We have to go to the Valley Zoo again!
I got to go to a photo op for a baby squirrel monkey this morning, and the zoo in the morning at this time of year is so quiet! I had a quick look around before I went home. The Arctic foxes were very active, and so were the alpacas. I imagine that the cold weather animals are going to be peppier at this time of year. The rest of ‘em are cosy in the winter pavilion.
Let’s go soon!
When our landlord was taking us on a tour of his house, one of the selling points was the pressure cooker. Not surprisingly, he also invited us to go ahead and use any portion of a very large stash of beans, lentils, and garbanzos stored in large jars in the basement.
What a wonderful offer! Of course, I am now an expert hummus-maker. But it is not until this week that I’ve worked up the courage to use the pressure cooker. What stopped me were imagined scenarios involving too much pressure exploding the pot into stainless steel shrapnel and scalding hot beans and liquid. I needn’t have worried. It’s not that way at all.
The most amazing thing is that I forgot to soak the beans (kidney and black) for the recommended four hour minimum. So I just threw ‘em into the pressure cooker and let it go for half an hour. Turns out, that’s more than enough time to cook beans properly! I can’t believe what I had been missing! It’s a whole new world!
So anyways, a chopped onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms into the pot for a quick sautee, throw in a can of tomatoes and the beans with cumin, chili powder and whatever else I could think of (in hindsight: easy on the cumin), and done. The pot lasted me a solid week of good eating, served with a side of corn bread, sour cream and chopped cilantro.