Recipes

• Place the congee ingredients directly into your Instant Pot.
• Close the lid and set the steam release to sealing.
• Use the porridge setting and adjust the cooking time to 60 minutes.
• Grab a cuppa' tea or a Hot Toddy and get a good book. Curl up with a blanket in your favorite chair. If you have a fireplace, invite me to join you!

  Including the time to pressurize and depressurize, dinner will be ready in about 90 minutes.
• When the soup is finished, let the pressure release naturally.
• Toppings are optional. I recommend you to limit yourself to one or two, depending on your mood.

• Place the ingredients in a blender in the order listed. Pulse the blender 8-10 times. Check the consistency. Pulse again if needed. You are looking for the texture of corn meal. If you over blend it, you will end up with garlic cashew butter. Not a bad result, but not what you may want in this situation.
• Store in a covered jar on your pantry shelf. Use on vegetables, in casseroles, or as a topping for popcorn. Let your imagination go wild!

To blacken the pepper

• Preheat oven to 500℉ or 260℃. You want it blazing hot!

  I usually roast 2 to 4 peppers at a time. Super easy to do! Then I have them on hand for all kinds of cooking.
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Space the peppers (whole) on the paper. Roast for 15 minutes in the middle of the over. Check to see that they have started to blacken.

  If they have begun to blacken, turn them over and continue baking for another 15 minutes. You want them to have large patches of black skin, but they don't need to be completely black. Watch them carefully.
• Cover with foil for at least 10 minutes to steam the cooked peppers. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the blackened peel, the stem and the seeds.
• Use immediately. Store unused peppers in a Souper Cube or freeze them individually in an ice cube tray.

• Slice the lemons through the stem into quarters. For an extra flair, don't cut the lemons clear through.
• Working over a bowl to catch the juices, remove as many of the seeds as possible.
• Put a healthy pinch of salt on each exposed face of lemon. Close the lemon up and place them in the bottom of the quart jar. When there are three lemons in the jar, muddle them to release the juices. Add another layer and repeat until the jar is almost full. Add the saved lemon juice from your work bowl.
• Before the jar is full to the brim, "burp" the jar by pushing down on the lemons to release any trapped air. Fill with extra lemon juice to the top. If needed you can add some water as well, or juice from a leftover lemon.
• Put the fermenting weight on top of the lemons. All of the lemons must be completely under the liquid to avoid the lemon getting moldy. If you can seal the jar up without any air bubbles at the top, all the better.

• In the Instant Pot: Preheat the Instant Pot (IP) by pressing the sauté button. When the read out says "High", put the of avocado oil in the bottom of the pot. Add the rough chopped onion and sauté until they begin to brown. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms have released their moisture and the moisture has mostly evaporated.
• Add richness: Move the cooked onions and mushrooms to the outside of the work bowl, leaving the center exposed to cook the tomato paste and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to brown a bit and stick to the bottom of the pan.
• "Deglaze" the pot: First use a cup or so of cold water to "deglaze" the pan. This is a fancy word for letting the water sizzle on the bottom of the pan, while scraping up the "brown bits" left behind by the tomato paste. Another word to be familiar with is "fond". That is the chef's name for the "brown bits". You want to lift the fond off the bottom of the pan using the water, so all that flavor goes into the broth.
• Add the veggies and spices: When everything is in the pot, add enough water to bring the level up to the PC (Pressure Cooker) max fill line.
• Start the IP: Secure the cover. Close the steam release valve. Choose the "Soup/Broth" program. Set the cook time to 60 minutes using either the "adjust" button or the plus and minus keys. You will hear several beeps and the display will change to ON. You can step away with full confidence your meal will be ready on time.
• What to expect: Generally speaking, the Instant Pot takes about 20 minutes to pressurize before it begins your cook time. When cooking is complete, it will also take about 20 minutes to depressurize. You will know it is safe to remove the cover when steam does not escape as you turn the pressure release valve.
• As an extra safety precaution: Before you attempt to open the pot, make it a habit to open the steam valve to confirm that pot has depressurized. If there is a plume of steam when you open the valve, wait for the steam to subside. 
• When there is no steam coming from the pressure valve, your cooking is complete and your pot is ready to open.
• Condense the broth: To enhance the flavor of the finished broth, you will want to evaporate off some of the water. With the pot open, turn on the "Sauté" cycle. The timer will countdown from 30 minutes. Repeat this three more times, for a total of 2 hours. This will reduce the broth by about 25%, enhancing the flavor and making it easier to store.
• Finish and Store: To finish remove the vegetables by transferring the stock into a large pot through a colander. Store the stock in jars in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, Souper Cubes are a great way to package and store the broth in the freezer. Each Souper Cube well holds a 1 cup (250 ml) portion. Once frozen, the cubes can be removed to a zip-lock bag and kept in the freezer for about 3 months.

• Rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms: In a small bowl, cover the dried shiitake mushrooms with boiling water just to cover. Use a cup or can to hold the mushrooms under the surface. Set aside to rehydrate for 7-10 minutes.
• In the Instant Pot: Press the sauté button to turn on the instant pot. Melt the vegan butter in the work bowl. Add the diced onion and sauté until the onions begin to caramelize.
• When the onion begins to caramelize, add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and saute until they release their juices and begin to brown.
• Add the farro (or grain of your choice) to the pot and toast for about three minutes, until fragrant.
• Pour in the stock. Add the bay leaves, Italian seasoning, soy sauce, vegetable stock concentrate, salt, pepper, and grated carrot.
• Add the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms: Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the hot water. Slice into thin strips and add to the soup in the Instant Pot. Add up to 1/2 cup of the soaking water to the Instant Pot as well.
• Put the cover on the Instant Pot. Adjust the pressure valve to sealed. Choose the soup function button and set timer for 30 minutes. The Instant Pot will start automatically in about 30 seconds. When finished, allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally (about 40 minutes).
• To Serve: Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions and drizzle 1/2 tsp sesame oil in the center (optional). Serve with fresh "cheese" and garlic, almond flour biscuits.

• Mix dry ingredients in a serving bowl.
• Add vanilla and half the almond milk.
• Microwave 1 minute and 20 seconds.
• Add remaining milk and sliced banana. Serve.