flavorful substitute for water in many vegetable, bean and rice dishes. And, stock can be used instead of oil when sauteing vegetables. Ready-made vegetable stock from the grocery store is convenient but may have too much oil and sodium for regular use. Luckily, it's easy to get in the habit of making your own vegetable stock.

Label a gallon size freezer bag with "vegetable stock" and put the bag in an easy to access place in the freezer. When chopping veggies for other recipes, put some of the trimmings in the freezer bag for stock. Also during the week, save in the freezer bag the fresh vegetables that you might not be able to use in time, cutting them up into chunks first. When making stock, choose suitable vegetable pieces from the freezer bag to go into the pot along with fresh onion, celery and carrots.

Ingredients

8 cups water
1 large onion (about 1 pound) quartered including skins for darker stock
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 to 4 stalks celery cut into chunks
2 to 3 carrots, cut into chunks
1/3 parsnip, diced (freeze remaining diced parsnip  for future stock)
1/3 turnip, peeled and diced (freeze rest of diced turnip for future stock)
2 bay leaves
1 to 3 stalks fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme and/or oregano
Up to 8 cups other assorted vegetable pieces from freezer*

*Keep a plastic bag in the freezer to store vegetable scraps and pieces for stock:

asparagus stems, leek leaves, mushroom stems

garlic, onions, potatoes including skins for darker stock

celery, fennel, corn, zucchini, winter squash

carrots, parsnips, turnips (remove bitter turnip peels before freezing)

peeled apples, pears or yams for sweeter stock

tomatoes or lemon slice for a slightly acidic flavor

bell pepper stems, veins and seeds (small amounts)

Do not use for stock: cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, eggplant and leafy greens.

Instructions

Boil the water in a large pot, add all ingredients.  Lower heat and simmer partially covered, until vegetables are very soft, about 1 to 2 hours.

Pressure cooker instructions:  Boil water, add vegetables and seasonings, cover and bring to high pressure. Lower heat and cook under pressure for 10 minutes.  Allow steam to release naturally or a do quick release.

Pour stock liquid through a strainer or colander into a large bowl or pan.  When the stock has cooled, pour into storage jars or containers. Keep in refrigerator up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

* * *

Note:  Use water that has been filtered to remove chlorine or make sure to boil the water first before adding vegetables.

A good time to make stock is right before cooking a soup or other recipe which calls for a lot of stock.  That way the stock is already hot, conserving the energy that would have been needed to refrigerate and then reheat the liquid.

The cooked veggies from the stock can be added to the compost pile.