Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Healthy Options

  • Vegan Chinese Fried Rice – Recreating a Unique Restaurant Dish

    At Little Pepper, one of our favorite Sichaun restaurants in NYC, we sampled one of the most unique fried rice dishes I have ever tried.  

    Little Pepper Vegetable Fried Rice

    (Little Pepper Vegetable Fried Rice)

    The fried rice appeared to be egg-free, had a smoky flavor from apparent high-heat wok cooking, and had bok choy, an ingredient that I don't know if I have had in fried rice before.  While initially intended to be a plain dish to soak up our spicy entrees, it definitely stood out as a must-order dish in the future.

    But…I didn't stop there.  I also wanted to try to make this dish at the first opportunity, so I wrote down on my phone the ingredients I could identify in the dish, including a slightly heavier amount of cooking oil, onions, scallions, carrots, and ginger.  

    When I did finally make this dish at home, it wasn't quite up to Little Pepper standards, but it was actually pretty good.  The downsides were that I don't think I cooked the vegetables and rice at a high enough heat so didn't quite get that smoky flavor, and I should have partially cooked the carrots in particular so they wouldn't be as undercooked/raw as they were in the final dish.  In addition, the onions were more caramelized than charred, so that's another technique I want to work on in the future.

    Chinese Fried Rice Cooking

    Vegan Chinese Fried Rice

    Ingredients:

    • 2/3 cup dried basmati rice (rice I had on hand), cooked and cooked
    • 1 large carrot, diced and ideally partially steamed
    • 2 baby bok choy, roughly chopped
    • 3 tsp. garlic, minced
    • 3/4 tsp. ginger, minced
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 tbsp. olive oil 
    • salt/pepper, to taste

    Chinese Fried Rice Chopped Vegetables

    Directions:

    • In a heavy bottomed pan or wok, heat oil, garlic and ginger until hot.
    • When hot, add onion and saute for 45 seconds to one minute or until fragrant.
    • Then stir in carrots for 3 – 4 minutes (skip this step if carrots are partially cooked), then add bok choy for 3 – 4 minutes.  Stir throughout, particularly if using a wok.
    • Add in cooked rice, breaking up any chunks with spatula.  When hot, add salt/pepper to taste.
    • (in initial attempt, I covered the rice and vegetable mixture to steam the contents to get the carrots more cooked in particular – led to both the caramelized onions and lack of char taste I believe)

    Chinese Fried Rice Vegetables Cooking

  • Sweet Potato and Leek Gratin – Solid Winter Side Dish, But Not a Main Course

    For my December holiday party, I intended to have a vegetable side dish to complement the baked pasta I served.  Unfortunately, while prepping food for the party, time became my enemy and I decided to shelf my intended vegetable side – a baked sweet potato and leek gratin – to another day.

    Sweet Potato Gratin Baked 

    (fully baked gratin)

    When I made the dish a week later, I definitely wished I had prepared it for the party.  While the gratin would have been a great side dish for a large party, it did not equally suit to a dinner main course.  While the sweet potatoes and leeks made for a nice sweet and salty contrast, the flavors did not feel complex enough for a main course that one would go back to again and again.

    Sweet Potato Gratin - Without Breadcrumbs

    (partially baked gratin without breadcrumbs)

    I did make a number of modifications to the Vegetarian Times recipe while putting it together.  First, I substituted 2 jumbo sweet potatoes for the 2 lbs, which probably made for more sweet potatoes than intended.  Second, I used water instead of vegetable broth which did not seem to reduce its flavor.  Third, I substituted Parmesan for the Romano cheese.  Fourth, I used homemade breadcrumbs from white bread instead of the dried Italian breadcrumbs.

    Sweet Potato Gratin - with unbaked breadcrumbs

    (with breadcrumbs, unbaked)

    I think a future modification would be to add some other herbs to the dish (e.g., thyme, sage) to add more complexity than just the rosemary.  But otherwise, I think this will be a repeat recipe, but for a large winter gathering instead of a week night meal.

    Sweet Potato Gratin Baked and Cut

    (interior cut of gratin, to see potato/leek layers) 

  • Fall Apple Gorgonzola Salad – Great Brunch Accompaniment or Simple Lunch

    For a recent post-Thanksgiving brunch, we had to figure out what kind of side salad to bring.  Should we do a fall roasted vegetable salad, a simple green salad, or something else that would be light and yet tasty?  

    While driving to the grocery store, I was struck by inspiration that I should make a salad with crisp red apples to fit the tremendous apple growing season in NY this time of year.  A salad with apples quickly led me to think about adding in some blue cheese, a bit of shallots or red onion, and maybe some sort of hard crunch (I am allergic to walnuts and pecans, so maybe something else?).  Below is the final salad I assembled, which I later prepared a few more times later in the week for fantastic work lunches.  

