The Yum Yum Factor

This post is sponsored by   Persimon®  It's November and that means it's Persimmon season which also means it's time for  Persimon®  persimmons (Rojo Brillante) all the way from  Ribera del Xúquer in Spain. These particular fruit, known for their firm flesh and mild flavour, are ripe and ready to eat by the time they hit the grocery store, unlike other varieties  like the Hachiya which have to soften and ripen before they can be consumed. By getting these, you are taking the guess work out of it.  You will be able to find these in the store from now until February or until they run out of stock, so hurry up and grab a case or two while you can. Last year, I made a  Tarte Tartin  with my haul so this year,  Persimon® invited me to take part in their black box challenge, which is kind of like Chopped but I get to participate in my pjs in the comfort of my own kitchen. They send a bunch of bloggers a mystery box full of Spa...

First of all, I want to make it clear that this is NOT a magic, super fast pressure cooker stew recipe but it is still easier and quicker than doing it on the stove and the flavour is more intense so the extra steps are worth it. One the issues faced with making beef or pork stews in my Instant Pot is the disparity in cooking time for the meat vs the vegetables. I find that most stews leave me with vegetables that are about to disintegrate by the time the meat is cooked to perfection. To avoid this, many recipes will tell you to keep the vegetables almost whole to avoid this but I also don't want a bowl of stew with giant chunks of carrot and potato either.  When it doubt, I turn to Serious Eats to see how they deal with the dilemma. I like to call it WWKD (what would Kenji do?) I adapted his method to my recipe and it works beautifully but if you really insist on making it even easier,  you don't have to brown the cut up vegetables. You can always just throw in the ...

So, what is congee, you might ask? It sounds exotic but it's really just a nice, soupy, savoury rice porridge that is the perfect remedy for frigid winter mornings. Even though we go for dim sum regularly, we don't usually order this because it's really filling and it cuts down on the amount of dumplings I can scarf so it's something I save for home, but, pre , I didn't make this as often as I would have liked. Since my wizard pot truly lets me set it and forget it, I plan to make a batch of this every weekend over the winter. I am NOT a sweet breakfast girl but any porridge that lets me garnish it with crispy pork, chilis and other savoury treats is the food of my cold, dark heart. You can make congee with any sort of broth but chicken congee is a great way to use up the leftovers from a roast chicken, whether its a bird you roasted yourself or a bubble chicken that you picked up at the supermarket. Just throw in the entire carcass, all leftover meat, some ...