Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Vegan Recipes

  • Kruse & Muer Herbed Bread – or a Reminder to Closely Read Recipes!

    I recently attempted a Michigan favorite – the restaurant mini-chain Kruse & Muer's popular herbed bread.  This bread was a staple of my high school years and subsequent return trips to Michigan, where a Kruse & Muer location used to be close to my parents' house.  Unfortunately, that location closed down a number of years ago, but my love of those long herbed bread loaves has continued.  

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Baked

    Thankfully, it seems like a number of people share my love for those crusty exterior loaves and a number of versions of the recipe exist online, based on Chuck Muer's 1993 cookbook.  I followed those online recipes, which were largely (if not exactly) the same.  

    In doing so though, unfortunately I made one critical error – misreading the amount and type of salt needed to coat the bread before baking.  

    Instead of using kosher salt, I used regular salt AND misread the teaspoon direction to mean tablespoons!  As such, I ended up with a super salty, albeit still tasty bread that I will definitely remake (correctly).

    I also made two other intended modifications.  First, I reduced the recipe by half to get two loaves instead of four.  Second, I used white poppy seeds instead of black, because I didn't have any black ones and commentators on the internet said it wouldn't make a difference?  I did buy black poppy seeds since that initial attempt though, and will report back if there are any noticeable changes in flavor or texture.

    The recipe itself is quite simple to make, and requires just two 30-minute rise sessions, which is pretty easy for a weekend lunch or dinner.

    First, you proof the yeast in warm water and then add sugar, oil and salt.

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Butter Melted

    Then knead the dough, ideally by machine or by hand if you are like me and lack a dough hook attachment.  

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Dough

    I think I under-kneaded the bread though, leading to a less than ideal rise.

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Dough Resting

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Dough Rising

    Then shape the dough into logs, then leave for a second rise.  You can also then prepare the mixture to roll and season the logs.

    Krue & Muer Bread - Salt and Cornmeal

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Rolled in Salt and Poppy Seeds

    Finally, brush the tops with the herb mixture before baking the bread.

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Herbs on Top

    Kruse & Muer Bread - Closeup

    This is a great bread to serve on its own as an appetizer or to combine with soup or salad for a filling meal.

  • Lentil Soup with Gremolata – Easy Way to Brighten a Pantry Staple

    Serious Eats is on a serious tear in my kitchen.  From their awesome vegan Sichuan recipes to their soups, I have become a major fan.  My latest Serious Eats recipe attempt is another winner that I will return to in the future – Lentil Soup with Gremolata.  

    Creating a garlic and herb gremolata is a great way to liven up any soup, and I can't believe I didn't think about it earlier for lentil soup in particular.  It definitely adds a flavor explosion and brightness to an otherwise heavy cold weather soup.  

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Done

    I made a few modifications to the Serious Eats recipe, to fit what was in my kitchen.  I halved the recipe, substituted one onion for the onion / leek combo called for in the recipe, and used about half as much lemon.  In the future, I will probably increase the amount of lemon, but otherwise think the recipe is flexible enough to make even more changes.

    The best part of the recipe – it's easy enough to make on a weeknight, and have plenty of leftovers for days.  You start by cooking your aromatics, before adding the lentils.

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Carrots Onions Celery

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Lentils Cooking

    Then add your broth, prepare the gremolata, and clean up your kitchen while the lentils cook.

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Soup Cooking

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Gremolata

    Enjoy!

  • Modified Rick Bayless Green Herb Rice – An Improvisational Mess!

    This recipe post (and underlying recipe) was intended to be about Rick Bayless's Arroz Poblano from his Authentic Mexican cookbook.  However, of course I forgot the main recipe ingredient (poblanos) while at the grocery store, so instead what follows is a description of a poblano-less Arroz Poblano.  Or in other words, rice.  

    Ok, it's not that bad.  It's rice with some celery, cilantro, parsley, garlic, vegetable broth, and peas – a green herb rice.  But the result was as disappointing as one would expect from omitting the main ingredient.  Bland and uninteresting.  

    Rick Bayless Green Rice - Veggies to be Pureed

    To flavor the rice and give it a green texture, you first cook the vegetables in water and then blend them before cooking the rice in the vegetable water / broth mixture.

    Rick Bayless - Green Rice Vegetables Pureed

    Rick Bayless Green Rice - Cooking

    You then season the rice with salt and pepper, and serve.  I am not sure if I will make this again, even with the rice's signature ingredient.  Just seems like it will still be too "blah" for the effort?

