To read or not to read...

Early in my life I developed a love of reading. I think this was greatly fostered by the fact that my mother was a reader AND we did not have a TV for much of my childhood. The library was a wonderful place full of adventure, mystery, and Elizabethan romance just waiting there for me to discover. I worked my way through all the "classics" and countless others not considered worthy of that moniker. I would stay up late into the night voraciously finishing a book only to experience the subsequent sorrow at having to say "Goodbye" to the characters and their lives. I would envision where they were now and what happened after the book ended. I loved reading!

But somewhere along my adult life, especially after I had children, I no longer had the time to devote to my old friends. Magazines and small easy-reading materials took their places - things that I could finish quickly in the 5-10 minute segments squeezed in around my kid's needs. I didn't even realize that I had failed to impart this old love to my sons...until my oldest read "The Hobbit" for school and loved it so much that he requested and read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and then the rest of Tolkien's works. I often found him (after bedtime) sitting in bed- reading! The spark had been ignited!

My middle one has always given me trouble when I give him reading assignments. When I read to him, however, he never wants us to stop. His favorite thing to do after we finish a book is to find and watch the movie. We recently completed "Children of the New Forest", scoured the internet for the movie, joined Netflix to get it, waited 2 weeks for it to arrive, and sat down with much anticipation to watch it. It was a C movie at best and slaughtered the book, which Mason incredulously pointed out throughout the entire movie. His conclusion was that the movie is never as good as the book because it forces someone else's image of the text onto you - oh, and that we had just wasted 2 hours of our lives! Score one for books!!

Now my husband is not exactly a bibliophile (unless you count computer manuals) and we have the occasional discussion as to the importance of public libraries. His argument is that soon books will all be electronic anyway and should we be putting our tax dollars toward libraries when there is so much need elsewhere. I feel that there is something intrinsically wrong with that way of thinking, but on the other hand most of the books that Mason and I have read this year we downloaded and read on the computer. Shouldn't we be putting that money toward social programs, crime prevention, roads, etc... instead of these gorgeous buildings for people to look at free porn? Still I can't help thinking that with the demise of public libraries, something good and amazing about our society would vanish. There is just something about holding the written word in your hand, feeling the pages, reading the notes previous generations have inscribed in it, curling up in a comfy chair with it, even that musty book smell that I don't particularly care for, that you cannot get electronically! Walking into a public library means stepping into a world where anything is possible; a place where you will be inspired, challenged, enlightened, angered, and astounded as you meet new friends and visit new worlds. All for free!! Well, assuming you return them by the due date!

Reading books enriches our lives, expands our horizons, dispels myths, opens our minds, and entertains us in a way that television could never do. To witness my children walking into this world is an incredible thrill and has stirred that old yearning inside me - time to go make some new "friends"!

Under Pressure!

Many years ago, we bought a really cool pressure cooker at a fantastic value. It has taken up considerable pantry space ever since, as we have both been too afraid to try it out. Once in a great while I would haul it out with fresh resolve to actually use it, only to be overcome by vague childhood memories of stories of exploding kitchens and scalded cooks. Add to that the fact that I do not often cook meat and the pressure cooker has remained in pristine condition.

Well, I volunteered to bring dinner for our bible study group and started looking around on the Internet for an easy bean recipe. I discovered that people cook beans in pressure cookers and instead of taking 1-1 1/2 hours to cook, it takes 15 minutes!! Bonus!!! I found a great site http://www.vegancoach.com/pressure-cooker-beans.html called Vegan Coach where they have posted an instructional video on making pressure cooked beans. Watching the video gave me the confidence to actually try it and I decided to document my experience (in ridiculous detail) and share it with you!

Ah beans, the musical fruit, turns out that a lot of that "music" is caused by not soaking the dried beans long enough. Because I live in a house with 4 naturally musical guys, I soaked mine about 17 hours (recommendation is overnight) and this is what they looked like:

That's 4 cups of dried turtle beans (black beans are also called turtle beans, who knew!) in enough water to really cover as they'll expand to 3 times their size.

Important tip alert: DO NOT ADD SALT until after your beans are done cooking. Apparently this will toughen the skins and keep the beans from cooking properly.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander and place in the cooker with 12 cups of water. The rule is 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of dried beans.

Close the lid of the cooker AND LOCK IT!!! I set it to High Pressure, for 18 minutes, and - SUPER SCARY part - I pressed the start button and proceeded in an orderly fashion (if running away with flailing arms is orderly) to the other side of the kitchen. Where I observed the cooker, it did nothing for quite some time until suddenly the red pressure indicator popped up! The false calm I had settled into was again replaced by apprehension. The cooker began to make all kinds of sizzling and whistling noises and then the 18 minutes of cooking actually began. It sounded like the faucet was running at full blast the whole time, so not a quiet undertaking. And, when you add in the pressure building and de-pressurizing time, actual cooking time is really about 10-15 minutes longer. Still much shorter than traditional methods.

OK, on to the reveal...ta dah....perfectly cooked (maybe even slightly overcooked) beans!! I added in a ton of salt and spices (unsalted beans = YUCK) and very yummy beans were enjoyed by all!

Pressure cooking was fun, and it appears the opportunities are endless. Pressure cooked cakes, chili, sauces, and more! Wonder if I could squeeze a turkey in there!!

Bon Appetit!