Cooking

October 13, 2010

A New Groove

A low sodium education is a life-long project. Even after seven years of constant research, reading, and experimentation, I still find myself learning about new products (with no salt!) and discovering that others (which I’ve enjoyed for some time) have a higher sodium content than I would expect. Case and point: fruit juice. Now, a smart lady or gentleman (like myself) would most likely figure that fruit juices – which one assumes contains some fruit – would be virtually low in sodium, if not sodium free. But here’s the surprising truth: (a) many bottled juices do not actually contain real […]

October 11, 2010

Eats Shoots and Leaves

Good morning Sodium Girl readers. After a fun-filled, fall weekend (eek!) spent prowling the farmers markets, I have a few new items for your grocery lists, the first of which is the sweet, tendrilled plant you see above. Sodium Girl readers, say hello to the latest tool in your low sodium flavor arsenal – say hello to pea shoots. These often disregarded leaves of the pea plant pack a lot of flavor in their delicate bite. They are sweet like snap peas and creamy like spinach. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and a quick sizzle in hot sesame oil […]

October 8, 2010

Unusual Pearings

I had the pleasure of low sodium lunching yesterday at the always creative, always delicious Boulette’s Larder. With a table outside, ferry boats pulling into harbor, and Blue Angels soaring overhead, it was the most idyllic setting imaginable. And not to be outdone, the food was equally mind-blowing. What I love most about Boulette’s Larder is that head chef and owner, Amaryll Schwertner, truly celebrates ingredients in their most simple form. Dishes are not spectacular because of foams or foie gras or some other form of culinary acrobatics. They food is good – no, it’s great – because she matches […]

October 6, 2010

Chicken Fried Potatoes

To start, let me clarify something: I never said my food (or my restrictions) were about cutting the fat. That would be just plain silly. Because, in cutting out salt, my main goal is to find other healthy ways to heighten taste and flavor. And fat, when used in non-Paula Deen portions, is fine for the body and even better for food. So when you have an opportunity to use natural, tasty fats in your cooking, seize them. And this my friends is how we come upon these two pieces of oven-crisped chicken: Think it looks scrumptious? Trust me, it was. […]

October 4, 2010

Hot Off the Press

I found something quite exciting at Whole Foods last week and no, it wasn’t sodium-free macaroni and cheese. Instead, the surprise (and internal glee) came from the magazine rack – not the grocery store shelf – where I found the latest issue of Living Without Magazine which had…drumroll please…my article inside! Read ’em and eat. The point of this post, though, is not to call attention to my own words (although, I did just do that). But to use this moment of printed satisfaction to call attention to the other wonderful writers and web providers who are also turning “living […]

September 24, 2010

Hot Sauced

First, apologies for my absence on Wednesday. I had the flu (yuck) and thinking about food, looking at food, and most definitely eating food were all too much for my belly to handle. Yes, it was a travesty. But luckily, I’m on the mend and back to dreaming about low sodium cheese. And no, I’m not joking. I really did dream about a block of Helluva Good Cheddar last night. Don’t judge. I’m hungry. So, to hop back into the low sodium saddle, I wanted to start with something simple, that wouldn’t upset my seemingly quieted stomach. And luckily I […]

September 20, 2010

I Want My Baby Back

Is that a Jackson Pollock painting? Well I’m flattered, but the answer is no. Although I’ve always been known to have incredible creative talent. See childhood refrigerator. This masterpiece is in fact a succulent, low-sodium rack of BBQ pork ribs that I made in a flash (cooking confession: the preparation time was about 10 minutes, the effortless cooking time was an hour and a half, and cleanup took only ten minutes as well) in honor of the 49ers opening day. In yet another tale of low-sodiu tailgating, I knew I wanted something juicy, smokey, and manly to bite into before […]

September 10, 2010

Toot Your Horn, It's Time For Corn

In the somewhat altered words of Steven Tyler, “it’s a-maize-ing.” And I’m not just referring to Aerosmith’s extremely long career, or Tyler’s obsession with scarves, but I’m also talking about the savory, sweet, and ultimately flexible culinary properties of a fresh ear of corn. While this vegetable may be best known for its simple work on the cob, there are many ways these little kernels can fill your plate – as a side, as a snack, as an entrée, and as a sweet treat to end the day. And as such, I’m planning to write about this ancient crop, and only […]

August 20, 2010

The Evolution of a Low Sodium Cook

As the Lupus Foundation of America ushers in part 3 of my guest blog today, I did a little reminiscing. I can hardly believe that only a few years ago, I took my first stab at low sodium cooking with a simple stir fry. A few ripe vegetables, a quick chop, a sizzle of vegetable oil (as I had not yet discovered the power of toasted sesame), some slivers of organic chicken, and a few dashes of salt-free granulated garlic and cayenne, and I had a dinner that was fresh, springy, unfussy, and sodium free. It was minimal, but it […]

August 13, 2010

Take Your Tops Off

I apologize for getting a bit frisky this Friday morning. It’s just that last night I discovered something novel, something exciting, something that even some might call brilliant. While making a fresh batch of potato leek soup (sweet butter + leek + potato + blender), I was left with a bunch of hard, green leek tops. Unless you want some sort of Dr. Seuss-ish soup, it is best to only use the white parts of the leek and put the darker green parts to the side. But right there is the big dilemma. What do you do with the discarded […]

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