Last winter I had a short and intense love affair with my slow cooker. At first I was a novice and a bit nervous, but I overcame my slight hesitation once I experienced some food thrills. I swooned as I discovered that I could make beef stews, fabulous dumpling topped casseroles and even chicken satay and it ONLY TOOK 8 HOURS. Sigh.
Perhaps it’s flighty, but this winter, slightly bolder, I was looking for something new. After a taste of appliance life I was wanting more and I find now that I’ve been seduced away by something much more hardcore. Like a red room of pain that holds such threat and the promise of such pleasure I’ve been lured into the world of PRESSURE COOKING, where I can make all the same stuff BUT IN 20 MINUTES.
Admittedly there’s a time and place and both. Each has nuances to offer. I can’t imagine dumplings being so great in the pressure cooker and I can’t get my slow cooker to simmer away thickening a sauce in the way my pressure cooker does.
But why limit yourself to just one when you can swing and have the best of both worlds, right? Which is why this month’s giveaway prize is so totally exciting. It’s the Kambrook Pressure Express Digital Pressure Cooker, valued at $120 and it has all the joys of a pressure cooker PLUS a slow cook function. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL.
I have the exact same model and it’s awesome. To get you inspired, here’s a recipe that originates in the Woman’s Weekly slow cooker book. It’s a great combination of flavours and works really well tweaked as a pressure cooker recipe.
8 hours, or 20 minutes? Whatever you can handle.
Pressure cooker Italian Beef Stew
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Italian herbs
2 tbsp olive oil
8 pickling onions, peeled but left whole
250g bacon
12 button mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
Pepper
1 kg chuck steak, cubed
1 bulb fennel, diced
2 large carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
1/2 cup grated pumpkin
Combine the wine, paste, vinegar and herbs in a bowl or jug and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium/high heat. Add the oil then brown the onions and bacon. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for several minutes, turning often-ish. You want to get nice browned spots on your onions and the bacon to be cooked through.
Toss over the garlic and stir for 30 seconds before adding in the tomato mixture. Bring it all to a strong simmer, then tip it into the pressure cooker along with the bay leaf, meat, fennel, carrots and pumpkin.
Following the safety instructions, seal the lid, bring to pressure and cook for 20 minutes.
Release the pressure. Serve over mash or pasta, topped with parsley.
Serves 2 adults and 6 kids.
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HOW TO WIN?
I’m thinking you need a challenge in order to win this fabulous prize. How about comment below with a rhyme or limerick or some clever sentence about how much you like to COOK. (see, it’ll be very easy for you to get the sponsor’s name in there – which might just make them happy enough to donate more prizes in the future). Other conditions? You must be living in Australia – you must be a Vegie Smugglers subscriber and I would strongly urge you to check out the Kambrook Facebook page and also check out their Perfect Pantry blog – which is no hardship considering it’s packed with great recipes.
Entries close next Thursday July 18 at 8pm AEST. **CONGRATULATIONS TO MELANIE WHO WON THE COOKER WITH HER LOVELY RHYMES….
Vegie Smugglers 
Melanie said,
July 12, 2013 @ 4:43 pm
There was a young woman who loved to eat stew
She had so many children she knew just what to do
She grabbed some tin toms and some beef she could cook
And whipped it all in her fancy Kambrook!
wendyblume said,
July 12, 2013 @ 5:11 pm
Off to a cracking start Melanie! Very impressive! X
Tanya said,
July 12, 2013 @ 5:22 pm
Cooking under pressure or slow to cook?
You can do both in your trusty Kambrook!
Agnes Christen said,
July 12, 2013 @ 5:22 pm
A lady named Agnes wanted to cook
She pulled out her pressure cooker by Kambrook
She threw something in it
Then waited a minute
Her family exclaimed “what a beautiful chook!”