    The great thing about this salad (actually with all salads) is that you can customize the ingredient ratios to meet your needs, and it can still be a great seasonal salad that works as a main lunch dish or a side for a large brunch.  And the preparation time is all of five minutes, so even better for a large event or a weekday lunch.

    Apple Gorgonzola Salad

    Apple Gorgonzola Salad

    Salad Ingredients:

     

    • 4 cups spring lettuce mix
    • 1 apple, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
    • 2 tbsp. crumbled gorgonzola
    • 2 tbsp. chopped red onion

    Vinagrette Ingredients:

    • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
    • 1 tsp. finely chopped red onion
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • salt (to taste)
    • pepper (to taste)

    Directions:

    • Toss the salad ingredients together in a large serving bowl.  If you would like, you can also just layer the ingredients for presentation, with the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl and then apple, gorgonzola, and red onion on top.
    • Blend the vinagrette in a small bowl with a fork or whisk, and toss with salad immediately before serving.

     

  • Standard Cornbread Two Ways – All-Purpose and Serrano-Spiced

    For Thanksgiving, I was charged with making cornbread in addition to a macaroni and cheese and side green dish.  I decided on a simple Cook's Illustrated recipe because unlike most CI recipes, it seemed easy to construct and somehow seemed even less onerous than other online cornbread recipes.  In picking the simple All-Purpose Cornbread recipe, I also hoped to avoid the disappointing result of the CI Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread recipe.

    Cooks Illustrated All Purpose Cornbread

    (All-Purpose Cornbread)

    Unfortunately, while the cornbread turned out fine (one cornbread was made to the recipe as is, and another with one diced serrano), it wasn't really the best or even one of the top cornbreads I have ever consumed.  It was slightly too dry (and I don't think it was due to potential over-baking) and didn't have that strong of a corn flavor.  Although cornbread is not necessarily the most exciting food, and even less exciting than corn muffins, hopefully I will find a better recipe moving forward.

    Cooks Illustrated Cornbread with Jalapenos

    (Serrano-Spiced Cornbread)

  • A Winter Keeper – Braised Kale

    Need a quick winter meal side, to complement otherwise hearty winter or holiday meal?  Look no further than Cook's Illustrated's simple braised winter greens recipe (or the heavily modified version that appears below).  

    Super easy to prepare, takes almost no time to cook, and is an easy way to make a heavy meal feel healthier than it ever should.  I made this dish 15 – 20 minutes before we had to leave for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and was really pleased with how great it turned out.  The kale was still just slightly bitter but had a nice salty and hearty taste.  My modified recipe appears under the picture of the completed dish below.

    Braised Kale v2

    Braised Kale

    For a side dish for approx. 4 people

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 bunch dinosaur kale, washed and ripped into 2-inch pieces
    • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
    • 1/2 onion, chopped
    • 1 – 2 tsp. dried red chili flakes (to taste)
    • 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
    • 1 – 2 tsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to taste)
    • salt and pepper

    Directions

    • Heat a wok or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat with olive oil.  
    • When hot, add onion, garlic, and red chili flakes and saute for 30 seconds – 1 minute, or until fragrant.
    • Add greens, and toss with mixture in pan, and saute for 2 – 3 minutes or until greens are wilted.
    • Add water or vegetable broth, cover pot, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occassionnally.  If you used unsalted broth or water, add one or two pinches of salt.
    • Cook until greens are to your desired consistency, add lemon juice (starting with 1 tsp.), salt and pepper to taste.

  • Easy Weeknight Garlic and Olive Oil Pasta (Aglio e Olio) – Two Ways

    I've been trying to develop (or ressurect) more weeknight recipes to turn the tide against my current default of ordering out after a long day at work.  As part of these efforts, I've made two fairly simple pasta recipes this past month that forgo the standard can of tomatoes.  

    The first pasta meal, based on Cook's Illustrated's Aglio e Olio recipe, relies on just a handful of ingredients, and the cooking is basically sauteeing garlic, chili flakes and fresh herbs (parsley) in olive oil, boiling pasta, and tossing these components together with lemon juice, and parmesan or pecorino cheese if you wish.

    Algio e Olio in Pot

    The two critical ingredients to making this dish a standout success are the lemon juice, which definitely freshens the dish and makes the flavors more complex, and the fresh garlic to really accentuate the cooked garlic.  The modified recipe appears below the picture.