    Rick Bayless - Green Rice Cooked

  • Fuchsia Dunlop’s Xie Laoban Dan Dan Noodles – “Earthy” Version of the Sichuan Favorite

    Among the top Chinese cookbooks recommended to me have been those of Fuchsia Dunlop, the British Chinese food author and enthusiast.  As is my custom, I checked out the most highly recommended Dunlop book, the Land of Plenty, from the Queens Library. 

    Although I had high hopes for this book as I was thumbing through the recipes, unfortunately time got the best of me and I only ended up making one of the recipes – Xie Laoban's recipe for Dan Dan noodles.  I omitted the beef, but otherwise followed the recipe as is.  The recipe was almost as easy as the Serious Eats version, and I was able to find some preserved mustard stems to include, which felt like an exciting victory.

    Fuchsia Dunlop Preserved Mustard Stems

    As I cooked the mustard stems, I was able to quickly mix together the sauce as well.

    Fuchsia Dunlop Preserved Vegetables Cooking

    Fuschia Dunlap Dan Dan Mien Sauce 

    From there, all I just boiled the noodles before stirring everything together to serve.

    Fuchsia Dunlop Dan Dan Plain Noodles cooked

    Fuchsia Dunlop Mixed Dan Dan Noodles

    Fuchsia Dunlop Dan Dan Noodles Final

    This version of Dan Dan noodles felt a lot "earthier" than others I have had because the tahini flavor really stood out in the dish.  I think the tahini wasn't as balanced by ingredients like broad bean paste, which wasn't in the ingredient list.  The sauce was also much thicker than other versions of the dish I have tried.  The scallions and cilantro helped balance out some of the tahini flavor, but unfortunately the mustard stem didn't add much except for a salty flavor.  

    In the future, I think I'll continue to experiment with the Serious Eats vegetarian version of Dan Dan Noodles, which has a richer and more dynamic sauce.

  • Sichuan Braised Eggplant – One Day, I Will Master Eggplant

    Another year, another failed eggplant attempt.  Similar to my first failed eggplant attempt a few years ago, this latest effort also centered around a spicy Sichuan-style eggplant.  For this attempt, I used a Serious Eats recipe given my great success with their other Sichuan recipes of late.

    Unfortunately, this recipe turned out a bit of a mess – but at least it was better than my 2012 eggplant attempt!  The eggplant was edible, though the texture continued to feel simultaneously under and over-cooked.

    Part of the issue may have been using standard eggplant from a relative's garden, instead of the thinner Chinese or Japanese versions called for in the recipe.

    Sichuan Eggplant Cut

    In addition, I didn't exactly follow the salt-to-water ratio called for in the brining step, thinking that free-styling it would be sufficient to break down the eggplant cell structure.

    Sichuan Eggplant - Soaking in Brined Water

    I then cooked for the eggplant for longer than called for in the recipe to try to achieve a more cooked texture, but to no avail.

    Sichuan Eggplant - Braising

    Sichuan Eggplant - Braised with Scallions

    The final flavor of the sauce was excellent though, even though I didn't include the hot vinegar / bird chile mixture simply because I didn't have any bird chiles at home.  I will probably give some version of this recipe another go, but after more research about how to tackle the dreaded eggplant!

    Sichuan Eggplant - Final in Pan

  • Ten Minute Sichuan Warm Silken Tofu

    Serious Eats continues to deliver amazing, weeknight vegan / vegetarian Sichuan options.  The most recent recipe of theirs I have sampled is the Spicy Warm Silken Tofu with Celery and Cilantro Salad.  True to the title of this post, this recipe couldn't be easier to assemble and takes virtually no time, particularly with some additional modifications.

    Sichuan Tofu - Served

    First, grind the Sichuan peppercorns and cumin in either a mortar and pestle or through a fine chop on the cutting board, and then just combine with the other sauce ingredients.  Second, chop the vegetables while the tofu is warming in the microwave, omitting the ice water bath.  Third, top the warm tofu with the sauce and the vegetables, and eat immediately!

    In my two or three versions of this dish, I have made some other slight omissions depending on the ingredients in my fridge, e.g., omitting celery or sesame seeds depending on my kitchen.  In any case, the resulting output has been fantastic – reminds me a lot of the Xi'an Famous Foods Chang-an Spicy Tofu, which I love.  

    This is definitely comfort food at it's finest – warm tofu; spicy, complex sauce; and nice freshness from the cilantro, scallions and celery.

    Sichuan Tofu - Close Up

  • Ten Minute Vegan Dan Dan Noodles!

    I have to admit that I've taken some liberties with this fantastic Serious Eats Vegan Dan Dan Noodles recipe.  Some are purposeful to reduce the time required to make these amazing, spicy noodles that are a restaurant favorite, and others are inadvertent, e.g., I just don't have the required ingredient in my pantry.  Regardless of these changes though, this recipe produces an amazing meal in approx. 10 minutes!

