The Instant Pot: A Love Note to Beans

Let’s talk about the Instant Pot. Or as I call it, the InstaPot mainly because it annoys Tom. He always corrects me. “It’s called the Instant Pot, you know,” he says. 

I reply, “Yes, honey I love my InstaPot.” 

http://amzn.to/2kJtIgu

Tom got it for me for my birthday, and if I choose to level up the branding, so be it. Did I mention the InstaPot has bluetooth? It seriously is a Tool for a New Lifestyle. You can turn it off while sitting on the sofa. As long as you're within range.

Here's what I like most: You open up the pot and dinner pops out like some kind of genie in a bottle. Except instead of a bottle, you have a kitchen appliance. And instead of a genie, it’s a delicious kidney bean fricassee.

I don’t know how I ever survived without beans in like half an hour. They go from dry in the bag to ready to go with no soaking or anything. It’s kind of like a magic trick. This is practical because beans are a mainstay when it comes to a plant-based lifestyle. 

Plus you can sauté in this thing. And then throw in other things and pressure cook the lot of it. All in one pot. It’s like a 1950s dream, dinner in one pot. I’m reading Sylvia Plath’s journals right now. Probably if she had had an InstaPot she would not have offed herself in the oven. 

(That was terribly off color and insensitive. I apologize.)

Derek does not like the Instapot because he says it’s uncontrollable. He says it does not cook at an even temperature and is impossible to fine tune. Derek would know. He’s a fine-tuner. His stereo, for example, is terrifyingly complex. It has small weights balancing the needle. It’s like some kind of steampunk contraption.

Meanwhile, I go through life in a very pleasant culinary haze. If the lentils are a little askew, I can’t say I notice, especially given the amount of curry I tend to accidentally spill all over the place in a failed attempt at using a tablespoon measurer.

When it comes to the InstaPot, I’m totally in the majority though. Stacie is a big fan of the InstaPot. How I got hooked on it to begin with was all her talk about oatmeal. A little almond milk, toss in some raisins, and bam. Steel cut oats in twenty.

It’s kind of a cult, this InstaPot. There’s whole recipe books, like for example, “The Ultimate Vegan InstaPot Cookbook.” The NYT is onto it. 

(Here's an ad for the InstaPot. If you intend to buy one, click on the link. Allegedly I'm supposed to get a piece of the action, although this has yet to ever materialize, despite all the quality links I put in the Cher post. How could I not be suspicious?)