Beef Stew

Just the thing for a cold, rainy fall day.  Even better that it can be made using the new kitchen tool, the modern, gadgety pressure cooker from my aunt.

 I have never really been a fan of crock pots.  My mom is many things, but a super-fantastic cook is not on the list.  We never starved, a testament to her tenacity, but it wasn't always pretty.  As a result, the mention of crock pots conjure images of over-stewed turkey drumsticks and soup that could be used as glue-way too much barley.  Crock pots also suck a lot of power - all day or all night long, depending.  I will never forget a friend who was heading to the jungles of Brazil to be a linguist asking me, "Can I run a crock pot on the same solar cells that I use for my computer and radio?"  To which I replied "No, not enough juice."  

But sometimes it is necessary to simulate slow cooking when the grocery store meat prices push me to buy a tough chunk of heavily used dairy cow that has been "retired".  After an hour in the pressure cooker, the meat is nice and tender and all the yummy flavors have been sealed in the cooker and infused into the stew.

The beef stew recipe is fairly standard:
1-2 lb. chunk of tough beef, cut into big bite sized cubes,
    seasoned with salt and pepper
1 onion, cut in big pieces
2-3 potatoes, peeled and chunked
2-3 carrots, washed and chunked
2 or 3 bay leaves or a sprig of rosemary
thyme to taste
a few slices of pickled jalapenos, if heat desired
a few good squirts of Worcestershire sauce (1-2 Tbs.?)
a few good squirts of malt vinegar (1-2 Tbs.?)
additional salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups water

Brown the meat & onion.
     (This particular gadget has a browning setting!)
Dump all the ingredients into the pressure cooker.  Put the meat on the bottom of the pile.  Seal the pressure cooker tightly, switch it to pressure mode, set timer for 60 minutes, and start it.  Keep children and pets away from the device until cooking is complete and pressure equalizes with room.  If impatience and hunger rule when the cooking is complete, use pressure relief valve very carefully to equalize pressure with the room.  Don't use leafy herbs like parsley in the pressure cooker as they may clog the over pressure safety valves.  If parsley is desired, add it at the end.