    The first set of modifications I've made is to eliminate cooking from this recipe, except for boiling the noodles.  So while the water comes to a boil to prepare the noodles, I simply mix together the sauce ingredients.

    Dan Dan Noodles - Initial Sauce Ingredients

    I've omitted the cooked mushrooms to customize to personalize to my taste, and I have to date omitted the Sichuan pickled vegetables simply because I forgot to get them at the store.  I hope to pick some up though at some point, so will report back if this requires me to quickly saute some of the sauce ingredients v. just mixing them together.

    Dan Dan Noodles - Sauce Mixed

    The second time I made this dish, I also reduced the roasted chili oil by approx. 1 tablespoon because I found the initial chile proportions to be too spicy (and I love spice!).  I also reduced the amount of noodle cooking water I put in the sauce to approx. 1/3 so that it wouldn't be thin.

    Dan Dan Noodles - Drained, Cooked Noodles

    Dan Dan Noodles - Mixed Sauce

    After the sauce is complete, simply stir it with the cooked noodles, garnish and serve!  Really couldn't be an easier or cheaper recipe!

    Dan Dan Noodles - Mixed in Bowl

    Dan Dan Noodles - Served

  • Roasted Carrots with Parsley and Thyme – Great Party Side Dish

    With some leftover parsley and thyme, and wilting carrots in the fridge, turning to the New York Times Roasted Carrots with Parsley and Thyme couldn't have been more of an obvious decision.  

    The ingredients were very easy to throw together, and while the roasting took some time (~45 minutes), it allowed me plenty of time to construct the main part of my meal.

    Roasted Carrots with Herbs in Bowl

    Roasted Carrots with Herbs on Baking Sheet

    The flavors of the cooked carrots were great – though it took a fair amount of salt for the herb flavors to really come through.  These carrots would be a fantastic, low-work side dish for a dinner party.  I look forward to making them again this winter!

    Roasted Carrots with Herbs Baked

    Roasted Carrots with Herbs Close Up

  • Complicated-Sounding Dessert in 10 Minutes – Blueberry Compote

    Leftover berries and a desire to do something different with them?  Try a fruit compote! 

    The process for me to make at least a blueberry compote could not have been simpler.  I loosely followed this Cook's Illustrated approach, but really all I did was put some washed blueberries in a small saucepan (I don't even know how many) and then turned the gas on to medium-low.  After the blueberries started to break down, after about 5 minutes, I added in a bit of sugar (maybe 1/4 tsp.), a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

    I cooked the mixture for another few minutes, or until the blueberries fit my view of what a tasty compote would look like, and then served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

    Blueberry Compote

    The flavor was fantastic – sweet, slightly tart, and very potent blueberry notes.  I can't wait to make this simple dessert for guests in the future!

  • Miso Soup with Tofu and Kale – Healthy and Easy Weeknight Soup

    With a large tub of low-sodium white miso paste in my fridge, a result of the Miso, Polenta and Kale soup , I have been thinking of more ways to use miso.  While I hope for more innovative miso experiments in the future (e.g., salad dressing, glazes for tofu or vegetables, or even miso cookies), my latest miso attempt was…miso soup.  With kale.  And tofu.  So basically the Miso, Polenta and Kale soup without the polenta.

    IMG_3107

    While completely uninteresting from the innovation agenda, the resulting soup is actually quite good and easy to make during a weeknight.  In addition to using the Serious Eats polenta soup recipe as a guide, I also took inspiration from Martha Stewart and the Minimalist Baker and improvised the soup.  

    The only change I will make to the below recipe in the future is to omit some of the salty inputs to create a more balanced output.  So that could mean removing the bouillon or reducing the sea salt.

    Miso Soup

    Miso Soup with Tofu and Kale

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp. olive oil
    • 3 tbsp. diced onion (optional)
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tsp. minced ginger
    • 2 tsp. Better than Bouillon
    • 1 package silken firm tofu, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
    • 4 tbsp. reduced sodium white miso paste
    • 2 cups ripped / coarsely chopped kale
    • 2 scallions, diced
    • 6 cups water
    • 1 – 2 tsp. soy sauce (to taste)
    • crushed red pepper (to taste)

    Directions

    • Heat oil in a medium soup pot on medium-high heat, and when warm, stir in onion
    • When onion becomes translucent (3 – 5 minutes), add the ginger and garlic and saute for approx. 45 seconds – 1 minute or until fragrant
    • Add water and bring to a boil.  When boiling, add bouillon, tofu, miso, kale and scallions.
    • Cook until kale is to your preferred consistency, and add soy sauce / red pepper to taste.