Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

  • Refried Black Beans – Very Easy, Healthy and Delicious Meal Addition

    I have been making the Cook's Illustrated Mexican Rice with such frequency that I realized recently that I may not be getting enough nutrition because all I seem to be eating is rice!  To help supplement this amazing dish with a healthy side, I turned to the Vegetarian Times, and found their Refried Black Beans recipe.  

    The refried black beans definitely stand up to the Mexican rice, and are almost good enough to eat alone as well.  I've made the recipe twice – first with canned black beans, and the second with dried beans (though I think the beans may have been old, and so were relatively tough even after many hours of cooking).  The result is flavorful, smooth and filling.  The only modification I made both times I made this recipe was to include a frozen tablespoon of lemon instead of the lime juice, which seemed like a fine substitution.  The citrus definitely made a difference to make the flavors "pop" more, so I'll be sure to include lime or lemon juice in the future.

    Refried Black Beans

  • Milk Chocolate Brownies – Another Library Cookbook Keeper!

    I recently checked out One Sweet Cookie by Tracey Zabar from the library.  I chose this book while browsing the shelves because it a) I wanted to try some new cookies and desserts not found on CooksIllustrated.com, my usual dessert go to, and b) the recipes appeared to be compiled from a number of chefs and restaurants I like, including the great Spot Dessert Bar in NYC.

    Interestingly enough, my first recipe attempt from this book was not a cookie, rather the Milk Chocolate Brownies by Nick Malgieri.  The recipe was fairly simple to construct – melting the chocolates together, and then basically whisking the rest of the ingredients together.  The result was pretty good – fairly fudgy and flavorful.  Definitely a great, quick recipe for a potluck or kid's party.  

    I hope this recipe attempt sets the stage for the rest of the book's contents, which I can't wait to check out!

    One Sweet Cookie Brownies

  • Greek Inspiration, Continued: Feta Saganaki

    Saganaki is one of my favorite meal accompaniments – who doesn't love warm, salty cheese?  I have never made this restaurant and Greek fair favorite at home, but feeling inspired by the recent Greek dinner I prepared, I decided to finally attempt this dish.

    I ultimately decided to attempt an untraditional version (or at least a version I have not encountered previously) - Feta Saganaki - mostly because I had purchased a block of feta for my Greek dinner party.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe was incredibly fast and simple to prepare and the final result was great.  Warm, slightly browned on top, and flavorful.  I still think that using the traditional cheese (halloumi I think?) may result in a more tasty saganaki because of the salt content of the cheese, but I definitely see myself making Feta Saganaki again.

    Feta Saganaki

  • Greek Dinner, Final Post: Gigantes

    The final main course dish I made for my recent Greek dinner party was gigantes.  Gigantes are a favorite accompaniment of mine for any Greek meal, and in particular, the gigantes at Stamatis in Astoria are completely out of this world (as is almost everything at Stamatis).  

    Gigantes are baked large white beans with spices and tomatoes.  I used Goya brand large lima beans, which seemed like the best substitute for large Greek beans.  I ended up following the Bobby Flay version of the online available recipes (sadly, none existed in the Diane Kochilas book) because it ultimately seemed to have the best reviews and seemed that it might include more of the same ingredients as the Stamatis version than others.  

    Unfortunately, the dish was a bit of a bust from my perspective – though my dinner party guests did seem to genuinely enjoy them.  I found the beans to be a bit mushy or overcooked, and to lack flavor overall.  I altered the recipe by halving the honey called for in the original recipe because I did not want the beans to be too sweet, and I reduced the baking time to 1 hour because the beans seemed to get cooked enough on the stovetop before baking.  Both of those modifications sadly did not save the dish, which appears on the right side of the picture below.

    Maybe I'll try to bribe one of the Stamatis chefs for their recipe because I definitely see myself attempting another version of this dish in the future 🙂  

    Greek Dinner Full

  • Greek Dinner Continued: Baked Okra with Tomatoes, Potatoes and Basil and Spinach and Rice Pilaf

    My Greek dinner post continues with two dishes that anchored the meal – the Diane Kochilas Greek Vegetarian cookbook Baked Okra with Tomatoes, Potatoes and Basil and Spinach and Rice Pilaf.

    This cookbook was another Brooklyn Public library check out, and unfortunately I don't think it's one that I will ultimately buy based on this test run.  Both of these dishes turned out fine, but I think they could have had more flavor and more interesting consistencies.  

    The Baked Okra dish in particular was somewhat bland, I think a result of the recommendation to cover the dish contents with a layer of 1.5 inches of water (!) to bake the dish.  Thankfully, I reduced the amount of water to just be level with the vegetables in the dish, but even then, I had to pour out a good amount of the remaining water (and probably flavor) post-baking to make the dish less soupy.  The vegetables were cooked nicely though, just lacked flavor and the consistency was perhaps a little too homogeneous.

    Greek Okra
    The Spinach and Rice Pilaf, by contrast, was fairly flavorful though I think the water to rice ratio was a little low because the rice was a little burnt at the bottom of the dish and not that evenly cooked throughout (so maybe it was the cooking temperature that could have been the problem?).  I made a few alterations to this dish:  I halved the recipe, substituted approx. 1.5 tsp. of chopped fresh oregano for the dill, and did not sprinkle feta on top.  If I make this recipe again, I would probably make a full recipe and continue to use oregano because it really helped this rice seem unique.  The pilaf is pictured in the middle of the spread below.

    Greek Dinner Full

  • Cerialic (Celery Root) Skordalia

    I held a multi-dish Greek dinner several weeks ago, and over the next few posts, you'll be able to see my full spread of dishes as well as hear more about what worked and what didn't.  

