Virtually Zero Fat Veggie-Lentil Stew

Equipment:
Rice cooker
Pressure cooker (I use a Fagor Splendid 12 qt.)

Rice:
Brown rice
Water

Stock:
2 Maggie Halal vegetable bouillion cubes
1/2 gallon water
1 cup leftover tomato sauce
2t Paprika

Melange:
1/2 head green cabbage, cored and roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 bunch celery, roughly chopped
2 large ripe tomatoes (or a bunch of small ripe ones), roughly chopped
3 carrots, cut into rounds
4c green beans, tipped and cut into 1" lengths
2 cups dry brown lentils (the smaller the better; Puy are best if you can get them)

Before you do anything else, start the brown rice in your rice cooker according to the cooker's instructions. Brown rice takes a long time to cook, so get that going first thing.

Combine the stock ingredients in the pressure cooker pot and bring to a boil on highest heat while you prepare the vegetables.

When the stock is boiling, add the melange ingredients and stir to mix thoroughly. Push everything down into the stock, which should almost come up to the level of the melange -- maybe about an inch of it will rise above the stock.

Keeping on highest heat, cover and lock the pressure cooker, and turn the release valve to the Cook setting. When the pressure indicator pops, you'll notice that the steam is almost shut off, but be patient because pressure cooking hasn't even started yet. You have to wait for a steady stream of visible, audible but not whistling steam coming from the release valve. Once you see and hear this, turn the heat down to about 1/3 flame height, set your timer to 9 minutes, and start the timer.

Maintain the steady steam until the timer sounds, then turn off the heat. Turn the release valve to the Release setting, which will produce a loud and very visible rush of steam that will last for about 4 minutes. When the steam stops and the pressure indicator pops down, you can unlock the safety handle and remove the lid *AWAY* from you. It's like you're opening up a huge clam from behind so the open faces away from you.

Stir to distribute, and taste for seasoning. You may want to stir in a little more tomato sauce to finish, and you may want a bit more salt, but try to add as little as your palette will allow. After all, you don't want high blood pressure.

Scoop some brown rice in a bowl, then ladle over the veggie-lentil stew and enjoy! :)

Variations:
Of course, it's all in the herbs and spices. Add fresh thyme and oregano (or fresh savory, which tastes like a combination of thyme and oregano) for a headier perfume, if you like. You can use a combination of curry powder and turmeric instead of the tomato sauce and paprika for a more Anglo-Indian flavor, or you can substitute smoked pimenton, cumin, and clove for a Spanish flavor. Whatever you do, make your Uncle Adam happy and grind your cumin and clove from whole spice, please? I'd hate to think you're sitting there with pre-ground cumin and clove (or nutmeg, for that matter). Remember: "friends don't let friends use pre-ground spices."

Results:
This is a very simple yet satisfying meal. Really kills the hunger. The pressure cooking converts the cabbage into a luxurious mouth feel like what you'd get by using fats.