Unstuffed Cabbage

Continuing on in the quest for fast healthy crew meals, here are the three latest pressure cooker trials. After the success with the first three, these were not up to snuff. Will have to retry with modifications.

Unstuffed Cabbage with Turkey

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup pearl barley
8 large cabbage leaves
1 14oz. can of diced tomatoes
juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 onion chopped
1 carrot grated
1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon garlic mince
1/4 cup Craisins

Oil the pot, add 1/2 cup water and barley to pot. Turn on Wally, place pot on burner. Put layer of cabbage leaves on top of barley, put half of tomatoes on top, sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.
Beat egg in bowl, add onion, parsley, garlic, carrots, and turkey mix well. Drop by forkfuls on leaves. Sprinkle with Craisins. Top with rest of cabbage leaves and tomatoes. Bring to pressure, steam 8 mins. Let sit off heat while you set table, etc. Depressure under cold water if needed and serve.
I found this one a bit sweet to my taste. Will leave out sugar next time. This was better the next day, but that is against my rule for quick and easy boat food, so can't plan for that.

Pomegranate Chicken

1/2 onion sliced thick
4 chicken pieces, salted and peppered
2 Tablespoons thick pomegranate juice (Boil down until thick, carefully as it will caramelize. This is something to do at home and pack.)
1 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
12-16 baby red potatoes
1/2 acorn squash, seeded and cut in chunks
2 cups Brussels sprouts
6 cremini mushrooms, halved

Oil pot, place on stove, turn on Wally. Place chicken in pot as it warms. Drop mustard on chicken. Add onions, potatoes, sprouts and squash. Pour pomegranate juice over all and bring to pressure. Steam 5 min, cool under cool water, serve.
This one was the best of the three this week. Making the thick juice required extra time, easy at home, but not a good idea at sea. It would require extra fuel as well as steaming up the cabin that we try to keep dry. The ingredients for this would keep rather well. The flavor of this was very good.

Chicken (or Tofu) Satay

1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 bunch scallions, sliced into rings
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped fine
1 cup broth, chicken or vegetable
1 cup rice
4 pieces chicken or a 1/2 lb tofu crumbled
1/4 head shredded red cabbage
2 cups snow peas
1 large shitake mushroom thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Turn on Wally to high while you get everything ready. Put coconut oil in pot and add chicken. Fry chicken to sear, add rice and a 1/4 cup water. Shake to bottom of pot. Make sauce from peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, scallion, and 2 Tablespoons of the broth. Drizzle some on the chicken. place cabbage as a layer on top, drizzle with sauce. Put snow peas and mushrooms on top of that. Pour rest of sauce on, cover, and bring to pressure, steam 5 mins. Cool under running water and serve.
(This one was disappointing after all the wonderful smells in preparation. Thee was too much cabbage and not enough diversity in texture. The essences seem to have blended to a bland sameness. I want to try this again but only pressure cooking the chicken and rice, then depressuring to add the rest of the veg and just a quick steam to keep the crispness. Add the sauce last.)