So good!

Wow.  I really wish I had a bigger office.  My workspace is covered in papers for the past 6 months.  I've got 4 to 5 monitors and 2 to 3 computers at any time.  If it weren't for all the electronics I would love to start warming my food 20-30 minutes before lunch break.  The issue is the steam that the electric lunch box creates during cooking.  Steam & electronics don't mix.

I think it's the consistency I like over microwave warmed food.  Microwave is unevenly cooked, even though our ovens at work have a rotating disk.  Tonight I heated up French Onion Soup.  Trader Joe's sells these frozen blocks of soup in vacuum packed plastic bags.  Normally you'd put the soup ice cube into a bowl and microwave it until it's warm to your taste, about 10 minutes.  I put it in the ELB tonight.  By the time my fish & tots were done in the oven (20+ minutes) the soup was done at the same time.  Steaming hot, no over boiling, nothing popping or blowing up.

Earlier this week I warmed up the last of the country pork ribs (see a couple posts ago).  It did need that extra bit of moisture.  ELB made it so good. 

"InstantPot" for one ?

Actually, it's called an Electric LunchBox (ELB).  It's a portable steamer about the size of my ol' Thermos food bucket.  Why?  I had a bug up my a$$.  I saw it on YouTube, I wanted to play with one.  I held off the purchase for months because the microwave will heat food in a few minutes, where it takes 10 times longer in the ELB.  Yea, 2 minutes vs 20 minutes.  There's no justification.

The people who buy this either have something against microwave ovens or don't have access to a microwave oven at work,  I think microwave ovens are the greatest addition to the kitchen in the last 50 years.  I bought my parents their first one in the 80's.  It cost about $1000 and came with a series of cooking lessons. The microwave and the ELB are great at warming up food.  The challenge is to cook with it.

Now that it's the weekend, this is the first chance I've had to play with it.  I have an electric steamer.  Before Mom moved in with me, I used it to cook my rice.  A rice cooker is actually more efficient at cooking rice, so I got a little rice cooker when I needed more capacity.  I've made rice in the ELB now.  I expected it to shut off but after 40 minutes, it was still going.  At least it wasn't overcooked.  Rice cooker takes 20 minutes for any amount up to capacity.

My first experiment was actually oatmeal.  I like the regular oats over the minute oatmeal.  It was awesome!  Easier than stovetop oatmeal, better than microwave oatmeal, which often cooks unevenly.  I will eat overnight oats, but I've decided it's not my preference.

I'm going to warm up lunch in the ELB today.  Recipes on the web feature mostly Asian food.  I like Asian food, but not all the time.  Outside of warming stuff up, future recipes include:
1) beans & weenies with cornbread
2) chili with cornbread
3) I should find a cornbread pudding recipe & substitute in the above
4) grits & eggs
5) ramen & steamed veggies w/ tofu
6) hmmm, what would go with a can of soup?  I like Progresso soups or the Chunky's.
7) frozen salmon w/ rice or couscous
8) chicken w/ baby potatoes

The reason I don't have puto here, even though it's meant to be steamed, is simply the quantity of batter.  I don't even like doing this in the 6qt Instant Pot, it works best for me steamed on the stovetop.

Third time's the charm (cheesecake)

Yup, finally did it.  Followed Auntie's recipe to the letter. and it worked.  I did over bake it a bit.  Just a bit.  The graham cracker crust was too dark, I was trying to get some color on the filling.  Mom didn't like it at first, said it was too sweet.  What?  I cut the sugar in half! 

I am never ever going to buy strawberry or blueberry topping ever (not that I ever have).  SO EASY!  I didn't really have a recipe, I had left over fruit so I threw it into a little pot with sugar.  Both times  I overestimated the water to get it started, then I thickened it with powdered sugar (because I have too much) because  it has cornstarch.  Oooo, I'm going to try that with apple & with peaches when they come in season--just because.

Haven't been doing too much cooking lately.   After I got the Letter of Administration and I ended up going to Bank of America every day for 3 weeks straight after work before they finally released the Estate funds and I got accounts straightened out.  I was out so late, there was no time to cook, so I was bringing home fast food for those 3 weeks.

Last weekend I brought home country style pork ribs.  Had no idea how to cook it, got it because it looked good in the store..  Everything on the web said, "Easy!  Cover in BBQ sauce & stick it into the dutch oven."  Damn, I have no BBQ sauce.  So I made it up.  Ketchup, soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper, brown sugar, and a splash of cider vinegar.  Have you ever tried star anise?  Makes it taste like Chinese BBQ.  Threw it all into Instant Pot.  It was fall-off the bone, and moist.  Not hating pork anymore.  It's now my favorite cut of pork.  I'm never buying BBQ sauce again.