Indulging the Exotic; Review of Galil Brands.

Indulging the exotic, what exactly does this mean?  Oxford Dictionary defines exotic as, “Originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.”  Encyclopedia Britannica denotes it as, “very different, strange, or unusual”.  Well now, depending on where in the world Waldo is, every place and everything can be defined as exotic. 

Large cities have the advantage of allowing diversity to reign freely.  Yes, cultural communities may have a strong footing in one particular area of the city.  Those interested in, and wanting to experience, the different cultures will travel to the areas.  Music, dancing, artwork, even religious beliefs open up the minds to newness throughout our small planet.  However, it is the foods and beverages of the community that open up, widely, the senses of sight, smell and taste.  Sadly though, more often than not, many do not seek out the “very different, strange or unusual”.  Fear of the unknown is too strong for some, and we all know that fear is the mind killer.

Living on the east coast, and especially within a short travel distance to New York City, experiencing the exotic was easy.  Within Brooklyn itself, when I lived there back in the 1960s, and visited during the 1970s, Italian, Croatian, Norwegian, and the Jewish communities had much to offer.  Parades, festivals, bakeries, delicatessens, restaurants, and all the small “mom and pop” grocery shops were a learning experience, especially when it came to foods and beverages.

So, when I think of exotic, the food items I will tell you about now were readily available, and normal (such an overrated word) for me, while to you, they might sound, once more, “very different, strange or unusual”.

 

Recently, I found an online site that offered products created and shipped in from Israel, and many items used in Jewish recipes.  Galil Brands (https://galilbrands.com/) has been in business, since 1985, offer customer quality products at reasonable prices, from several countries, not just Israel.  Orders of $35 or more have free shipping, and the products from Israel are kosher.  Why is being kosher so important?  Did you ever see that commercial for Hebrew National hotdogs, the one with Uncle Sam about to eat a hotdog full of additives, fillers and by-products?  But the narrator states, “Hebrew National is kosher, as we have to answer to a higher authority”.  So, what does kosher mean?   The Hebrew word "kosher" means fit or proper as it relates to kosher dietary law.  While it is not necessary for a rabbi to bless the foods, a company will have a rabbi on staff to supervise the processing, and make sure it follows “biblical” quality standards.  The rabbi will inspect ingredients added to foods, and the foods themselves, to make sure no contaminants taint the products.  Therefore, no FDA allowable amounts of bug parts, rodent droppings or animal hairs.  Yes, I am grossed out too, so let’s get on to the products you might see as exotic, and I only see as hitting the yummy spot of the tummy.

 

Turkish Delight, I bet the first time you have heard of this confection was either reading The Chronicles of Narnia, or watching the movies.  In the story, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Turkish delight is a symbol of Edmund's mistakes and his want for something so much that he will hurt others to get it.

 

Turkish Delight is a candy made with starch and sugar that commonly comes in flavors like rose, orange, lemon or mint.  Cut into small squares, to resemble jewels, this powdered sugar covered treat (lokum in Turkish) became popular in Turkey at the final quarter of the 18^th century. The confectioner Hacı Bekir Effendi, arrived in Constantinople (Istanbul today) from Anatolia in 1776, and invented Turkish Delight.  While eating the candy, the flavorings start out mild and intensify as chewed, with the powdered sugar giving a delightful sweetness.  Created in Turkey and delightfully sweet…Turkish Delight!

 

Cinnamon Walnut Cake is basically coffee cake without the brown sugar streusel over top, and/or layered within.  This cake comes in a rectangular shaped, single layer loaf and is strongly flavored with cinnamon, and chopped walnuts.  Most coffee cake recipes use some type of dairy product for added moistness to the cake.  Due to being kosher, the only liquids used are eggs and simple syrup (water plus sugar), so the cake might seem dry at first, but continue eating and it simply gets better and better.

