Cocktail Hour

April 22, 2016

Low-So Summer Socca Pizza

I had a dream about pizza last night. A thin, crispy crusted pizza slathered with rich, gooey cheese all mixed with creamy sauce. It had all the right flavors and textures. And I couldn’t gobble up enough of it. In my dream. That’s because pizza is just the best. It’s so wonderful, that it even tastes good cold. Like, straight from the fridge cold. And it is one of the foods that people miss most when going on a low-sodium diet. Not just for its flavors and cheese. But for the comfort. And the convenience. The good news is that several low-so […]

February 19, 2016

Low-So Cauliflower Vegetable Bread

Kale may be a superfood. But cauliflower is a food unicorn. It’s totally magical. With the right recipe and ingredients, cauliflower can turn into a pizza crust. Or white pizza sauce. Mashed “potatoes.” Popcorn. Rice. A steak. CHORIZO!!! Vegan macaroni and “cheese.” And even a ricotta-like situation (which I have in my new book and coming soon to theKitchn.com, but you can find a similar recipe here). Come to think of it, cauliflower is not just a unicorn; it’s a top tier impersonator. And if it could, I’m sure it would headline as Cher in Vegas. The point is, now that I’m on an even more limited […]

February 13, 2015

Low-Sodium Homemade Sausage

Two things stand between your love of sausage and your low-so diet. One, the salted casings and two, the salty brines or cures or just plain salt used in the stuffing. So pretty much, the whole shebang. But hold up. Because there are a few, easy, non-salty solutions to this sausage dilemma. Meaning, yes, you can still enjoy your sausage fix by making it at home. Without the salt. And with a ton of flavor. The first step is to make fresh sausage versus cured (or “hard”) sausage. This basically means you will use fresh meat, grind it, stuff, it and, then […]

December 12, 2014

Party Trick: Peppy Chocomallow Bites

Okay, here’s the scene. You have a holiday potluck, party, cookie exchange, FILL IN THE BLANK BAKED GOOD FESTIVITY. And like me, you don’t have a “knack” for baking. Or an oven. Or flour. Or butter. Or time. Or FILL IN THE BLANK REASON FOR NOT BAKING. So what do you do? Showing up empty handed isn’t an option. Nor is buying pre-made treats as most cookies and muffins are filled with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. And really, whose that impressed by a box full or decorated sugar cookies? But do you know what is a solution? Marshmallows covered […]

September 5, 2014

Low-So Broccoli Tater Tots

You may be skeptical, you may be amazed. But either way, behold the broccoli tater tot! (I think I just won motherhood) But before we get into specifics, let me explain something: I’m not a believer of “hiding” vegetables from my daughter or a green-fearing person of any age. But I sure do love the idea of stuffing vegetables in really yummy things, wherever and however possible. Like tater tots. Everybody loves tater tots. This is not up for discussion. And recently I’ve found that broccoli can do a lot more than steam and turn into mush. It makes a great pesto. I love it chopped and […]

August 15, 2014

Quick Cracker Hack

I will never forget how I felt when I discovered my first bag of salt-free potato chips. It was a low-sodium snacking revelation! Then came salt-free tortilla chips, beet and sweet potato chips, and finally, salt-free rice crackers. All products that increasingly improved my ability to stay fueled and well appetize’d throughout the day and evening. But what about feeding others? Most of the time, my guests were surprisingly pleased with the taste and texture of these salt-free options. Many starting to opt for the salt-free versions. But as for the flavor options — well, they all fell to the blander […]

April 18, 2014

Matzo-Tizers & Rocky Matzo Road

I promise we’re almost done with matzo makeovers. But seriously, matzo is one incredible low-sodium ingredient that can go from breakfast to dinner, from snacks to sweets. And I just can’t help myself. It is just so fun to play with them. So this weekend, when you find yourself with only minutes to prepare something wow-worthy for Eastover brunches and sunny picnics (please, lord, let it be sunny), try these two easy matzo non-recipes. The first is the mighty Matzo-Tizer, aka matzo crackers covered in delicious things. You can spread the matzo with avocado, yogurt, or my favorite, a smashed […]

April 11, 2014

Salt-Free Matzoh Nachos and Crackers

It’s that time of year when matzoh makes its way to the main market aisles (not hidden in the “ethnic food section”). And while the rest of the world may associate matzoh with Passover, matzoh ball soup, and a vehicle for eating bowls of charoset, us low-sodium folks know matzoh is one of the greatest tools for a creative salt-free kitchen. That’s because most matzoh, unless seasoned, contains zer0 milligrams of sodium (zer-OMG!). And whether you use them for to scoop up your egg salad, as an open-faced sandwich, as bread crumbs, or a pie crust, and even as a […]

March 26, 2014

Falafel Wraps

There are two big lessons that I want to impart to you today: first, cabbage makes an amazing, low-sodium pita replacements and second, cooking with dried chickpeas is kind of amazingly more amazing than using the canned kind. Now I’m all for convenience. Trust me on this. I’ll happily buy peeled garlic, no-salt-added canned tomatoes, and pre-mixed no-salt spice blends. Anything that makes me low-sodium life and cooking easier. And when it comes to beans, I’ve never, I repeat, NEVER used the dried kind. I always rely on the trusty no-salt-added pre-cooked version and a can opener. But yesterday, I […]

March 12, 2014

Low-Sodium Turnip Tots

Sometimes good things happen to old vegetables. Like these baby turnips that were sadly wilting away in my refrigerator, getting mushier with every passing day that they were ignored for things like kale and ground pork and life in general. But as I was about to throw them towards their composite demise, I realized that the softened texture and small round size made for the perfect tater tot substitute. And suddenly, these aging baby turnips were given a bright new future. Once again, a little olive oil and cornmeal give these vegetables some appealing crunch. Any spice mix will help […]

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