Which Came First?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? As you well know we can go around and around on this one and not come up with an answer that everyone can agree on. One thing that we can agree on, though, is that my life has become a lot easier since the arrival of the Instant Pot at Chez Goodneedle. Our son and daughter-in-law have had one for quite some time. I heard all the great success stories of their wonderful, healthy meals prepared in a fraction of the time. Who couldn't use more time? I was intrigued but not convinced that I needed one. After all, it was an electric pressure cooker! I had never used a pressure cooker. My childhood memories of a pressure cooker were of a mysterious cast-metal locked bomb pot with a bobbing, sputtering valve on the top, sitting on the stove's front burner on Sundays; ours always contained a pot roast. I recall my mother warning us to "stay back" when the pressure was released as if this whole procedure was dangerous to the point of being life-threatening. Because of that healthy fear, I was never interested in pursuing the art of pressure cooking as an adult. I felt lucky to have survived those weekly threats. Then our daughter requested one for Christmas. Soon after she began extolling the virtues of Instant Pot cooking and I saw her dedicated Pinterest board grow with pinned recipes. She would happily report about her yogurt making and the delicious soups and meals she was turning out in the limited amount of time she has after work, to the raves of her family. Okay, I did some research. Maybe this would be something that could earn its space in our kitchen. I remember that same back-and-forth in my mind that I went through before we ever got our first microwave. Did we need this? Could we get along without one? Hadn't life been okay in our Instant Pot-free home up until now? I also remember that a week after getting that first microwave I couldn't imagine life without one! Our Instant Pot arrived last week. So, which came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken. I cooked a whole one for dinner, start to finish, in 45 minutes; it was moist, flavorful and delicious! Next came hard boiled eggs. In the pressure cooker they were done in the same amount of time as if I had done them on the stove top-- but, the difference is, these peeled perfectly! Never again will I have a mutilated egg. And then, on Saturday afternoon, I whipped up a positively wonderful homemade Tomato Basil Parmesan soup to enjoy on a rainy, cold evening; employing both the pot's saute and pressure cooking functions, leaving only one pot to clean up afterward. Score! Stay tuned, the Instant Pot adventure continues, my own Pinterest recipe board is growing every day.

Life is Good!