    Aglio e Olio Complete

    Aglio e Olio

    Ingredients:

    • 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
    • 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
    • 2 tsp. dried red chili flakes (to taste)
    • 2 tbsp. fresh parsley leaves, minced
    • 1 – 2 tsp. lemon juice
    • 1/2 lb. pasta, I've used fettucine and spaghetti
    • salt
    • black pepper
    • parmesan or pecorino cheese, grated, optional 

    Directions:

    • Bring salted water to a boil, and cook pasta according to pasta directions.  Retain 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water after draining the cooked pasta.
    • While water is being heated, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in saucepan.  When hot, add 4 of the minced garlic cloves and saute with a pinch of salt until garlic becomes very lightly browned.  Then add parsley, chili flakes, lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp. salt, turning off heat.
    • Add sauce, remaining fresh garlic and 1 tbsp. olive oil to the cooked pasta, and starting with 1 tbsp. pasta water, combine ingredients.  If the pasta is too dry, add more pasta water 1 tsbp. at a time.
    • Add additional salt and/or parmesan or pecorino cheese to taste and serve immediately.

    —

    The second weeknight pasta recipe is a seasonal recipe to use the huge supplies of local fresh tomatoes in late summer.  

    Fresh Tomato Pasta Cutting Board

    It's basically the same recipe as above, but with slightly longer cooking time to break down fresh tomatoes into a rustic sauce.  

    Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce Cooking

    Summertime Fresh Tomato and Garlic Pasta

    Ingredients:

    • 1/4 lb. pasta (I used angel hair, and probably more pasta than I had sauce for in my first attempt)
    • 1.5 cups grape tomatoes, halved
    • 5 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 tbsp. olive oil
    • 2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
    • 3/4 tsp. lemon juice
    • crushed red pepper
    • salt

    Directions:

    • Bring salted water to a boil, and cook pasta according to pasta directions.  Retain 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water after draining the cooked pasta.
    • While water is being heated, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in saucepan.  When hot, add 4 of the minced garlic cloves and saute with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes or until garlic becomes fragrant
    • Then add the tomatoes, sauteeing for 12 – 15 minutes or until the tomatoes cook down into a chunky, bright sauce.
    • Add parsley, chili flakes, lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp. salt, cooking sauce for another minute.
    • Add sauce and remaining fresh garlic to the cooked pasta, and starting with 1 tbsp. pasta water, combine ingredients.  If the pasta is too dry, add more pasta water 1 tsbp. at a time.
    • Add additional salt and/or parmesan or pecorino cheese to taste and serve immediately.

    Fresh Tomato Pasta Complete

  • Quick and Healthy White Bean Cilantro Dip

    As MadhuKnitsandCooks.com readers already know, I love white bean dips.  I've made white bean dips with garlic and parsley, rosemary, and multiple fresh herbs.  Continuing with this experimentation, I recently made a white bean dip with cilantro to use up some extra cilantro in the fridge.  

    Thankfully, the recipe required minimal prep work – just chopping some cilantro and garlic.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip Chopping

    And then throwing all of the ingredients in the food processor.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip in Blender

    The full recipe follows the image of the completed dip, which turned out wonderfully well.  Creamy; lots of flavor from the cilantro, garlic, cayenne and lime juice; and almost completely guilt free!  I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if serving this dip for multiple people – the recipe below is perfect for one or two people though.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip Completed

    White Bean Cilantro Dip (Modified from Sunny Anderson's Food Network Recipe)

    Ingredients:

    • 1 can white/cannellini beans, washed and drained
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1/4 bunch cilantro, washed
    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 tsp. lime juice
    • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
    • 1 tbsp. reduced fat sour cream
    • salt, to taste
    • ground black pepper, to taste

    Directions:

    • Chop the cilantro and garlic.
    • Add all ingredients to a food processor, and process using pulses until you reach your desired consistency.
    • Add salt and pepper to taste.  Recommend letting the dip rest for 20 – 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.  
    • Serve with pita chips, toasted bread wedges or vegetables.

  • Not for a Lack of Trying – Just OK Gallo Pinto Again

    After trying gallo pinto, a vegetarian black bean and rice dish, at a restaurant, I attempted to make it at home.  The result was fairly good, but only when I added a fair amount of Tapatio hot sauce to the dish.  

    With some cooked black beans in my fridge recently, I tried to make gallo pinto again, but this time aimed for a version that would not suffer from a lack of condiments.

    Although I tinkered with the recipe even further to add more flavor to both the rice and beans/sofrito mixture, the result was still fairly bland.  Maybe it is was it is was, but I think gallo pinto has now been retired from my recipe repetoire.

    Gallo Pinto v2

    (black bean and sofrito mixture)

    Gallo Pinto v. 2

    Ingredients:

    • 1.25 cups dried black beans, cooked beforehand
    • 1/3 cup reserved black bean cooking liquid or water
    • 1 1/3 cup rice, cooked with one vegan boullion cube
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 small orange bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 bay leaf
    • chili powder, to taste (optional)
    • 4 tbsp. olive oil
    • salt and pepper

    Directions:

    • Heat olive oil in large heavy bottom pot on medium heat.  When hot, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, reducing heat if garlic starts to brown.
    • Add the bell pepper and bay leaf, and saute for another 4 – 5 minutes until bell pepper has cooked but remains firm.
    • Add the beans, toss the ingredients together, and cook for another 7 – 10 minutes or at least until the beans have warmed through.
    • Add the cooked rice to the pot, stirring to break up any cooked rice clumps.  Add the reserved black bean cooking liquid or water, to make sure that the rice does not stick to the hot pot.  Cook for another 10 minutes, sauteeing every few minutes or until everything is hot and the rice and beans are flavored with the sofrito mixture.
    • Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as chili powder, and serve warm with hot sauce or other sides.

