If I do say so myself tonight's chicken, zuchini and tomato risotto cooked in my new pressure cooker was absolutely gorgeous! I would go so far as to say it was the best risotto I've ever made (and possibly ever tasted).

There's something about the pressure cooker which forces the flavours together beautifully. It was just right, creamy with just a bit of firmness in the rice itself. The savoury chicken flavour was beautiful.

I have now made three things in the cooker and I am learning that the recipes need to have about an extra 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time added to them. The lamb shanks I made on Sunday were nice but definitely not falling off the bone, which is how they should be. I think an extra 10 minutes would have made a big difference.

At this rate I may never need my other pots and pans again. There is almost nothing I can't make in this thing. [Obviously I still need my wok and my big pot for cooking pasta, but everything else can go.]

Luckily I have made it back to the gym as of this morning because all this hearty winter cooking is going to be tough on the waist measurement.