Pressure Cooking in the Cold

I spent the morning on Saturday at the farmer's market demonstrating how to use the pressure cooker. I made an Indian-Spiced Root Vegetable Soup, using market-fresh ingredients that included onions, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato and sometimes rutabaga, that takes only 5 minutes at pressure. You can make the whole recipe in less than 30 minutes, from start to finish, from chopping to a very hot bowl of soup.

I heard all the horror stories, the accolades and the people who just don't know anything about a pressure cooker. One man told me about his 2 electric pressure cookers. I guess those in the know really know.

Completely unsolicited, a man came up and told me that he'd taken a class from me at a store named Food for Thought (which hasn't even been in existence for about 7 years since it was gobbled up by Whole Foods) and that he uses my recipes, especially the one for risotto, every week. I was glowing after that.

In fact, I was probably glowing (red, that is) the whole time because it was so darned cold (for California, that is) that day. Ed Miller, the fruit vendor, of Twin Peaks Ranch told me that the market was only half as busy as usual, likely because of the cold. People may have also been at the mall and the grocery store, judging from the packed parking lots that I saw on my way home.

I had a great time at the market, showing off 3 of my Fagor pressure cookers -- the newest one being a Futuro which should be released here in the US soon. It has a different kind of shape to it -- a bit pot-bellied, fatter at the bottom so it's cute. But they all work the same, and that is very good news for a cold day. Hot soup, come and get it.