Modernist Cuisine has a neat article on
how pressure cookers work.
I used to have up to four different sized pressure cookers but now am down to two - one small one for quick stuff and one larger one for stews and roasts. I find they are great for making ribs - it takes only about 20 minutes in a pressure cooker to make succulent melt int he mouth ribs! I broil the meat first in the oven to get some the brown Maillard reaction flavour and then add the sauce and ribs to the pressure cooker and have my ribs done in the time it takes to make the rice.
Here is one recipe example:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pressure-Cooker-Pork-Ribs
Another favourite is to use the pressure cooker to make Whole Oat Groat porridge. I buy whole oat groats (dehulled) and rinse them quickly. I then dry roast them in the pressure cooker without the lid until I can smell the nuttiness and they look like they have mostly puffed up a bit. Then I add about 3 times as much water as groats and some salt and pressure cook for one hour. You can do this in the evening and leave it to cool in the pressure cooker overnight. In the morning, I open the pressure cooker and remove enough to eat and rewarm it in another pot. It is extremely creamy and not as gluey as oatmeal from rolled oats. Shorter cooking times will keep the oat groats more firm if you prefer that.
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| Oat groats from http://www.wheatmontana.com/store/images/Oat-Groats.jpg |
The bonus it is that you end up with enough for couple of days - it lasts really well in the fridge for up to 3 days (don't freeze it though)
And if you don't have a pressure cooker yet, here is an easy recipe for making the porridge without one (they don't roast the groats first but this does add a great flavour to the porridge):
http://wholefoodideas.blogspot.ca/2011/02/whole-oat-groat-porridge.html
And here is a blog post with tons of comments with lots of other suggestions:
http://www.culinate.com/mix/challenge/whole_grain_challenge/wherein_i_discover_oat_groats