 

Halva, aka Halvah, originates from the Egyptian word “halawa” meaning sweet confection.  Historically, this sweet treat dates back to about 3000 BCE, and is credited to Persia (Iran today).  Similar to fudge, but a crumblier texture, it is typically made by mixing tahini, a paste of ground sesame seeds, with heated sugar syrup, cooled into a brick form, and then sliced into individual pieces. Flavorings are usually vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, or marble (vanilla/chocolate swirled). Luckily, Galil offers a sugar-free variety, and it is just as delicious as the halva made with real sugar.

 

Roasted Chestnuts, back in the December 14, 2022 issue of the San Juan Record, I wrote about chestnuts, and mentioned the Galil brand then.  At that time, the chestnuts in the packets were an unsightly, and appetite killing, greyish color.  Not so any longer!  The chestnuts are a variety of light to dark brown, just as roasted chestnuts are expected to look like.  The flavor is full on chestnut, and while the packet says to refrigerate after opening, and will last seven days; no, maybe two days maximum as they are addicting.

 

Dried figs are a good source of calcium and fiber; they are a good substitute when fresh figs are not available for purchase.  Due to being high in natural sugar, the recommended serving is 2-3 figs per day.  Being dried, they can be difficult to bite apart, and very chewy; but they can be reconstituted in water for easier eating.

Galil Brands offers grocery items, candies and snacks galore; many might sound weird, but they will be a delicious bonus to the taste buds.  So, go for the different, the strange, the unusual…go exotic!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Yippee Yee, Getting Me Some Bubble Tea.

One fun source is any site listing “food holidays” for the year.  There are many, so I do not rely on just one site, since they tend to have different information.  So, looking at a listing for April became a matter of, “Did that. Yeah, did that too.  Not doing that one again.  Oh heck, you could not pay me enough to eat that!”.  Last day of the month and it was a hallelujah moment – April 30th is National Bubble Tea Day!

Before I get into what bubble tea is, it is best I explain differences between milkshakes, smoothies and blended coffees; and give hints on where to find them.  First off, a milkshake is a thick, sweet, cold mixture made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings, like caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or a fruit syrup.  In Blanding, the go-to place is definitely Patio Diner for milkshakes (and other delicious ice cream treats).  My hubby prefers the classic vanilla, while a cool and refreshing mint is my choice.

A smoothie is a beverage made by puréeing ingredients in a blender. It has a liquid base, such as fruit juice, milk, plant-milk, or yogurt. Ingredients added in are fruits, vegetables, or a combo of both, crushed ice, whey powder or nutritional supplements.  To really simplify the creation of a smoothie, powdered mixes can be purchased, so just add a liquid and crushed ice.  In Monticello, High Desert Café and The Over Bite have selections of smoothies to please any palate.

A blended coffee is, in simple terms, a coffee slushy.  Coffee, crushed ice, milk and flavoring are mixed in a blender; similar to creating a smoothie, just more ice.  The Over Bite creates splendid blended coffees, and my very favorite is with oat milk and three shots of sugar-free caramel syrup.  Hubby goes for the gusto with whole milk, shots of caramel and Irish cream syrups; no wonder he can’t get to sleep after drinking one of those!

 

Now for bubble tea, and the mecca, in San Juan County, for this is Ja-Roen Thai & Sushi, in Monticello.  Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, in the 1980s, and was brought to the USA, in the 1990s, by immigrants.  Of course, it spread like wild fire in China, Japan and Thailand.  The process is blending black tea with milk, fruit and/or fruit juices, simple syrup (mix of water and sugar) and crushed ice, shaking vigorously for a thick mixture.  This is then poured into a tall glass or container, with chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom.  A wide straw is used, so the pearls can be sucked up with the liquid, and surprise, a chewy candy treat along with a drink.