    The first dish I will post about also helped start our meal – celeriac or celery root skordalia by Hugh Acheson.  The dish was the only that I pulled from one of my cookbooks, the Food & Wine 2011 Annual Cookbook, a gift from some co-workers.  And it was a nice variation on a Greek classic which I thought might be nice to add to our vegetable-heavy meal.

    The dish was really easy to prepare as I was making the rest of the meal, and I could make it in advance which made it a great go-to appetizer.  The celery root flavor was very light, and folks generally seemed to really enjoy the dish (and the leftovers went well at another dinner party later that weekend).  For me, I thought it was a little bland and would maybe increase the garlic.  But that criticism may apply to skordalia generally, which can have a very light flavor.

    Cerialic Skordalia

  • Nancie McDermott’s Nahm Prik Pao (Roasted Chili Paste)

    To the cookbooks I have returned as readers will note from this and upcoming posts.  I started to feel the internal pressure again to use the cookbooks I have on the shelves, so recently pulled out Nancie McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai to try her Nahm Prik Pao or Roasted Chili Paste with Tofu and Vegetables.  

    The chili paste was recently easy to make – had to roast dried chili arbol and garlic to achieve the roasted/smokey flavor of the paste, and otherwise just blend the ingredients together.  The one mistake I may have made (which has the potential for significant ramifications) was to over-roast the chilis so that they may have had a slightly burnt flavor.  Unfortunately I couldn't ultimately tell if I prepared the recipe correctly or not because even the arguably light smokey flavor was generally a little unpleasant for my taste.

    I tossed several tablespoons of the roasted chili paste with a block of extra firm tofu, onion, bell peppers, zucchini and ultimately some chili-garlic paste to soften the smokey flavor of the roasted chili paste.  The result I have to admit was just ok – I think this recipe is probably not going to be repeated in the future.

    Roasted Chili Paste with Tofu

  • “Quintessential” Chocolate Chip Cookies – Quick Recipe for a Weeknight Cookie Fix

    The New York Times recently featured a chocolate chip recipe from Martha Rose Shulman, a writer whose healthy recipes have inspired many of my seasonal cooking attempts.  The recipe – for Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies – seemed easy enough to make on a weeknight, and its publication coincided with my realization that I have a lot of chocolate baking bars in my cupboard.  

    As I initially thought, the dough was incredibly simple and fast to make.  The main alteration I made to the recipe was to half the amount of chocolate because I generally prefer a greater cookie to chocolate ratio in my cookies.  I also broke up the chocolate pieces into smaller than the 1-inch pieces called for in the recipe – maybe into 1/2 inch chunks?  

    The result was great – the bittersweet chocolate was actually a wonderful change to the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I think I will bake with bittersweet chocolate more in the future.  The cookies got a bit grainy and crumbly the day after they were baked, but they still tasted pretty good.  I think I may have put in too much flour, so maybe this is my incentive to finally get a kitchen scale!

    Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Kale Two Ways – White Bean and Kale Soup and Braised Kale

    We've hopefully reached the end of our kale experiments for the season with a new bounty of summer vegetables and fruits hitting the market.  To close out the season of kale though, I have been making a lot of white bean and kale soup and even tried a new braised Cavolo Nero (or lacinto) kale dish a few months ago.

    The white bean and kale soup recipe I have been using is incredibly flexible to new ingredients and different types of kale – definitely a year-round delicious meal.  The modifications I consistently made the three times I made the soup were to include 3 cloves of garlic, add 1/2 tsp or so of fresh rosemary and 1 – 2 inch parmesan rind to the broth, and to partially smash the beans while cooking to give the soup a richer texture.  I sadly did not come up with these modifications on my own, rather found them used in similar recipes from Epicurious.com and Martha Stewart.  With at least one attempt of the soup, I also added more water with the kale to make sure the soup had more of a soup than stew consistency.  I think the key to an outstanding result is definitely using a parmesan rind piece while simmering the broth – it definitely adds complexity and a nice, mind saltiness to the broth.

    White Bean and Kale Soup
    Unfortunately, the next kale dish was far from stellar.  For this dish, I used lacinto, dinosaur or cavolo nero kale to make the Vegetarian Times Braised Cavolo Nero Kale recipe.  I halved the amount of kale and water called for in the recipe while keeping the flavoring ingredients (onions, carrots, etc.) as is.  I also added a vegan bouillon cube to the water for a more flavorful result.  

    The final dish was still pretty bland despite these efforts.  It also was too kale-y and bitter, even though I used lacinto kale which is pretty mild as far as kale goes.  Serving the dish over orechiette and with a healthy amount of grated parmesan also did not save the dish from being a let down.

    Braised Kale

  • Cuban Black Beans and Rice – A Likely Recipe Repeat for a Big Gathering

    Another successful, but complicated Cooks Illustrated recipe was completed a few weeks back – the vegetarian version of the Cuban Black Beans and Rice.  In true Cook's Illustrated form, the recipe required not only a number of ingredients, but also a number of cooking tools.  Despite the multi-step and laborious preparation process, the result – despite the vegetarian alterations – was fantastic.  Very flavorful, rich and filling – and while not being presumably that bad from a nutrition and calorie perspective.  

    The only modification I would make the next time I make the dish is to make sure I have a more "fresh" bag of black beans.  The dried beans I have in my cupboard have probably sat there for over a year, and you could tell the beans, despite being well-cooked, were tougher than they should have been.  I also would consider halving the recipe because it definitely produced way too much food than two people can reasonably eat, even over a few days.  So maybe it would be a good anchor to a dinner party in the future?

    Cuban Black Beans and Rice