Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Author: madhuknitsandcooks

  • Dumpling…Salad? Great Way to Incorporate Greens and Create a Substantive Meal

    Continuing my journey through Hetty McKinnon's excellent To Asia, With Love cookbook, I next turned to her dumpling salad approach to mix up my frozen dumpling game (and maybe justify eating more dumplings!).  

    The result was pretty satisfying – particularly her simple salty dumpling sauce.  I think I'll probably use the approach as a base for future salads (or future dumplings?  Hard to classify this!). 

    Basically throw some cooked dumplings on top of a simple bed of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, scallions, chiles – whatever you have on hand – and top with the simple sesame-laden dumpling sauce.  You get textural contrast btwn. the crisp lettuce, vegetables, and soft dumplings and a nice savory dressing. 

    I think a miso-based dressing may be good to substitute in future attempts for slightly more nuanced flavors and a bit of sweetness as well.

    Dumpling Salad - Served

    Dumpling Salad - Dumpling Sauce

  • My First Chia Pudding – Matcha Chia Pudding by Hetty McKinnon

    I finally bought some chia seeds and made my first chia pudding, despite having rarely, if ever, eaten chia pudding before.

    I think part of my hesitation of jumping on this health food favorite is my worry that the consistency may not be to my taste, similar to rice pudding.  I prefer smoother textures (e.g., smoothies or yogurts) to moist and dense grain-filled dishes. 

    However, the pictures and description of Hetty McKinnon's matcha chia puddings in her To Asia, With Love cookbook were so delectable that I put my hesitations to the side and embarked on this (quite simple) journey.

    Matcha Chia Pudding - Served

    I stirred together the ingredients, chilled the mixture, and as promised, the oat-milky mixture congealed and became a thicker pudding within a few hours.  The slightly bitter and herbal flavor of the matcha was quite pronounced in the pudding, but nicely offset by the sweet maple syrup. 

    However, I ended up not eating the entire amount that I prepared because ultimately the textures were not to my taste.  I just don't enjoy  tiny, slightly mushy seeds working their way through my mouth sadly.    

    I do have a whole package of chia seeds in my cupboards, so I'll need to try something with them again – any reader recommendations welcome!

  • Ken Forkish The Elements of Pizza – Great New Pizza Techniques

    With my recent attempts to mix up my standard homemade pizza game, I checked out Ken Forkish's The Elements of Pizza cookbook from the library.  The first recipe I selected, the 48 to 72-Hour New York Pizza Dough, called for using a food processor to mix/knead the dough, which I was excited to try for a second time.

    I reduced the recipe proportions by a third to end up with one dough ball v. three, and found the recipe + techniques really easy to follow.  I really appreciated Forkish's directions on how to shape the dough ball in particular, because it resulted in a beautifully shaped dough.

    Forkish - NY Pizza Dough

    I baked the dough two days after preparing it, and ended up using Forkish's dough-stretching method which I found much easier to use as well as other dough shaping techniques I've used in the past.  It did as promised – preserved the rim while ensuring a pretty even dough.

    Forkish - NY Pizza Dough Post Rise

    Forkish - NY Pizza Dough Rolled

    I do think my general pre-baking-dough-before-adding-toppings-method is something I should continue to do because the crust seemed slightly less browned than I otherwise would like?  I can probably change this up if we get a baking steel to better conduct heat, but I think for my 15-year old Target-bought stone, a pre-bake will probably help me get the crust I want.

    Forkish - NY Pizza Dough Baked Bottom

    Two other notes – the flavor of this dough was great.  I do think though that I'll try adding the KAF pizza dough flavor powder in the future to taste the result.  Also, I used the KAF pizza dough blend instead of high-protein bread flour because it's what I had on hand at home.

  • Modern Striped Baby Blanket – Beautiful Colors (Thanks, Stylish Mom!)

    Over the summer, I had the pleasure of completing a baby blanket for a friend's newborn son.  A big part of the pleasure was from working with the beautiful colors that the expecting mother selected, which ranged from cream and light grey to deeper blue hues.  Unfortunately, Purl Soho, which published the pattern, was out of the yarn kit my friend selected, but my husband and I were able to recreate the colorway through scouring the Cascade 220 Superwash color cards.