 

Bubble tea is often referred to as Boba tea.  Is there a difference?  No, the term “boba” is the Chinese term for the tapioca pearls.  The pearls can be made at home (loads of recipes amongst Asian food bloggers), purchased dry, but needing to be cooked; or purchased wet and just add as needed.  With the dry pearls, or even making from scratch, the cooking has to be precise.  Otherwise, instead of chewy pearls, you might end up with jaw breakers, or a mushy paste no one wants to eat.  There are also types of pearls that are lighter in consistency, so instead of sitting at the bottom of the mixture, they float on top, and are eaten using a spoon.  Are the pearls always black in color?  Oh no, bubble tea has become an art form, so a multitude of colors can be purchased or created.  Blue Mountain Foods sells bubble tea kits in their freezer section, right next to another favorite of mine, “My Mochi” (see San Juan Record, June 28, 2023, if curious about mochi).

 

Prepackaged Tapioca Pearls

 

Dried Tapioca Pearls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palm, the niece of Waen Roll, owner of Ja-Roen, gave me a personal lesson in bubble tea making.  Creating bubble tea has been simplified, as with smoothie making, by having the tea and flavored ingredients mixed together, and made into an easy to add powder.  Flavors like chocolate, strawberry, coconut, watermelon, matcha green tea, and my new favorite, taro, can be blended up in minutes.  What is taro?  Taro is a starchy root vegetable, and a staple in African and Asian nations.  Have you been to Hawaii and eaten poi?  Poi is cooked and mashed taro root.  The flavor is hard to describe; sweet, yet fruity, but there is really no fruit to compare it with.

 

Now to my bubble tea lesson.  Palm is a patient teacher, so thank you so much for putting up with me.  The process begins with about two cups of crushed ice placed in the blending container.  Then it is half cup measurements of your favorite flavor powdered mix, milk and simple syrup.  Insert container into the blending machine, and cover your ears, it gets loud!  A half cup of tapioca pearls goes into the individual serving container and the blended mixture poured over; cap it, stick a straw down to the bottom and suck!  Do not swallow immediately as those pearls will be coming up with the liquid.  Take it slow, let the liquid swirl around in the mouth and ease down the throat, and there they are, the pearls.  Mmm, chewy, sweet candy balls mixing with the fruity flavor of the liquid, so good. 

First the Crushed Ice.

Palm measures out ingredients by half cup.

Bubble Tea Blending Machine

 

 

Tapioca Pearls at Bottom of Serving Glass.

Blended Mixture Over the Pearls

My Taro Bubble Tea, which my husband ended up stealing and drinking.

Currently Ja-Roen only serves up 24-ounce bubble teas, but it seems to be the perfect size, as no one is complaining in that department.    Due to availability of flavors, the menu for bubble teas is subject to change.

 

So, on April 30th, all you San Juan County residents, get on in to Ja-Roen Thai & Sushi, in Monticello, and order up your favorite flavor of bubble tea. For all of us who have tried it, and enjoy the experience, we come up with all types of excuses to stop in for one.  If you have not tried it, now is the perfect time! 

Mary Cokenour

Cooking Lesson with Two Home Chefs.

In my recent article reviewing Home Chef, the main reason I gave this product a try was due to not always wanting to cook from scratch.  While that was my personal goal, it did not end up being that way. 

It came to pass that I found ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, on sale, at the local market.  This was a great opportunity to purchase a double quantity, and make two trays of lasagna.  One tray would provide dinner, and a multitude of lunches during the week.  The other tray was wrapped up in foil, placed in the freezer, and would be consumed sometime within the next six months.  It took me a good three hours to prep all the ingredients, that includes homemade meat sauce, build up the trays, bake one, and freeze the other.

Lunch time comes around and Roy happens to say the last thing I want to hear, “Are you going to make those flautas you got from that food company?”  Count to ten, breathing in slowly, exhaling slowly, turn to face him and, “No hunny, you are!”  Oh, the look on his face…priceless.

