Fixing Facebook

Do you prefer the old facebook feed?  I’ve been brainstorming and this is the solution I’ve come up with to at least help us pretend it’s still the good old days.

#1 Go to your homepage.

#2 Hover over the word “lists” on the left.

#3 Click on “more.”

#4 Click on create a list.

#5 Choose a name for your list.  Mine is “E is for Everyone.” Type it in the box.

#6 Click on “create list.”

#7 Click on “add friends.”

#8 Wait for the profile pics to load and then click on each and every one. A blue box should appear around and a check mark show on each of your selections.

#9 Click on “done.”

VIOLA!  YOU ARE FINISHED!

Now when you log in, click on your list over on the left and it will look (sort of) like your old feed… at least until Facebook changes again.

esscie

Day 7: Poached Chicken Breasts

I made up a big batch of this in the morning and refrigerated it until later in the day when I used part to make chicken salad and saved part to top green salads.

The Steps:
1. Place rack in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Add 1 cup of water. Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in pan.
2. Seal cooker, bring up to pressure, and cook for eighteen minutes.
3. Release pressure, remove lid, and let stand for five minutes.
4. Use as desired.

The verdict:
The chicken comes out perfectly moist and tender.

What I learned:
Save the broth to use in another recipe.

Will I make this again?
I already have, many times.

Update:   Huh… I wrote this post this last weekend, while on vacation, but it saved as a draft instead of going up on the page.  While I’ve neglected the challenge during an insane week, I haven’t neglected it *quite* as much as it appears. I took my pressure cooker on vacation with me… now that’s dedication!

Day 6: {Almost} Perfect Brown Rice

We ate this tonight with baked herb chicken and broccoli.  It made a delicious dinner!

The steps:

1.  Pour 1/2 c of water into the bottom of the pressure cooker.  Add rack.  In a small stainless steel mixing bowl, combine 2 c of brown rice, 4 1/2 c of water, and 1/2 t of salt.  Place bowl in pressure cooker.

2.  Seal cover, bring up to pressure, and cook for 18 minutes.

3.  Release steam, remove cover, and serve.

The verdict:

This rice was almost perfect. 

What I learned:

Mine was slightly dry (at 4 c liquid), so I made an adjustment above.  It was simple to prepare and significantly faster than preparing it conventionally.

Will I try this recipe again:

Of course.

Day 5: Chicken Noodle Soup

I love soup on chilly days!

The Steps:

1. Brown 1 lb. chicken breasts in the bottom of the pressure cooker.  Chop and add 1 small onion, 2 stalks of celery, and a small wedge of cabbage.  Sautee until slightly browned.  Add 1/2 c water and 1 T of sugar.

2. Seal cooker, bring up to pressure, and cook for fifteen minutes.

3.  Release steam from cooker and remove lid.

4.  Add 1 c noodles (I used quinoa pasta), 1 1/2 diced tomatoes, 1/4 t garlic powder, a splash of white wine vinegar or lemon juice, and hot water to cover.

5. Seal cooker, bring up pressure, and cook for five minutes.

6.  Release steam from cooker and remove lid.

7.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Verdict:

This was absolutely delicious!

What I learned:

The carrots… I forgot the carrots!  It was great without them, but some sliced carrots would have been nice.  I’d add them in step 1.

Will I try this recipe again:

You betcha!

Day 4: Chocolate Pudding

This recipe is a throwback to the days when manufacturers promoted “pudding in a cup” as an illustration of how simple and convenient it is to cook in a microwave.  Since I’ve chosen not to own a microwave I decided to adapt the recipe and give it a shot in the pressure cooker.  I used jelly jars since they are designed to withstand high temperatures.

The Steps:

1. Place rack inside pressure cooker.  Pour in 2 c of water and bring it to a boil.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together: 3 c cold milk, 1/4 corn starch/or arrowroot powder/or tapioca starch, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c cocoa powder, and 1 t vanilla extract.

3. Pour into jelly jars, leaving at least 1/2 in. headspace. I had enough for 4.5 jars, so I adjusted a bit to fill them evenly.  Cover jars with aluminum foil or parchment paper tied with twine. Place on rack in pressure cooker. 

4. Seal cooker, bring up to high pressure, and cook for five minutes.

5.  Release steam from the cooker and remove lid.  Carefully lift out jars using canning tongs and place them onto a towel to cool.

6.  Stir pudding, then refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. 

The Verdict:

I substituted almond extract because I was out of vanilla.  I didn’t care for the resulting flavor, but the texture was good.

What I learned:

I believe there are health risks related to aluminum and avoid it whenever possible.  I covered my jars with aluminum foil, then afterward got the brainstorm of how to hold the parchment paper in place.

Will I try this recipe again:

Yes, definitely.  I will make sure I have plenty of vanilla on hand and use the parchment paper option.  I might try stirring in a beaten egg to make it more custard-like.  I think it could benefit from a pinch of salt, too.