Nikki Boswell said,
July 12, 2013 @ 6:13 pm
De diddly dumpling, my son Tom,
Went to school and left the Kambrook on,
It slowly simmered all day through,
For dinner that night was delicious Italian beef stew,
wendyblume said,
July 12, 2013 @ 7:14 pm
Nice work Nikki!
Lee said,
July 12, 2013 @ 7:18 pm
Hubby loves the kitchen, he’s a great cook
But what a difference with a Kambrook
Add some pressure ease some time
Yummy meals mmmmm sublime!
Elly said,
July 12, 2013 @ 8:41 pm
There is a gadget by Kambrook that is so nifty give it a twist and it works great under pressure and is so quick with a delish dish but then Kambrook knew not all work great under pressure so they went with the slow but sure to impress twist so you can have a meal made by the day or night to enjoy when you wish … what will Kambrook do for with another twist.
Melissa said,
July 12, 2013 @ 8:48 pm
Invest in a pressure cooker
To save you some time
Make sure it’s a kambrook
Which makes every dish divine.
Kell Kelly said,
July 12, 2013 @ 10:00 pm
Cooking is my stress release,
As I’m chopping piece by piece.
When I need a helping hand,
Kambrook is my go to brand.
The aromas wafting I do enjoy,
A bit of this, that and maybe some soy.
Cooking is something I truly love,
Like a hand is to a snuggly glove!
Ashleigh said,
July 12, 2013 @ 10:31 pm
Cooking is such a chore for me so help me out and send me a kambrook for free,
It will save me time, my kids won’t wait long to dine, that would be absolutely divine!
the food will cook fast and taste so great, this I would really appreciate!
Mrs P said,
July 12, 2013 @ 10:38 pm
The Vegie Smuggler, she is so smart.
She made smuggling vegies, into an art.
She adds them to all types of food that you eat.
You might even be fooled into thinking it’s just meat.
Some folks at a company by the name of Kambrook,
Took notice of her blog and realised she can cook.
She’d cooked with a slow cooker and the food was divine.
But the folks at Kambrook thought it was Pressure Cooker time.
So they sent her one, to trial one day,
they were keen to here, all that she had to say.
It is a winner, in 20 minutes dinner was cooked.
And it’s all thanks to the great people at the company Kambrook!
Carli Beaver said,
July 12, 2013 @ 10:49 pm
My eldest is three my youngest is one, cooking with them is always great fun. Last night at the table my son said “you can cook”, I replied “imagine what I could do if I had a Kambrook!”
Sam said,
July 12, 2013 @ 10:57 pm
Birth three went quite by the book
But now the kitchen’s not somewhere I look
Kids loved toast and beans
Til serving seventeen
Can you rescue us lovely Kambrook?
Jo said,
July 13, 2013 @ 10:38 am
I hate to cook
Those time consuming stews
8 hours, you say?
It gives me the blues!
Now I’m told
I can do the same
In 20 minutes
That’s not so lame!
Where can I get one
Of these magic cookers?
Kambrook are the donators
And I’m sure they’re all lookers!
Amanda said,
July 13, 2013 @ 11:28 am
i like to cook
from a book
but when i look
this chook
needs a kambrook
Kristy Chromicky said,
July 13, 2013 @ 4:22 pm
There once was a cook, who didn’t yet own a kmabrook,
Oh geez 😦 I’m not creative!
wendyblume said,
July 13, 2013 @ 5:03 pm
i like it kristy! short but sweet.
Mary Preston said,
July 13, 2013 @ 10:11 pm
Loving all the clever rhymes in the comments. This is so much fun. (I figured a cheer squad was called for.) Here goes:
Kambrook!! Kambrook!!
Their the best.
If they can’t do it, no one can!!
Yay Kambrook!!
