Brunch

October 27, 2010

Salt-Free My Recipe: Mama's Enchiladas

A few weeks ago, I received the following, lovely letter from Sodium Girl reader Cindra Fox: Dear Sodium Girl, I’m on a low-sodium diet to prevent complications from migraines. I’ve been on it for over a year now and have found a whole new world of food and flavor that I ignored back when I could just grab a burger at the closest drive-through. What I miss the most, though, is Mom’s famous enchiladas. I’m half-Mexican and we would make these at least once a week. Now it’s been over a year since I’ve had them. But here’s the catch: […]

April 23, 2010

It's a Cracker, Jack

I’ve always been quite jealous, when watching TV cooking shows, to see chefs quickly whip up crispy, parmesan wafers, that add an inexplicable flare and crunch to even the most boring dishes. Like a Caesar salad. All it takes is a grater, a block of parm, and a non-stick baking sheet. But due to parmesan’s high sodium content, to make and enjoy this treat also requires a body that is not salt sensitive. So parmesan wafers were out. But as usual, when I’m told no, I become even more obstinate and determined to find a solution. It just so happened […]

April 9, 2010

Pack Up Your Picnic

As we head into the weekend – that is hopefully filled with sunshine and lawn games – I wanted to sign off with a perfect picnic recipe for curried chicken salad. There is something about the cool temperature of the chicken mixed with the flavorful heat of the curry that screams summer. Or at least whispers spring. And what really makes this dish a favorite is the balance between the creamy mayo and other crisp ingredients. But mayonnaise, the key ingredient, usually hovers around 100mg of sodium per tablespoon, and this recipe often doesn’t make the low sodium cut. Boy’s […]

February 1, 2010

Once You Pop, You Can't Stop

Sometimes, it’s nice to take tradition and flip it on its head. The oyster po’ boy sandwich is an old favorite – a seaside comfort food that stirs up memories of overcast Half Moon Bay weather, a cold brew, and a bonfire. There is something clunky and majestic about this treat that calls for it to be eaten from a paper boat plate, away from the rugs and white couches of one’s home. So to make it a home-cook, classic, I needed to repackage the recipe and turn it into a one-bite wonder. I took all of the sandwich’s magical […]

January 18, 2010

Couscous, Sunny Side Up

First off, a gigantic thank you to Sodium Girl readers for passing on the link to Friday’s post. A big ‘ol check for $300 smackaroos is being sent off this afternoon to help recovery efforts in Haiti. And while I wish Ed Macmahon could be the one handing it over to the Red Cross, I think we can all be quite proud of participating in this necessary call-to-action. Now that our hearts are filled by good deeds, it is time to fill our tummies with good food. This rainy California weather demands something hearty and warm and this dish is […]

January 14, 2010

Holly Holly Hollandaise

Happy Semi-Hump Day (just two more afternoons to go until the weekend) and a special thank you to those readers who wrote in their votes for this morning’s post. The winner, of course, was the perfectly poached Eggs Benedict that Mom whipped up during Stanford’s bowl game on New Year’s Eve. The origin of this dish is still a mystery. Multiple people and places have been accredited for its creation, from a special order by a hungry (and demanding) patron at the Waldorf Hotel circa 1894, to a traditional French cuisine named œufs bénédictine, consisting of a toasted piece of […]

January 8, 2010

Dream a Little Dream Bar

This recipe for Dream Bars is care of my wonderful Nana, who I am sure pick-pocketed it from someone else, but for the sake of legacy and honor, we will just go ahead and give her full credit. The brookies (brownie cookies) make the most of baking’s basic ingredients and the extra flare of sugar-soaked coconut will transport your taste buds to a magical, tropical island in the dead of winter. They are perfectly chewy and hold up well when given a deep dunk in a glass of coconut milk. You will use one bowl, one pan, and only 40 […]

December 22, 2009

Egg in a Basket, Toad in a Hole

The Egg in a Basket, also known as Toad in a Hole and Bird in a Nest, is the perfect weekend breakfast for one, two, or twenty. The classic recipe takes mere minutes to complete and offers endless enjoyment in its nutty flavors and playful presentation. The ingredient list is minimal – low sodium bread, sweet/unsalted butter, and eggs – but you can always spice things up with freshly chopped herbs (chives or parsley would be delicious), a light mustard sauce by combining crème fraiche (0mg of sodium) with dry mustard (0 mg of sodium) or low salt stone-ground mustard […]

December 16, 2009

Sticky Tummy Bread Pudding

Let’s start the morning with a shot of some beautiful, homegrown eggs. Cage free and totally enchanting with their varying shapes and colors. They were a most special gift from some good friends who are raising chickens of their own and I could not wait to use them. Well actually, I had no other choice. I am leaving for a bit of a holiday break and with two dozen eggs, a fresh loaf of no sodium bread, a whole block of Heluva good cheese, and a bunch of fresh kale, I was tasked to use up the goods as quickly […]

November 20, 2009

Check Out My Cheese

Usually I try to come up with a somewhat intriguing title. But this time, the subject was so exciting that I had to rush past the presentation and skip to the good stuff. I made cheese. No seriously, I did. All by myself. Most amazingly, it was really easy. And most surprisingly, people who usually eat salt, lots of it, liked it. So the scenario goes like this: like I said in my last post, I signed up to attend the Jam It session at 18 reasons on Thursday night at which jamming, pickling, and DIY-fooding enthusiasts and professionals gathered […]

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