A favorite pastime of mine is going to estate sales and admiring collections of the fad appliances of the past. Things like Donvier ice cream makers, electric knives, George Foreman grills, Stir Crazy popcorn makers, Fry Daddy fryers, percolators, electric can openers, slow cookers and even fondue pots. Many of these items outlived their usefulness, but some still have a place on counter tops or in cabinets, if not just our hearts. It's interesting how these appliances reflect the lifestyle norms of their respective eras.
That in mind, I pulled the lever on an Instant Pot this past Thanksgiving, when the most popular model went on sale for $69. The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker, the very antithesis of the slow cooker, which was all the rage just a few years ago. The Instant Pot takes all the guesswork and — more importantly — much of the danger out of pressure cooking. I’m scared to death of a stovetop pressure cooker and nothing you can say will make me feel otherwise. The Instant Pot is extremely popular, as this story from NPR’s “The Salt” indicates (read about how it was created and marketed, which is fascinating).
Once I purchased my Instant Pot, I realized that most of the recipes are for meat-eaters. Did I just buy a really expensive rice cooker? Yikes! Cooking dried beans in less than an hour is a big bonus, but worth the money? I wished for something more. This thing is massive, and I already have three slow cookers taking up space in the cabinets. I needed to justify this purchase.
Fortunately, Kathy Hester saved me. Hester is a popular vegan cookbook author; I’ve reviewed her oatmeal book and bean book previously and also own her most popular cookbook, The Vegan Slow Cooker. Hester's latest book, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot, starts out with the basics of how to use the appliance — her explanations are actually a little clearer than the instructions that came with the Instant Pot. The book follows with some basic recipes to get you used to it as well as some handy charts for cooking all types of beans and grains.
The book also has a number of more involved recipes, including layered recipes that allow you to cook an entire meal at one time, such as One-Pot Burrito Bowls. Food bloggers love the Instant Pot for making cheesecakes, and Hester includes a recipe for Chocolate Tofu Cheesecake with a Hazelnut-Oat Crust. There are also great instructions on how to cook whole potatoes, squashes and other vegetables. It’s a very handy cookbook for any Instant Pot user, not just vegans. I am finally really learning to love my Instant Pot.
