J

Hello everyone. I'm J. I have ADHD and an Instant Pot and am a vegetarian who keeps a kosher-style house.

I hate knife skills. I am loath to do stovetop cooking. I'll bake, that's okay.

If you eat the way I do, I welcome you to steal my labor and help yourself to my kitchen recipe book (this site).

I'm powered by stimulants, including coffee. So if you like what you see, you can always buy me a coffee.

My email address is . Drop me a line. I always love hearing from people who eat the way I do.

January 5, 2025

[Instant Pot] Fancy Dinner Macaroni and Cheese

When The Mister and I were courting, we weren't well off enough to afford restaurant dates. So, we would have "Fancy Dinner" which is where we cooked something we would otherwise purchase at a restaurant, but for below-restaurant prices at home. This macaroni and cheese recipe qualifies. It is more expensive to make than a sub-$1 box of store brand, however every extra penny is worth it in the taste department.

May 15, 2023

[Instant Pot] Vegetarian Japanese Golden Curry

Have you had Golden Curry? It is the tongue-satisfying corporeal embodiment of the flavor: umami. It is stew, cooked in a fraction of the time it takes to cook stew. And it can be cooked entirely in the Instant Pot.

I know there are other Instant Pot Japanese Golden Curry recipes, but they all contain meat and use pressure. This one is just the sauté feature and is vegetarian, making it a dish that can be cooked anywhere there is a power outlet.

Golden curry is WORK though. Nothing minimal effort here. Lots of stirring and cutting on the front end. On the back end is a lot of waiting. This is probably why people in Japan only have this dish a few times a month.

February 28, 2023

[Instant Pot] Close Enough to Eggplant Parm (on Pasta)

I was craving Eggplant Parmesan (aka Eggplant Parmigiano), but I really, really hate making it myself. There's the slicing of the eggplant, the salting of the eggplant, the dabbing away of eggplant moisture, the breading of the eggplant, and I could go on forever.

So I usually buy this one. All the better to let someone else do the labors and me enjoy the flavors. My favorite Eggplant Parm dealer, Alfredo's Pizza Villa, has an option to serve it over pasta.

Could I recreate that at home? In the Instant Pot?

The answer is, "No." But I can come very close.

February 20, 2023

Lemon Fruit Yogurt Cake

Do you have fruit that is about to go bad? This recipe will help you turn it into a muffin-cake type thing in no time. It is #vegetarian, but not vegan, on account of the eggs and yogurt; I have not tested this with dairy-free yogurt nor a functional egg substitute. I have tested the cornstarch-and-water egg substitute and the cake doesn't work well, but no egg substitutes beyond that. If you test dairy-free yogurt or find an egg substitute that works, give me a comment to let me know how it fares.

This cake works quite nicely as a sheet birthday cake (#birthdaycake), without the need to ice, as the fruit topping adds that extra delight that icing typically does. Tested at a 9 year old's birthday party to the happy smiles of all and the delight of parents that it only contains 1/2 cup of added sugar for the whole cake.

January 5, 2023

McCormick's Butter Chicken Spice Mix

A long, long time ago in a galaxy right where you are currently located, there was a lovely company called

which produced the very best Makhani spice packet that could ever be purchased at a standard American grocery store. It was so good, in fact, that when they discontinued the spice packet, people took to the internet to seek a duplicate. There were none to be found.

SEVEN years later, McCormick finally has posted the recipe on their website. In fear that the page on their website will disappear at some point, like the spice blend did, it is being archived here, here, here, and here on this blog for posterity. We must not lose this flavor again!