2 new finds in vegetarian techniques

There's a technique for vegetable puree that I've successfully done 3 times now. I think its a keeper. Needs a pressure cooker.

Cut hard vegetable into small (say 3 cm slices) pieces. Put enough butter into pressure cooker to coat the vegetables, melt it and then mix in the veg. Then put in 0.5% by weight of baking soda (this is the same thing that provides for the browning effect in quick baked goods among other effects). Mix the baking soda well into the vegetables. Then close the cover, and cook under pressure for 15 to 20 minutes. Quick cool, take the mixture out and then blend into a puree (possibly with some liquid such as milk or cream). The result is a really smooth puree with a sweet, nutty flavor.

I've already done it with broccoli (with a bit of coconut cream and thai lime juice), pumpkin (pictured below), and onions. Obviously, for those who like crunch in their vegetables, this would feel very much like baby food. But mw has liked the result so far. She says this technique can make excellent dips.

I've done it with the veg in a mason jar and pressure steam. I've also put the veg directly in the cooker but there will be some stuck bits on the bottom (shake well from time to time during cooking). I finally settled on using a non stick pot that comes with my pressure cooker.

Another find is the corn dish on the top right of the picture below. Cheap and easy. Just boil some stock with salt to taste and some sprigs of fresh thyme, them simmer for a while to get the thyme worked into the stock. Then bring to a furious boil and dunk in some frozen corn. Boil till cooked. Surprisingly tasty.