    JP Blanket - Full Post Blocking

    With the yarns ordered, to knitting I went!  The result was a super squishy and bouncy blanket, with even color block stripes.  I look forward to recreating this blanket in different variations – including for an at-home throw for our living room.  That's how lovely this blanket knit up – I want one as well!

    JP Blanket - Close Up Bottom Corner

    Modern Striped Baby Blanket

    Pattern:  Super Easy Baby Blanket by Purl Soho.  

    Needles: One US7 circular

    Yarn:  ~5/6 of 7 different skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash, in colors 817 ecru, 348 white pepper heather, 204 smoke blue, 847 caribbean, 892 space needle, 910A winter white, 1973 seafoam heather.  

    Measurements:  Pre-blocking measurements of 33 3/4 inches wide by 34 3/4 inches tall.  Post-blocking (machine wash / dry) measurements of 30 inches wide by 29 1/2 inches tall.

    Completed 8/4/22

    JP Blanket - Top Corner

  • Marinated Cauliflower / Red Bell Pepper Kati Roll Filling – Not a Recipe Repeat

    With some cauliflower, bell pepper, and red onions at home, I decided to try the Milk Street Cauliflower Kati Roll recipe.  However, instead of putting the marinated vegetable mixture into a carb wrapping, I instead decided to serve the vegetables alongside some other Indian favorites. 

    Milk Street Cauliflower Kati Roll Filling

    I don't know if that was the fatal mistake, or the recipe itself, but my sense is the latter. 

    The garam masala flavor was overwhelming on the vegetables, and the yogurt marinade didn't do much for their textures.  The cauliflower and red peppers were slightly burnt in some places, and tough in other bites. 

    Maybe this would have been better with a chutney in a carb wrapping, but can't imagine it would be more than "ok."

  • Weeknight Pinto Beans – Lessons Learned As We Enter Bean Season

    Is there anything more comforting than warm, creamy beans on a cold night outside?  Well, perhaps said beans in a lovely soup. 

    I am more than ready for the fall and winter days ahead with an embarrassing amount of Rancho Gordo beans in our pantry.  I started my seasonal bean preparation with an impromptu weeknight pinto bean dish a few weeks ago.

    Weeknight Pinto Beans

    These beans were flavorful, but both not as complex or time consuming as my favorite pinto bean approach to date – the Cook's Illustrated Drunken Beans.  I also learned the appropriate (soaked) pinto beans Instant Post cooking time – 31 – 33 minutes – something I learned after starting the cooking settings for 25 minutes, then adding another 7 minutes after the beans were not fully cooked.  As I look for comforting, simple bean dishes this year, this recipe will become a staple!

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup pinto beans, soaked in water for 6 hours
    • 1/4 onion, diced
    • 1/4 green bell pepper, diced
    • 1 small tomato, diced
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1/4 tsp chile powder
    • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
    • Shake of dried oregano
    • 1 bay leaf
    • salt, to taste
    • cilantro, chopped (optional – for garnish)

    Directions

    • Drain soaked beans and add ~1 cup fresh water, oregano, and bay leaf to the Instant Pot inner pot.
    • Set the cooking settings to 31 minutes on high pressure.  Ensure the safety valve is closed.
    • After the cook time is over, let the pressure cooker go through its natural pressure release process (~20 minutes)
    • Then check the beans to ensure they are your desired consistency.  Switch the Instant Pot setting to saute, and add remaining ingredients, including 1 tsp. of salt to taste.
    • Cook for an additional 7 – 10 minutes until the beans absorb the flavor of the seasonings.  Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve immediately.

  • King Arthur Flour’s Classic Sandwich Bread – Overproofed, and Too Crumbly of a Result

    We've developed a fascination with traditional sandwiches of late.  Why?  Our physical removal from business districts, and their plentiful sandwich options, coupled with some plain boredom.  On a more positive note, we've also had one or two excellent sandwiches over the past few months, including a particularly top-tier herbed egg salad at the Bread Gallery in Nova Scotia.  

    What does one do when they become focused on sandwiches?  They make sandwich bread, naturally.

    KAF Sandwich Bread - Top View

    KAF Sandwich Bread - Side
    Unfortunately my first home-baked sandwich bread did not match my lofty expectations.  First, I overproofed the dough during the first rise.  My kitchen was a bit warm, and so 30 minutes was probably been enough for the rise instead of the 1-2 hours called for in the recipe.  I cut the second rise to 40 minutes, which seemed like it was enough.  

