Summertime Corn, Avacado And Pinto Bean Soup (Pressure Cooking: I'm Dreaming of Less Time to Cook!)

This ain't your grandma's pressure cooking here, okay? So if you are all like--Oh, what is this cooking with a pressure cooker nonesense? Can't those kill you? Uh, welcome to the twenty-first century, and no--they can't harm you if you read the directions. I was the same way until I had my first homemade soup and first risotto from this wonder-gadget. Let me add--PERFECT risotto in seven minutes--yes, I said seven minutes. This cumin and orange-scented, fresh whole pinto bean soup you see here--went from hard beans-in-a-bag to soup in about thirty minutes--and flavors out of this world! No pre-soaking required. (And don't worry, I'm not going all pressure cooking on you and only giving recipes for that type of cooking--the recipe I wrote up for the soup requires no pressure cooker!)

My cooking life has been changed forever. (Well, at least until I feel another kitchen must-have-it-now urge swallows me whole.) The best thing about summer that I can think of right now is that cooking has become something completely centered around "What Can I Make in Twenty Minutes or Less And Not Break Out into A Major Sweat?" Then, of course. . . what can I make for dessert with all that extra time! Before I continue--this is not an advertisement. I simply have to share how lovely it is to cook in 100 degree heat using less energy and less heat (thus helping ease my mind over my own "carbon footprint" and how much LESS oil/energy I expend creating my meals. Thank you BP Oil for bringing this to the forefront of my culinary life.)

When I told a friend I was interested in a pressure cooker, she looked at me with a sideways glance then laughed. I said, What's so funny? Turns out her own mother "way back when" would use the pressure cooker for nearly everything--all dinners basically. All veggies, too. (Toss out the idea "if ten minutes is good, fifteen must be better!" when cooking with a pressure cooker--just stick to the rules with this one--follow the cooking guidelines). Sadly for my friend, her first memory of how broccoli really looked (green) and tasted (crunchy) wasn't until she left home, having it served sans brown and mushy--declaring only then that she loved it!

My first pickle canning experiment was a disaster. I had no idea how icky a pickle could be until I tried canning my regular garden cucumbers--OH MY! Save those for relish. I repeat--garden cucumbers are not to be pickled! Who knew? I didn't. I just had so many darn cucumbers, I didn't know what else to do! They were just awful. So, I re-canned  pickling cucumbers I had to go purchase at my local farmer's market this weekend (shown here) for my second go-round pickling adventure. Much better--at least in looks so far. Sitting next to the pickles are spiced peaches and blueberry preserves. Yum!

So you might think of canning when you hear "pressure cooking". So did I. Which is what lead me to purchase said cooker. I canned for the first time last year by myself. Or I put things by--as they like to say around here. I was really proud of my canning pursuits. However, without a pressure canner, I was limited to water bath canning--placing the jars in a hot water bath. If you are interested in giving canning a try--I highly recommend the Ball Beginner's Canning Kit--it comes with everything you'd need, including a great beginner recipe book. I loved listening for the "Ping" of the sealing rings when I pulled the jars out of boiling water.This year, I wanted to expand my horizons in canning--like into homemade marinara and pizza sauce (both require a pressure canner because of their lower acidity rate).

So this giant here--about as big as I think I can handle--is for my expanded horizons canning exploits.

So last week, my dear husband was on vacation. It was nice having him home. Plus we didn't kill each other--that's always a good test of a stable marriage--spending a week together under the same roof during a miserably hot summer. It was pure delight--and I'm not just saying this because he reads this blog. We don't go away very often for vacations. Okay, it's been over ten years since we've gone anywhere together--but both of us have a love of all things "home" and dogs--not going anywhere is fine with us. (Unless said job requires you to fly hither and yon--which Mr. Thyme must for his job--and he does it really well. I'm proud of how far he's come from the days of "packing panic" to now--he's got his luggage ready and by the door in five, maybe ten minutes--we've come a long way!). Personally, I find no redeeming quality in airports. None. Nor in sharing my time off with other families and their time off as they sit two feet away from me on an airplane for HOURS--children and other detritus in tow. Ugh. (Though when we get to that big "retirement" time of life--we're considering an RV. . . no joke!) If you've never traveled for business or think of business travel as some glamorous job feature--perhaps this morning's Dilbert comic strip will illuminate why that is bunch of bunk and why I say Mr. Thyme and I love being home during vacations.

