Monday, April 18, 2011

Coconut Lime Millet Breakfast Pudding (Pressure Cooker 101)

Isn't 

Millet Divinity?

 It's Monday. Oh how we love Monday. It's like a blessed reminder that we have another week to live. It's a glorious new start. It's...gosh...another week of meals. Now, imagine me whirling around on the hills of Austria like Julie Andrews singing , "The MEALS are Alive! with the sound of Music!"Fa la la la !! " Doesn't that make you feel better (or slightly nauseated) ? Monday's also the day I try to share some great way to use food storage and expand just a little on the whole grain, if I haven't done that every other day of the week. Dear land. I think this breakfast will totally count as that. It's a gluten free, dairy free, cream-a-licious pudding that isn't too sweet. I'm a push over for lime and coconut anyway. Millet is a natural couple for it I might add. I also cook it in a pressure cooker, so it's fast!  I'm doing a little tutorial pressure cooker usage too, so if you're a little new to the pressure cooker, join the fun. It's a handy dandy tool to have in your kitchen.
 This is Chef Tess everyone. I have to share some fun that I've had with this  Presto Electric Pressure Cooker .  It's such a handy tool! Did I say that already?!  I love that it doesn't take stove space. I've used it often so I thought I'd show how to cook the millet pudding in a pressure cooker using this model. If you have another brand, you'll have to use your pressure cooker's instructions, but they are all pretty similar.
Chef Tess Creamy Coconut Lime Millet Breakfast Pudding
2/3 cup millet,
 13.5 oz can coconut milk, 
1 cup water, 
zest of one lime,
 pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)

 Place pressure cooker on a dry, level heat resistant surface in center of counter top. As s general rule, prepare ingredients according to the directions in the pressure cooking recipe you have selected. If larger quantity is desired, you may increase the ingredients by half. Be sure not to overfill the pressure cooker.  It's also very important to look through the vent pipe in the lid of the pressure cooker to be sure it is clear of any blockage. You don't want to find that out later when the heat is on.
 This little doo-hik-ee is called a "pressure regulator".  It goes on the top of the vent in the lid.
 Like this.
 On the handle and lid there are arrows that need to line up. Hold the body handle with your left hand and the cover handle with your right hand and twist using a slight downward pressure to get the lid to seal on. Wait. First put the pudding stuff in there.
 2/3 cup millet
 1 can coconut milk and 1 cup of water.
 pinch of salt
 add the  1/2 tsp Wise Woman of The East Spice Blend 
 and the 1/2 tsp vanilla

 Now align the arrows by placing one hand on the cover near the helper hand and applying a slight downward pressure. The pressure cooker is completely closed when the cover handle is directly above the body handle.
 This model shows it is locked.
 You will notice a little rubber knob on the top of the pressure cooker. It is an air vent.
 Turn up the heat to 400 degrees or high.
 The air vent will pop up and then...
The pressure regulator begins a rocking motion. Cooking time starts at this point. 12 minutes for this pudding. Allow the pressure regulator to rock vigorously for 1-2 minutes and then slowly turn the heat control down, stopping just at the point where the pilot light goes out. As cooking proceeds, the heat control will cycle on and off to maintain the proper cooking pressure. The pilot light will go on and off and pressure regulator will rock occasionally indicating that the pressure is being maintained. Note: If the pressure regulator does not rock every 2-3 minutes, it is likely that the heat control has been set too low. Turn the heat control up slightly until the the pilot light comes on.  
 To prevent excessive liquid loss, do not allow pressure regulator to rock vigorously for more than 3-4 minutes. If the regulator is allowed to continuously rock, excess steam will escape. This will cause too much liquid to escape and food to scorch.  Do not leave pressure cooker unattended.   After 12 minutes, turn off heat.
 Wait for pressure cooker to decompress naturally. This may take about 10 minutes.
 Remove pressure regulator only after air vent cover has returned to the flush position.
 The pudding is creamy and ready to be sweetened...
I use three droppers full of stevia.  Preparing Wisely carries this in the store but not online yet. It's by far my favorite brand of stevia since it doesn't have an a funny aftertaste like some of them do.  


 

Or you can use 1/3 cup or so of 
I like my coconut crispy. It's a nice crunch on top of the creamy pudding.  So I stir in the lime zest and sprinkle the coconut over the pudding.
 We serve it up warm.
There you go! Happy Moday!!