    The resulting bread flavor was excellent, but the texture wasn't ideal.  It was too dense and crumbly for our tastes.  We used the leftover bread for grilled cheeses, which also had the same feature of great flavor but not great texture – too thick and crumbly again, even when toasted.  

    KAF Sandwich Bread - Cut Open

    KAF Sandwich Bread - Grilled Cheese

    So will I make this recipe again?  Maybe.  The result was probably human error, but I'd like to look around for other recipes before giving this one a go again.  

  • Quick Fudgy Brownies – Not a Recipe Repeat

    Hampered by a dwindling supply of both white sugar and eggs, and hours away from a summer lunch in which I was asked (by a child) to bring brownies, I found myself furiously consulting my favorite internet baking sites to find a suitable recipe for a crowd.

    I found success – I thought – on King Arthur Flour's website, with their Quick and Easy Fudge Brownies recipe.  I had just enough sugar – almost to the gram – and eggs to mix up the batter.  

    KAF Quick Fudgy Brownies

    I turned the pan halfway through baking, and pulled the brownies out right around the 25 minute mark as I was worried about over-baking them.  As they cooled, I fear I made have been right, at least at the edges which were a bit drier than I would have liked.  The chocolate flavor also seemed to be a bit dulled by the dry, too-chewy edges, which disappointed me.  I also agree with many of the recipe comments that these brownies were also too sweet, which is funny given that I was specifically looking for a recipe to accommodate the limited sugar I had at home.

    KAF Quick Fudgy Brownies - Close Up

    However, and perhaps most importantly, the brownies were a hit with others at this event, particularly the children.  So be this a sign that we all do in fact have different tastes when it comes to even the simplest of desserts!

  • Rancho Gordo White Beans, Cauliflower, and Capers – Outstanding Main Course or Fancy Side

    My (embarrassingly large) supply of Rancho Gordo beans continues to pay dividends…when I actually cook them, which is more rare than I'd like to admit.  I recently opened up their cookbook for inspiration, and settled on their Cauliflower with Cassoulet Beans and Capers recipe because I wanted to eat some of their great alubia white beans.  

    RG Cauliflower and White Bean

    I soaked 1/2 cup of alubia white beans overnight, and then cooked them in the Instant Pot for 8 minutes high pressure with a natural release.  Because the beans weren't uniformly cooked through, I used a tip from the Rancho Gordo cookbook to finish the beans.  I salted the beans in the Instant Pot, turned on the high saute setting, and cooked for maybe 5 – 10 minutes longer until the beans were uniformly creamy.  I will use this technique a lot moving forward because I do think it was the perfect way to ensure great finished beans.  The 1/2 cup of dried beans resulted in slightly less than 1.5 cups of cooked beans.

    For the Jerez sherry vinegar, which I didn't have on hand and I couldn't find in our local store, I substituted slightly more than half rice vinegar and champagne vinegar.  This resulted in a wonderful tanginess, complimented with the briny capers, which was quite sharp when the dish was warm and softened as the dish cooled.  

    This was a creamy, tangy, slightly sweet dish with lots of different textures from the cooked cauliflower, squishy white beans, and tighter capers.  It was a great main course for 2 hungry people, and easily could be a side dish for 4 – 8, depending on the number of other sides served.  It also is a great dish to make early on in dinner prep because you can serve it at room temperature.  I will be making it again.

  • Weeknight Tofu Makes Its Return – NYT Black Pepper Tofu and Asparagus

    I've gotten bored with most at-home, sautéed versions of tofu, so rarely make this weeknight-appropriate preparation.  Instead, I'll hold panko-crusted tofu or other more complicated tofu preparations for the weekends.

    Some aging tofu and asparagus though brought me to the NY Times Cooking Black Pepper and Asparagus Tofu dish, a truly delicious sautéed tofu preparation.

    Black Pepper Tofu - Cilantro on Top

    I made a few modifications to the recipe, including halving the sauce and using only the top thirds of thicker asparagus. 

    The result was still excellent though – spicy from the black pepper, tangy from the Worcestershire sauce, and a nice lightness from the fresh cilantro.  

    I was really surprised at how much great texture and flavor contrast the asparagus provided, and this easy and flavorful sauce will put tofu back into my regular food rotation.  Thank you NYT Cooking!

    Black Pepper Tofu Full Pan