Under Pressure

So last weekend I had another one of my "I am gonna cook my Husband a good ol' southern meal" episodes and decided to cook peas, corn-on-the-cob, boiled potatoes plus a meat (I cannot remember which meat at this point). I had set up my pressure cooker for the precious pink-eyed peas I had found at the veggie stand up the road, potatoes and corn were boiling and I was peeling cucumbers for the summer cucumber/tomato salad. Well, right about the time the timer went off to turn the burner off on the peas, Hubby comes through the kitchen handing me his cell phone saying a family member was on the other end wanting to talk to me. Well, I turned the timer off and thought I had turned the burner off as I grabbed the phone. Well the conversation turned into a 10 minute ordeal complete with my getting really agitated half way into the discussion over my Grandmother's passing... I will not go into the details but, by the time I hung up I was frustrated and had somehow wound up in the office. Ten minutes later and something smells funny... I take off running for the kitchen only to find that my pressure cooker was still going and brown juice is now blowing out of the top! I turn the burner off and start kicking myself over the fact that I let the peas go that long on the stove. And the smell was AWFUL! How peeved was I? First of all, I destroyed $6-8 worth of expensive peas, I ruined the first housewarming gift my Grandmother gave me when I bought my first house (very sentimental!) and the house REEKED of scorched nastiness! Well, of course I informed Hubby that he is NEVER to hand me another phone call in the middle of cooking meals. Supper was disappointing since the peas were destroyed and the cooker? Don't ask! I had to soak it for over a week to get the black crust to start dislodging itself from the bottom and sides of it. Hubby finally put the elbow grease to it this weekend and got it back to a mostly normal state. But, needless to say, the gasket is shot and the bottom of the pot is not level any more. I attempted to cook more peas in it last night for supper and the steam now escapes from one side of the pot where the gasket is not getting a good seal now. I had to put a LOT of water in it and let it cook for a lot longer but the peas were only okay. I am mostly sad that my precious Mirro pressure cooker that my Grandmother gave me over 11 years ago is now junk. I did look online today and finally found where Amazon sells the Mirro brand. I will get all the info off mine when I get home tonight and see about ordering us a new one. What a bummer.

Home Cooked Memories!

Hubby and I made a trip to the local vegetable stand this afternoon for some homegrown goodies. We bought lots of delicious things and then came home to start the pot roast I told Hubby I was going to cook him for his work lunches this coming week. I decided to cook the pint of pink-eyed peas I bought at the stand and several ears of the white corn. I pulled out my old pressure cooker that my Grandmother gave me when I bought my first house. I set up the peas with bacon bits and set it to cook. About twenty minutes later, Hubby comes flying in the office to inform me that the pot of peas is going crazy in the kitchen. I just laugh and say that is what they are supposed to be doing! He must not be used to someone cooking in a pressure cooker- guess that is a sign I should be cooking more food in it more often, huh? Well, a little later I went to the basement to grab the clothes out of the dryer and when I came back into the main level of our house, the delicious smell of the peas cooking just filled my head with so many childhood memories of my Grandmother’s home smelling just like that for so many years and my heart just longed to be in her kitchen again. I told Hubby that the smell of our supper cooking smelled just liked my home with my Grandmother when I was growing up and how much I just love that smell. Needless to say, the meal was as delicious as I remember hers being back home. My heart is smiling!