So about my pressure cooker. I try really hard to be a meal planner. The truth is, I fail everytime. I am a "what-am-I-in-the-mood-for" cook. This could be problematic should I ever want to open a restaurant (though that is highly unlikely--I'm just not that much of a "people" person). Having company over--forget about it. More than one guest and I am a wreck. I literally begin to panic and stress--when only ONE person is coming over! (Thank god she knows this and is totally forgiving of me and loves whatever it is I create--be it last minute or otherwise).

I went out and researched all notes and blog ideas about getting a pressure cooker. I was well aware of the guru of pressure cooking and her many cookbooks: Lorna Sass. She has the pressure cooker thing down to a fine art. I went about getting my hands on a pressure cooker and then one of her cookbooks: Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. This is actually a vegan cookbook for what it's worth. I love it for that reason, but love it also because it is an incredibly full book of kitchen pressure-cooking wisdom. It was published in 1994. Maybe she felt it was time we go back to pressure cooking. I don't think we've had a renewal in all thing PC. Personally, I think the time may be coming. I went with the Fagor brand because it is pretty much idiot proof and I didn't think I'd put out an eye or anything with it.

My first pressure cooker test was risotto. I love a good risotto, but hate the time-consumed worry with all that--add, then stir, add, then stir stuff. Well, problem solved. Seriously. Is this the trick restaurants employ in delivering such fine risottos? I wonder.

My next experiment was in pressure cooking soup. I had a bean-buying splurge a few weeks back. Maybe I was stocking my shelves for the end of the world--who knows. I think I spent seven dollars all told--and must have every bean EVER made sitting in my little bean and lentil cabinet. I am determined to try to reduce the amount of preservatives and added salt in our diet. Going from the raw bean to a bowl of soup to me is quite, well, just plain lovely.

Our soup had a very fresh taste--not that "can" taste you sometimes get. Now, could you use canned pintos for this recipe? Of course. But rinse them well, and then watch the salt additions! All of the fresh flavors in a pressure cooker are melded together in a more symphonic way by means of steam cooking your dinner, and the shorter cooking time--leaving the good stuff in tact when the meal is ready to eat (like higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals). And to avoid mushy veggies, just read the directions. It's that simple. Folks have been using these for decades--and this particular brand I bought--they really have pressure cooking down. My cooker even came with a DVD!

I'm leaving the recipe for the soup in terms that most I think would be cooking it--sans a pressure cooker. But seriously, if you do give it a try via a pressure cooker, I am very certain you will have no regrets! Serve this soup with some really good vegan corn bread and all will be right with the world. If you want the pressure cooking minutes for the beans for this--just email me.

Summertime Corn, Avacado And Pinto Bean Soup

(You don't need a pressure cooker, but it would be nice!)

Adapted from Pinto Bean Soup in Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure

2 14.5 oz. can of pinto beans (rinsed and drained)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup frozen or fresh corn

1 onion chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

1 red pepper chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon dried chipolte or chili powder seasoning

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

1/2 teaspoon dried coriander

2 tablespoons tomato paste

juice of half a lime

1 avacado diced

crumbled blue corn chips

1 tablespoon orange olive oil for drizzling across the top

S & P for seasoning

Heat olive oil in large soup pot. Add onion and garlic and cook about a minute. Add cumin seed and allow to heat through until the aroma of the cumin overwhelms you! (About a minute.) Next, add the drained beans and all other remaining ingredients except avacado, chips and orange olive oil. Allow the soup to simmer about twenty minutes. Taste it for any additional salt or pepper needs. (See, now I could bring this same soup to you without those canned beans in about half an hour--but here goes, we'll stick with the traditional method for now.) Using an immersion blender or taking out about a cup of soup at a time, puree some of the soup mixture. This will add some heft to the soup. When you serve the soup, add your own toppings. I went with the avacado and blue corn chips because it felt right. You could also add fresh tomatoes and some vegan sour cream. We loved this soup!