jessg23

November 13, 2009

Bacar

The niners beat the bears (in a heart attack inducing finish) and it was date night. How could this evening get any more magical? I’ll tell you. A fresh, thoughtful, earthy meal at Bacar. I called the restaurant around 3:00pm, when most begin answering their phones for dinner service, and made sure to forewarn of my dietary needs. They had walu on the menu (a meaty and juicy white fish) and I asked them to please save me a cut. I also made sure to have a few veggies left aside so that they were not parboiled in advance. Tip: […]

November 12, 2009

This Spud's for You

I think potatoes are (a) utterly delicious and (b) really confusing to spell. I like them fried, baked, sliced, in soups and stews … but mostly, I like them fried. At first, I thought it would be impossible to find low sodium or sodium free versions of these beloved potato products and I took to making my own sweet potato fries at home (which, if I say so myself, was not a bad substitute…recipe below). But I had completely underestimated the possibilities of no sodium/low sodium snacking and in almost 6 years of searching for a salt free French fry […]

November 11, 2009

Mmm Mmm Murray Circle

I have to admit, it felt pretty silly to travel less than 15 minutes for a one night staycation at Cavallo Point but the experience went beyond any expectations I had. First of all, the property (set in old Fort Baker buildings) does an extraordinary job of fitting in with its natural surroundings – gorgeous fields of long, sweeping grass; seats strewn about the property to sit and admire a sunrise or sunset; fire pits for late night chatting with fellow guests; and simple architectural designs so as not to distract from the natural beauty of the surrounding hills, wildflowers, […]

November 10, 2009

The Ultimate Kitchen Utensil

I mean this with all my heart when I say it. Everyone needs one. The glorious IMMERSION BLENDER (cue solo spotlight and angels singing) is the culinary gods’ gift to cooking. I mean, it is seriously the nicest thing those guys have done since inventing the spatula or maybe Mickey Mouse-shaped waffle irons. And I liken the creation of the immersion blender to the brilliance of Velcro shoes. They are both simple, time saving devices that also happen to look pretty awesome. Do you want one yet? Just wait. In 1950, a Swiss genius named Roger Perrinjaque invented the immersion […]

November 4, 2009

Let's Make This Personal

Check it out Sodium Girl lovers – I have finally set up an official gmail account (and figured out how to take a sweet screen shot of it – no big deal) so that you can directly send me your sodium-free cooking questions, requests for tips and tricks, or recommendations for friendly restaurants. Just sent a cyber note (also known as “email” to those of you who are super tech savy) to sodiumgirl@gmail.com and let me know what sodium-free quandary has been plaguing you. And please, keep date requests to a minimum, cause this lady is taken. Let the email […]

November 3, 2009

Project Bacon – Update

Round one of Project Bacon is complete – but we are far from finished. Although the pork smelled like bacon and even looked like bacon, it did not cook up like bacon. I tried frying it, baking it, and frying and baking it – but to no avail. My hypothesis – my cut of pork was too fatty and there was not enough meat. In the weeks following, I compared my strips to those at Whole Foods and they look quite similar, but not as marbled. With test round 1 done, it’s on to round 2. There is no giving […]

October 22, 2009

Black Dress Theory

Let’s face it, food tastes good with salt. French fries, pasta water, even chocolate – salt is everywhere and is the universally adored flavor enhancer. We are so accustomed to eating meals laden with the shimmering crystals that, to cook or eat a dish without them seems like an impossible feat, or at least impossibly boring. When people find out that I cannot have salt, they often react with horror and remark that, if they had to do such a thing, they “would commit hara-kiri.” But this morning, I thought of an analogy that might illuminate the ultimately positive reality […]

September 20, 2009

Project Bacon

I just bought $15 worth of pork belly from the amazing butchers at Prather Ranch Meat Co. housed in the SF Ferry Building. While it might be easier to braise large chunks of the monster or dice and fry the fatty parcels – I’m going whole hog on this project and spending the next five days curing my very own, sodium-free bacon. With little bit of time, creativity, and advice from meat professionals, it is possible to open culinary doors that seemed permanently closed. After a brief chat with my bacon Sensei, we devised a salt-free curing plan as follows: […]

August 3, 2009

Happy Trails

I’ve been a bit behind on my blogging due to some recent travels (WEDDING SEASON!) and am off again early this week for more fun on trains, planes, and automobiles. However, the time I have spent on the road reminded me that it is high time to write on one of the more challenging low sodium subjects: eating well while on the go When traveling, everyone must forgo their fresh, healthy food options for fast(er) food. And for those of us trying to maintain a strict diet (health required or otherwise), it seems almost impossible to stay within our limits. […]

July 20, 2009

Grocery Store Detective

I’ve been hitting the street and doing some undercover shopping (all in the name of sodium safety) to discover the latest no-sodium, time-saving products. For a long time, no-sodium sauces and breads were only available on the world wide web or by making them by hand, at home. Now, they are showing up on the grocery store shelves in droves and are making no-sodium cooking and snacking even easier. So here is the beat on my latest discoveries that will be sure to become shopping list staples. FOUND Multiple brands of no salt tomato sauces (0-15mg per serving) LOCATION Consistently […]

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