Claire Bailey said,
July 13, 2013 @ 11:56 pm
There was a lady who loved to cook,
She had a slow cooker, it was Kambrook,
It took so long
she wrote a song
all about tasty roast chook
Catherine said,
July 14, 2013 @ 11:28 pm
There once was a mum with a family of eight,
(Her and the kids and their army dad),
She often got busy and just couldn’t wait
For her ancient slow cooker – it was all that she had!
She truly did long for a versatile cooker,
A Kambrook that could cook both fast or slow,
The new one in store was quite a good-looker,
And she really would love to give it a go!!
karlene75 said,
July 15, 2013 @ 12:42 am
Not so much clever as true…Coles have a new range of slow cooker meals which are divine (and economical) but they take 6 hours to cook. That doesn’t work for me on week days as I leave home at 8am and don’t get home until 6. I’m not sure about leaving the slow cooker on for such a long time and wonder if the meat would end up drying out? And on weekends I’m not excited by heart slow cooked meals as much as grabbing something quickly between outings. So a pressure cook would relieve the pressure, so to speak. (Ah, that was a tiny bit clever after all)
Sharon Fawcett said,
July 15, 2013 @ 8:00 am
There once was a man named Kam
He was no wham, bam, thank you, Maam
He met a young lady named Brook
Who was a lovely cook
And together they baked
And eventually did make
A lovely offspring named Kambrook.
Elena Vo said,
July 15, 2013 @ 1:47 pm
My poor kitchen doesn’t know
A day or two without cooking
It simply doesn’t understand
How much I really love to eat
Maryanne Davies said,
July 15, 2013 @ 7:07 pm
Some Veggies in here some Veggies in there, Kambrook and me, We make a great pair!
susievenkat said,
July 16, 2013 @ 11:03 am
There once was a girl who could cook
But her kitchen lacked a Kambrook
For the love of a meal
Should she beg, borrow or steal?
Or use her Vegie Smugglers recipe book?
Jacinta said,
July 16, 2013 @ 11:10 pm
One is those days I’d rather forget
Kids have gone crazy and husbands a sook
Is 5:45 and dinner is no sure bet
Thank goodness for vegie smugglers and Kambrook
Six thirty now and dinner is done
‘Yummy Mum’ ‘dinner was divine’
Kids doing the dishes having some fun
And I am enjoying a glass of wine
Catherine said,
July 17, 2013 @ 11:08 am
I’m not a very good cook,
But with the help of a pressure cooker from Kambrook,
I will be able to make anything in the recipe book,
And it won’t be under or over cooked.
Claire Lewis said,
July 17, 2013 @ 12:43 pm
I really don’t enjoy dinner,
whether I am the diner or the cook,
but it might be slightly less painful
with the help of an appliance from Kambrook!
Emma said,
July 17, 2013 @ 1:06 pm
As a busy working mum,
Meals are often on the run,
Secret vegies I must smuggle,
Work life balance is a juggle,
There must be an easier way to cook,
Hang on a minute – there is – KAMBROOK!
(see what I did there with the vegies and the smuggling … double ‘product placement’ … so proud of myself!) 😉
wendyblume said,
July 17, 2013 @ 3:34 pm
Noted. Impressed 😉
Cate said,
July 17, 2013 @ 3:32 pm
Working soon from 9.30 until 6,
This Mumma needs some new organisational tricks,
To make sure dinners ready for Mr two,
Before he is creating a hullabaloo,
Or has eaten everything in sight,
And then has no room for dinner-not even a bite!
The answer to my problem might just be found,
Before my tears of frustration hit the ground!
It’s the Express Pressure Cooker by Kambrook,
Which pleases even the most passionate cook.
Slowly cooking when I’m organised in the morning,
Or pressure cooking at night when I’m tired and yawning!
On the weekends I can cook with passion for three,
Maybe even a treat- Loving cooking for my family!
Christina said,
July 18, 2013 @ 9:03 am
I really love to cook
and reading through a recipe book,
my favourite protein is a chook
and I’m looking forward to cooking this in my new kambrook!
Great idea for a comp too!!