The joys of food procesing and pressure cookers

Living in Bazil I have learned to make pretty much everything from scratch. Sometimes this was done in moments of boredom, but mainly out of sheer necessity. Heathly packaged foods such as my favorite organic frozen burritos or pastas just don't exist here. Want to buy salsa?- forget it. "Mexican" food is all but impossible to find here. If I can find a can of refried beans in a specialty import section, my day is made.

It's for these reasons that I was forced to expand my daily use of kitchen tools and appliances. Among my favorites these days are my food processor (not sure how I ever did without it) and my pressure cooker (just recently learned how to use this). Both are super-handy and seriously cut down on food prep time. If you haven't used yours recently or if you don't own one or either, perhaps it's time you gave it a try. Both can be purchased inexpensively, although I recenly broke down and upgraded to a Kitchen Aid processor- wow! Or, you could borrow one from a friend to see if it's something you might enjoy using. All I can say is I'm hooked!

Please forgive the tardiness of this post. There were major things going down in the Tavel household yesterday, but I won't go into detail as none pertain to food. Let's start with a rundown of yesterday's meals...

For breakfast I made my favorite oatmeal again (old fashioned oats, pecans, ground flax and maple syrup). Like ususal I had a glass of milk. Although the market was out of skim and I had to do low fat instead. It's amazing how rich it tasted. Fortunately later in the day I was able to find skim again! Also in the mornings I almost always enjoy a cup of caffinee free organic tea (either green or herbal). Yesterday was no exception.

I was starving by about 10ish, so I ate a strawberry yogurt. This is something I miss dreadfully from the States. Here there are tons of yogurts to choose from, but lowfat generally means artificial sweetners, which I avoid like the plague! So I did a full fat activia. At least the containers are small.

For lunch I made my take on a traditional Brazilian dish called feijoada. Traditionally it is made with black beans and random pig parts. It's always served in restaurants on Wed and Sat. For my version I made many additions and substitutions. If you've ever made beans from scratch you know that they can take FOREVER, right? Here's where the pressure cooker comes in handy. Once you figure out how to work it, it's fabulous. I recommend Youtube tutorials for this.

Anyway, you put a cup or two of dried black beans (way cheap, BTW) that have been picked over and rinsed in your pan. Cover with water and soak for 30-60 mins. Dump that water and add fresh (cover the beans by about 3 fingers). I added chopped onion, carrot and garlic and soy sausage. I also threw in a few bay leaves. important tip: never add salt before cooking beans. They will reamain tough and yucky. Always add once beans are done. Then I locked the lid, cranked up the pressure and let it go for 25-30 minutes. After that I turned the heat off and let it sit until the pressure was back to normal- 10 mins or so. At this point I added seasoning. Salt and pepper is fine, but I actually used a salted garlic paste. This is a normal addition here. I served it over brown rice and wow- fabulous!

For an afternoon snack I had a handful of walnuts. These are delicous nutritional powerhouses and one of my favorite sancks!

For dinner I busted out the food processor! First I roasted some tomatoes, red peppers and garlic for about 25 minutes in a really hot oven- 450ish. Then I threw them in the processor with some fat free cream cheese (although next time I will use low fat), a handful of fresh basil and some salt and pepper. I also threw in a few tablespoons on LF parmesean for good measure. This made a tasty creamy sauce which I served over whole grain pasta. It was pretty good, but next time I will use the lowfat cheese and more roasted garlic. I also might add some fresh spinach.

Dessert, ah dessert... I purchased a small brownie from the local bakery and enjoyed it with some of that LF milk. Y-U-M. What a way to end the day.

Until the next post, enjoy your food and enjoy your life!