However, I have to give the man credit, without flinching, he actually said, “Fine, but you have to watch me, and make sure I’m doing it right.”  Agreed!  So, while Roy became the home chef, I simply became supervisor, and, of course, demonstrator of technique if necessary.  My knife skills far exceed his, in the kitchen, and on the battle field.  I will leave that last sentence for you all to ponder over.

 

 

 

 

 

While the instruction card stated prep to cooking to dining time was 40 to 50 minutes, the company probably expects “home chefs” to be experienced and fast.  Not so with a beginner, and it took a good 1 and ½ hours before lunch was served.  Yes, Roy did follow the recipe card, but even the instructions, with photos, perplexed him a bit.  I did assist by showing, with half the tomato, how to slice and dice for salsa quality; large chopping for the spinach, and minimal slicing of the green onions.  Adding the seasonings, browning the chicken and making the finishing sauce he did on his own, and quite well.  Rolling the flautas was a challenge at first. He did not understand which end of the filled tortilla needed to be “folded over”.  I explained that, instead of making a burrito, pretend to make enchiladas, and the challenge was overcome!

 

She only had to show me, how to use the knife, once!

Browning the chicken.

"What the heck is this saying!?!"

 

 

Roll up the tortillas.

Place in skillet to brown.

 

Both sides browned.

Now, this recipe from Home Chef, is a fusion of Mexican and Italian tastes.  The pesto and mozzarella cheese are essentially Italian, and, well, we both did not see the point of the mixing of these two cuisines.  Oh, do not get me wrong, the meal was good, but nothing we would ever want to make again.  That is, using the ingredient list provided by Home Chef.  We discussed what flavor over or under whelmed the rest of the dish; what ingredients would have provided a better, tastier, meal.  So, we are keeping the recipe card, but will be playing and creating.

Overall, Roy said he enjoyed the experience, and now has a much better understanding of what I do, in the kitchen, and why I am an excellent home chef.  He will not be trading me in, for meal kits, any time soon.

 

Creamy Pesto Chicken Flautas

(Note: Recipe and directions are from the Home Chef recipe card received with Meal Kit.)

 

 Ingredients:

12 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

6 Small Flour Tortillas

1 Roma Tomato

2 oz. Basil Pesto

2 oz. Baby Spinach

2 oz. Cream Cheese

1 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

2 Green Onions

¼ oz. Flour

½ tsp. Poultry Seasoning

Preparation:

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients and Make Salsa.

In medium sized bowl, coarsely chop spinach.  Separate green from white on green onions, and thinly slice green onions.

Core tomato and cut into 1/2" dice. (Note: the tomato in the kit was not ripe and bitter; sprinkling salt over it helped with taste).

Add white part of onions to spinach.   In another mixing bowl, combine tomato, green part of onions, half the pesto (reserve remaining for sauce), a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp. olive oil. Set aside.

Step 2: Prep and Cook Chicken

Pat chicken dry and top with 1 tsp. olive oil. Season both sides with poultry seasoning and a pinch of pepper.   On medium-high heat, brown chicken; remove to bowl and shred.

Mix shredded chicken spinach, white part of onions, shredded cheese, and a pinch of salt until spinach begins to wilt.   

Step 3: Assemble the Flautas

Place tortillas on a clean work surface. Place, in center of each tortilla, generous helping of chicken/spinach mixture.

Fold tortilla over filling, tucking long edge under. Roll tortilla and place seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas

Step 4: Cook the Flautas

Place a medium non-stick pan, over medium heat, and add 2 tsp. olive oil.

Working in batches of 3, place flautas in hot pan, seam-side down. Cook until browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Replenish oil if necessary. Gently roll to opposite side and cook until browned, 2-3 minutes.

Remove to plate, repeat with second batch of 3.

Step 5: Make Sauce and Finish Dish

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine softened cream cheese, flour, remaining pesto, and 1/3 cup water.  Microwave, 15 seconds a time and stirring in between, until smooth and heated through, 45-60 seconds.  If too thick, add water, 1 tsp. at a time and up to 1 Tbsp., until desired consistency is reached.