Day 3: Double Fail!

The first fail is that “day 3” actually occurred on day 4 (or 5, I’ve lost count). 

The second fail is that this cake

tasted worse than it looks.  I should have clued in when I noticed that the recipe I was adapting called for only one teaspoon of sugar.  Yes, you read that right:  not one cup, not one half-cup, but one teensy little teaspoon.  I suppose if you are a huge fan of unsweetened chocolate right out of the bag then this might be the recipe for you. For the rest of us: not so much. 

The Verdict:

I’ll spare you by not posting the recipe.

What I learned:

It really did “bake” and stayed nice and moist.  That should count for something right? 

Will I try this recipe again:

This question merits an emphatic “NO!”  However, I may just give the technique another shot with a tried and true recipe.

Day 2: Steamed Beets

Well, it’s only day two and I’m already taking shortcuts.  I did cook something in the pressure cooker, but it was the quickest, easiest thing I could come up with.  I wasn’t home for dinner tonight so the chief made waffles, bless him!  Since I didn’t start my project until after 9 pm I opted not to make the chocolate cake that Viho requested.  I steamed some beets from our garden instead. 

The steps:

1. Trim away the beet greens, leaving 2” of stem (this helps keep the nutrients from leeching out).  Wash thoroughly. 

2. Place the beets in the pressure cooker.  Add 1 1/2 cups of water.

3. Seal cooker, bring up to high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes (revise to 20).

4.  Release steam from the cooker and remove lid.  Run beets under cold water, then slip off the skins.

The verdict:

I didn’t even offer this to the kids since I made it so late in the evening.  The beets were still quite firm, so they required additional cooking (see time revision above).  They’re delicious, though, and will make a great school lunch for me!

What I learned:

The color of the beets made up for last night’s blandness.  Yay for color!  Actually, there was so much color that I highly recommend wearing gloves when you handle the cooked beets.  That is, unless you want your hands to be a fancy pink for a few days, in which case you can skip the gloves.

Will I try this recipe again:

Yes, and the kids won’t get off so easily.

Day 1: Beef with Sweet and Sour Cabbage

The steps:

1. Melt 1 T of butter (Use the real stuff, please!) in the bottom of your pressure cooker.

2. Slice and add 1 large onion and one small cabbage, stir around until brown.

3. Add 1 lb. pot roast meat (any cheap cut of beef will do). Brown on all sides.

4. Sprinkle with 2 T of brown sugar and 1 T of rice vinegar.

5. Pour in 1 c of water.

6. Seal cooker, bring up to high pressure, and cook for about 45 minutes.

The verdict:

Five out of six family members* gave this a thumbs up. One liked the beef, but not the cabbage. The sweet and sour flavor was just right, but the color was very bland and the cabbage was overdone.

What I learned:

I would definitely add some color to this dish to make it more attractive. Perhaps substituting red cabbage or tossing in a handful of cranberries would give it more appeal.

The next time I cook with cabbage I will add it about ten minutes before the end to avoid overcooking.

Will I try this recipe again:

Yes.

A Month of Fast Cooking

I’m fond of my cookbook, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow*.  In fact, several of Stephanie O’Dea’s recipes have become family favorites.  How about crockpot tapioca, anyone?  However, the reality is that cooking with a slow cooker requires planning ahead, something I rarely do.  I’m much more of a “wing it at the last minute” kind of gal where dinners are concerned. I’ll bet you didn’t know that about me, considering I’m such a perfectionist and that at least 95% of what I cook or make is from scratch.  I recently added a pressure cooker to my arsenal of cooking gadgets and I LOVE IT! 

Sadly, though, I asked my friends for pressure cooker recipes and heard only, “I love it for pot roasts.”  Surely there is more to pressure cookers than pot roasts!  And so, inspired by Ms. O’Dea, who successfully undertook 365 consecutive days of cooking with her crockpot, but decidedly less ambitious, I hereby present my own challenge:  for the next thirty days I will prepare foods in my pressure cooker, using found, adapted, or invented recipes and will share the results here on The Frustrated Perfectionist.

As with many of my projects, my timing for this challenge is horrible:  in the next week I will be traveling out of state twice in addition to chaperoning an overnight junior high trip.  That means I will have to either get very creative or skip a few days in this challenge, but I’ll do my best and I promise I’ll make it up to you at the end.

*This book is available in major bookstores, but if want to purchase it online, please go through the author’s website so that she’ll receive a few extra pennies for her work.

Coconut-Custard Pie

I baked two of these pies for a church dinner tonight and the plates were licked clean.  This is for my “fancy pants friend.”

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Combine in blender:

4 eggs

6 T butter

1/2 c flour

2 c milk

3/4 sugar

1 t vanilla

Add:

1 c coconut

Blend several seconds.  Pour into a greased and floured 10” pie pan, or two 8” pie pans.  Bake 50-60 minutes.  Pie forms its own crust.