While I'm not making any 'guarantees' about the safety of this recipe, here's my own family pressure canned 'basic' spaghetti sauce recipe, which hasn't killed anybody yet ... Using enough tomatoes to nearly fill an 18 quart stock pot ... 3/4ths San Marzano / Roma or other sauce tomatoes 1/4th Beefsteak / Better Boy or other juice tomatoes Wash and hull tomatoes, cut out bad spots, grind up tomatoes ( skins and all ) in a 'meat grinder' add 1 tbsp sugar, oregano, marjoram, basil, red pepper flakes to taste. add 2 cans tomato paste for additional thickness simmer with lid off for about 6 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. This is a judgement call based on specific tomatoes used, and can run anywhere between 4 and 8 hours. When cooked down to desired 'thickness', start transferring to sterilized 1 pint canning jars. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to each 1 pint canning jar as you fill Can for 25 minutes at 10 psi At the time of opening a canning jar and serving, then and only then do I add sauteed chopped peppers, sauteed mushrooms, or any other 'wet' ingredients !!! The cooked down tomatoes by themselves may be near the 'borderline' of safely low pH ... therefore I don't add anything except 'dry' spices to the basic sauce I am canning. I also individually add the 1/2 teaspooon per pint of canning salt to make sure that there is sufficient salt concentration in each and every jar to 'discourage' bacteria growth.

I love my pressure cooker, and I'm so surprised that more Americans don't use them anymore! My mother bought me a Fissler pressure cooker in Europe, where's it's one of the best brands available, and I've never had any problems with it. I don't know where you might find a Fissler pressure cooker in the US, but I highly recommend them, especially over Fagor (I have both, and it's like night and day). I use the pressure cooker for stews, meats, steaming veggies, and rice. I even cook pasta in it! Bottom line, since I'm so short on time every night because of work and traffic, the pressure cooker allows me to eat fast meals without eating all the preservatives and other chemical junk that goes into convenience foods. I love it!

We use a microwave rice cooker that BF's father (full-blood-cajun-I-can't-understand-a-word-he-says-so-I-just-smile-and-nod-and-have-been-caught-doing-it) sent us. It works perfect for white rice every time. His parents make seafood gumbo, jambalya, and catfish courtboullion that make you scream! Anyway, it's a multiuse gadget too. You can serve in it, store in it in the fridge, reheat in it, etc. When we reheat, we sometimes add stuff like gravy, meat, corn, seasonings, or whatever. I'm going to try to make rice pudding with leftovers in it someday soon. I found another brand new Pampered Chef micro rice cooker at the thrift for 2 bucks! Now we're set, the thing looks like it will last for three generations! BF is teaching me to stay in the kitchen when I cook. I too, have a difficult time with things like garlic bread, toasting nuts, etc. I've begun using the timer for even one minute at a time!! It's easy to get distracted, isn't it? What did you end up doing about your rice situation?

Here's the recipe as handed down to me by my mother & grandmother, including their technique of weighting down the stuffed grape leaf rolls with an old plate and some heavy rocks. Yaprakia/Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves) This classic Greek dish can be served as an appetizer or main dish. Rolling the grape leaves may be time consuming, but it is certainly worth the effort. Delicious! Filling: 1 pound lean ground beef or lamb 1 large onion, finely chopped 2-4 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1-cup long grain white rice 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 1-tablespoon mint 1-tablespoon dill weed 1-tablespoon oregano ½ cup chopped, fresh parsley (optional) 1-teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 16 ounce jar grape leaves (approximately 50 leaves) Juice of one lemon Beef broth, chicken broth, or vegetable broth ÂRemove rolls of grape leaves from jar and unroll. ÂRinse under cold water and drain well. ÂSet aside badly torn leaves for use later. ÂCut stems off grape leaves. ÂSauté onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent; cool. ÂMix rice, onion and garlic mixture, tomato sauce, mint, dill weed, oregano, parsley (if using), salt and pepper in large bowl; mix well. ÂAdd ground beef or lamb to filling ingredients and mix thoroughly using hands. ÂLay a leaf, vein side up, on a cutting board with stem pointing away from you. ÂPlace tablespoon of filling (depending on size of leaf) on the part of leaf where stem begins (near center). ÂThe filling should form a narrow cylinder; do not over fill or the rolls will burst during cooking. ÂTuck in side edges to secure filling. ÂRoll toward you, forming a small cylinder (like a tiny burrito or eggroll) approximately 2½ inches long and ¾ inches wide. ÂDo not wrap too loosely or the roll will come undone during cooking. Pressure Cooker Method: ÂInsert an adjustable vegetable steamer or the pressure cooker steamer/trivet into pressure cooker pot. Â(Optional) Line bottom of steamer with a single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves. If no leaves are torn, omit this step. ÂPlace rolls seam side down in bottom of pot steamer, tightly together in concentric circles, layer upon layer. ÂYou want a tight fit so that rolls don't unravel when cooking. ÂContinue until all rolls are in pot. ÂAny leftover filling may be stuffed into cabbage leaves or lettuce leaves or made into tiny meatballs and placed on top of rolled grape leaves in pot. Â(Optional: Cover top with another single layer of the reserved torn grape leaves.) ÂCover rolls completely with broth and lemon juice. ÂPlace a heavy plate (I have a special old plate that I use specifically for this purpose) that fits inside the pot over rolls as a weight to keep leaves from unrolling. ÂFor good measure, place a few clean rocks or stones (I have three dolmathes rocks just for this dish) on top of the plate to secure the rolls. ÂCover pot and bring to pressure. ÂCook about 35 minutes. ÂRemove from heat and let pressure come down naturally. ÂWhen pressure has come down, let stand covered for 10-20 minutes before serving. Yaprakia/Dolmathes may be served hot, warm, or cold. If hot or warm, serve with avgolemono sauce prepared from broth or with plain, unflavored yogurt. If cold, serve with plain, unflavored yogurt.