Plate dish as pictured on front of card, halving flautas, if desired, and topping with sauce and salsa. Bon appétit!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

A Home Chef Experiences Home Chef.

This is a review of Home Chef, a meal kit and food delivery company.

Several weeks ago, the Kroger company (we know them as City Market around here) offered an online deal for Home Chef.  For those not in the know, Home Chef is one of those companies that provides meal delivery services.  Meals can be premade to be microwaved or cooked in the oven, or come as kits where you do all the prep work and cooking.  Home Chef hit the market in 2013, and was purchased by Kroger in 2018.  Now we know why Kroger pushes the online site, and also offers meals, ready to cook, in their deli departments.

The offer I went for was $80 towards meal purchases plus free shipping on the first order.  To complete the offer, I was required to pick out three meals, with two servings in each. There are categories of: Meal Kits, Family Meals, Express, Oven Ready, Fresh & Fast plus extra categories of: Lunch, Bundle & Save, and Extras (breakfast, soups, snacks, beverages, drinks, pantry and protein).  

 

Alright, my purpose for trying this out was, well, I do not always want to cook, I want convenience.  Shocking, I know.  Looking at the oven ready selections was a bust as they were already recipes created by myself, such as parmesan chicken or lasagna.  Why in the world would I want to buy someone else’s version of it?  Looks like convenience was not on my to-do list, so ended up with three meal kits: Teriyaki Glazed Yellowtail, Bacon Crusted Trout and Creamy Pesto Chicken Flautas.   Roy and I truly enjoy eating seafood, so the first two were a given, and attempting another Mexican dish sounded like fun. 

 

Servings for each kit start around $7.99 and can get very, very pricey if you select anything from the “Culinary Collection”.  The size of each serving is basically what is recommended by dietary practitioners, and eating only that serving, plus exercise, you will be a runway model in no time.  In our household, my husband considered both portions as a single serving (I did get to taste a few forkfuls), and off to work he went.  I, on the other hand, dug through the refrigerator and found leftovers to have for my dinner.   That is our household, so do not judge by our way of eating which is not always in a healthy manner.

Honestly, this kind of meal service is perfect for, say, a single person who might like to cook, but not the time to shop; or is seeking convenience.  Might work for a couple too; definitely not us, as a couple, though.  Price?  First let me get back to the deal I went for.  The first order received $40 credit, out of the initial $80, but was charging for shipping.  I contacted customer service about why no free shipping on the first order.  A very nice gentleman explained it was an error, corrected my bill, so what would have costed me about $75, ended up costing only $30.  However, the $40 credit that should have still been available, well I got some cow patty excuse that the offer was a mistake.  Excuse me, but what? 

Secondly, on price, this is the kind of service that is for, again, convenience, so you are going to pay for that privilege.  Unless you do not mind spending way more for meal ingredients, than you would at your local market or supermarket, this might be a good deal.  For those who have to live within a budget, this type of service is a way to break your personal piggy bank to smithereens.

My Home Chef account is now on “pause”, you cannot cancel the account unless you call customer service and speak with a representative.  This will be an interesting conversation in the future, let me tell you! (Note: as of Feb 1, I was able to cancel the account via email)

Consider what I have just written as the pros and cons of dealing with a meal delivery service. 

Now, I bet you are wondering, after having to prep and cook the meals myself, how did they taste?  Did we just waste $30 on an experiment, or get three good meals for a bargain?

The measured portions for each meal come in a little baggy, the protein is in a separate baggy, and the directions on a laminated sheet, that can be inserted into a binder, Home Chef includes.  The ingredients are separated into packets or containers, with their name written, so you know what is what.  Following the easy directions (photos included), prep took little time, cooking time was accurate.  The recipe is also printed on the sheet, so if you collect the sheets, you can make the dish if you purchase ingredients from the market.  Each serving took up the space of a smaller, than standard, sized dinner plate.  However, if you place the serving on a dessert sized plate, well it looks like a king-sized meal to enjoy. 