  • Delicious Summer Squash Soup – Easy Weeknight Meal

    While I love zucchini, and cook with it frequently, I haven't really thought about making it the true centerpiece of a soup.  I only decided to do so recently after searching the internet for new zucchini recipe ideas, having been gifted a huge zucchini and yellow squash from someone's garden.  

    After settling on making a pureed zucchini soup (with a yellow squash addition), I customized a recipe based on several on the internet.  I had no idea what to expect when I was making the dish, especially because I put together the ingredients and proportions as I went, but the result was shockingly good.  

    Zucchini Soup in Pot

    While so, so simple to make, the squash soup had such a rich flavor that really emphasized the vegetable itself.  The soup was also so creamy that it seemed like I used a lot more dairy than I actually did.  So this recipe seems like a good way to feel like you are indulging in something unhealthy even when you aren't 🙂

    Zucchini Soup

    Zucchini or Summer Squash Soup

    Ingredients:

    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
    • 3 – 4 medium summer squash (approx. 11 cups of 1-inch roughly chopped squash)
    • 2 tbsp. butter
    • 1 vegetarian bouillon cube (optional)
    • 3.5 cups water or vegetable broth
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Directions:

    • Melt butter in large stock pot on medium heat.  When melted, add the garlic and onion, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent (approx. 5 minutes).
    • Then add squash, stirring to coat squash with onions, garlic and butter.  Cook for 4 – 5 minutes.
    • Add water and bouillon cube, and bring heat up to medium high.
    • After mixture is brought to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 14 – 15 minutes until squash is fully cooked.
    • Puree the soup in batches in a blender or magic bullet, leaving plenty of room in each batch so the mixture doesn't explode.  Alternatively, use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
    • Bring mixture back to stovetop and heat back up, adding salt and pepper to taste.

     

  • Simple Roasted Broccoli – Very Easy Weeknight Side Dish

    I've been recently simplifying my cooking attempts.  These new, quick meals have been inspired partly because of time and partly because I want a new set of weeknight staples to avoid ordering out.  My first new simple recipe attempt was roasted broccoli, to accompany a simple pasta-and-marinara-sauce main course. 

    Roasted Broccoli Served

    The inspiration for trying roasted broccoli, as opposed to re-using my beloved roasted cauliflower, is the amazing version that The Little Beet, a restaurant by work, produces.  The Little Beet seriously chars their vegetables, but somehow not too much to destroy the essence of the vegetable flavor.  

    My roasted broccoli attempt, while not to The Little Beet-levels, was really fantastic.  The broccoli pretty well browned (though an additional 4-5 minutes in the oven probably would have been nice), nicely salted from the parmesan, and the lemon juice really helped make the dish feel light as well.  My recipe follows the picture of the seasoned raw broccoli, ready for the oven, below.

    Raw Broccoli for Roasted

    Weeknight Roasted Broccoli

    Ingredients:

    • 2 small heads of broccoli (one bunch), chopped into large bite size pieces
    • 2 tbsp. olive oil, with additional olive oil available if desired
    • crushed red pepper flakes, optional/to taste
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
    • sea salt, to taste
    • black pepper, to taste
    • 2 tbsp. grated parmesan

    Directions:

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, and line one baking sheet with aluminum foil
    • Toss broccoli with olive oil, minced garlic, few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste), and salt and pepper (to taste).  Recommend starting with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.
    • Spread broccoli on lined baking sheet, so that the broccoli makes an even layer across the sheet.
    • Place in oven, and roast for 10 minutes.  
    • Stir broccoli on pan, while ultimately retaining an even layer, and turn pan around so front of pan is now in the back of the oven.
    • Turn off oven, but keep broccoli in the oven for another 5 – 10 minutes (to desired browning).
    • Remove broccoli from oven, and place in a serving bowl.  Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes, then add lemon juice, parmesan and another 1/2 tsp. salt.
    • Let sit for another 5 – 10 minutes for flavors to blend before adjusting flavors to taste.  At this stage, you can also add more olive oil for more moisture if you prefer.  Note: if you adjust the flavors too soon after the broccoli comes out of the oven, you may over spice the broccoli, particularly with the lemon juice, because it takes a bit for the flavors to combine.
    • Serve warm or cold.

    Roasted Broccoli