 

Taste wise, the meals were delicious, the seasonings were spot on, and the sides are perfect accompaniments to the proteins.  With the teriyaki glazed yellowtail (aka snapper), there were four portions of rice to only two portions of fish.  Thankfully, some leftover chicken, from the fridge, helped to create two more meals.  In other words, the amount of rice/veggie mixture was, basically, filler.

 

 

 

 

Saute edamame and Portabello mushrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pan cook seasoned yellowtail.

 

Enough rice side leftover to make two more meals.

Single serving.

Two servings.

Live a little, learn a lot, and that is how I am grading our experience with Home Chef.

Mary Cokenour

Twisted Dough

Hard or soft, salted or seeded, butter dipped or not, seasoned with herbs and/or spices, anyway it is made, is always a treat.  Can you guess what this baked goody is?  The Pretzel. 

The origins of the pretzel are dependent on which country is telling the story.  600s Italy, a monk created the “pretiolas” (little rewards) to give to good children who had memorized their prayers.  The shape represented the arms of the children, crossed while saying their prayers.  The French have a similar story referencing a monk, while Germany tells of bakers held hostage and forced to bake for royalty and high officials of the church.   However, the earliest documented (key word for historical evidence) is from 1185 Germany.  An illustration of pretzels appeared in the Hortus Delicarum, a manuscript compiled by Herrad of Landsberg, at an abbey in Alsace, which was, then, a region of Germany.  Bakers’ guilds displayed the pretzel within their crest.

By the 1400s, the pretzel had become a sign of the Holy Trinity, given out for the Christmas holiday, and even hung on trees.  In the 1700s, German immigrants followed William Penn to America, and his state of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch aka Amish).  In 1861, Julius Sturgis opened his pretzel bakery in Lititz, PA which offered up soft and hard pretzels to consumers.  Story is that his factory was the first to develop hard pretzels, and no, it was not due to a baker falling asleep while pretzels overbaked.  The crunchy, salty snacks lasted longer in an air tight container, than soft pretzels did.  This allowed them to be sold in stores far away from Lititz, and kept on shelves much longer.  Roy and I have visited this historic place several times, and highly recommend, if visiting Lancaster County, PA, to put this on your touring to-do list.  Besides getting to feast on delicious pretzels, hands on experience in pretzel twisting is part of the factory’s tour.  (https://juliussturgis.com/)

Personally, I feel so lucky that I was able to experience, during childhood, getting a huge (as big as my head!) soft pretzel from a street vendor.  A pushcart full of soft baked pretzels, kept warm from the heat of glowing charcoal.  The saltiness mixed with a smoky aroma, the soft consistency giving comfort physically and mentally.  Talk about complete satisfaction!

Soft pretzels can be found in your grocer’s freezer; who has not heard of “Super Pretzel”?  However, I recently found a company called “Eastern Standard Provisions Co.” (https://esprovisions.com/), located in Maine, and the photographs on their website made my mouth crave soft pretzels.  The website describes their soft pretzels as, “a pretzel with the airy qualities of a brioche on the inside and a traditional Bavarian-style crust on the outside.”  Sold!

I purchased the “Love at First Bite” gift box which included five Wheelhouse pretzels and 3 types of salt.  Paying attention (see, I can!) to the instruction guide, the oven baked the pretzels to perfection.  Soft and blissfully chewy, the salt was a crisp bite which tickled the tongue, and the butter smeared on, before baking, had permeated the interior.

Spread butter onto pretzels

Press salt onto butter

After baking.

Inside, pretzel is hot, soft and buttery delcious!

Now whether you decide to try this product, or purchase the one from the market, here’s a huge hint; always bake them!  Microwaving ruins the entire experience.

Want to try your hand at making your own?  There are so many recipes located online, video demonstrations, and in baking books.  You will not know which recipe is right for your tastes, unless you try.  The San Juan Record Bookstore offers a variety of genre, including cooking and baking.  Stop in and see if one of their books has the right recipe for you.

Mary Cokenour

Instant Pot Win-Win

Me & Clark's Market Manager, Craig Stanley

From January 10^th to 31^st, the Clark’s Market supermarket chain held the “One Pot Winter Warm-Up Recipe Contest” looking for your best one pot winter go-to recipe.  Each store selected one winner, through a voting process, to win an Instant Pot 6-quart.  For San Juan County’s Blanding store, and thank you so much to all the voters, I was the winner!  My crock pot recipe for BBQ Beef Stew will be featured in their deli; so look for the announcement on that and go buy to try!

Now I have to admit that I was a bit nervous playing with the Instant Pot.  Growing up, all I heard was horror stories about pressure cookers blowing up; so we never had one in our home.  However, friends who have been using the Instant Pot, since it came onto the market, reassured me that no nuclear explosion would be erupting in my kitchen.  To soothe my nerves more, my wonderful hubby, Roy, decided this would be a great adventure to experience together.  We made sure to read the instructions together and did the practice test that is recommended…we lived.

Our first real food cooking attempt was a slab of meaty pork ribs; we had perused many a recipe, but kept returning to the ribs.  Normally, making ribs was almost a 24 hour process; making several cups of rub which went on both sides of the ribs; letting them sit, encased in aluminum foil, for twelve hours.  Placing them inside a preheated 180F oven to cook for eight hours; then onto a barbeque grill or under the broiler for that must-have char.  The anticipation alone was enough to drive us crazy, and it just couldn’t be a spontaneous what-to-make-for-dinner decision.

The Instant Pot was going to change the process, especially the long, long waiting period.  First off, the amount of rub used went from two cups to a half cup; no overnight sitting to marinate and infuse the meat.  Our four pound slab was cut into three smaller slabs; two cups of water plus ¼ cup apple cider vinegar already inside the cooking pot.  Placed on the cooking rack, ribs were placed inside; lid sealed, digital timer set for 50 minutes and it was “thunderbirds are a go!” time. 

Half cup all purpose rub on ribs.

Cut into thirds, ribs standing up in pot.

After 50 minutes of pressure cooking.

Ready for 10 minutes under broiler

1 hour 10 minutes to delicious ribs!

 What to serve as a side?  What the heck, might as well pull out the air fryer, prep some Russet potatoes for, what I knew would become, perfectly cooked hand-cut fries.  Didn’t you recently read my article on the pros and cons of an air fryer; those potatoes are good stuff!

While ribs broiled, Air Fryer finished up on the fries.

Oh, in case you enjoy video games, the Instant Pot makes some lovely dinging, ringing musical noises as the lid is sealed or opened.  Now all it needs is a USB port, attach a thumb drive and have my favorite playlist on while cooking; that would be impressive.  Anyway, during the cool down period of ten minutes, then putting the ribs under the broiler for ten minutes; the air fryer was working on those hand-cut fries (yes, I keep the skin on).  Both ribs and fries were ready to eat at the same time; two bbq sauces of brown sugar/hickory and sweet/spicy (love using Sweet Baby Ray’s) and we were in dining heaven.

The Instant Pot ribs were perfect; meat easily off the bone; seasonings from the rub cooked through and only enhanced by the bbq sauce, not overpowered.  From start to finish, a 24 hour process for making ribs was cut down to a mere one hour and ten minutes!

I’ve started collecting recipes for more Instant Pot fun, and downloaded a recipe book, for free, on my Kindle Fire.  This fresh start year of 2019 started off deliciously with an Air Fryer and is continuing with the Instant Pot.  Now if I could win a complete kitchen makeover, there would be no telling what culinary adventures I could get involved with!  Oh no, listening to 80s music on Sirius and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” just began playing; that is foreshadowing big time!

Mary Cokenour