General

August 23, 2010

You Say Potato, I Say Ricatto

This post begins with a lovely, late dinner at SF hot spot, Frances. Dim the lights, cue soft “yazz” music, and pour yourself a bottle of house wine. The densely packed, haute diner offers a slim menu of seasonal delights. And while impromptu creation of two sodium-free dishes blew me away – a refreshing consume of tuna, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and jalapenos and a bowl of perfectly roasted eggplant, zucchini, shredded basil, and tomatoes – it was really my dining partner’s plate of fluffy dream clouds (i.e. ricotta gnocchi) that had me drooling. Since I try to avoid being the […]

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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 […]

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July 23, 2010

For the (Epi)curious

Curiosity may have killed the cat (rest in peace, Fluffy), but it will definitely make you a better cook. For someone on a restricted diet – especially a salt-free diet – it is essential to venture beyond your comfort zone and try things that will not only impress your guests, but surprise your palate. If you simply rely on the basics (salt and pepper) and the simple (red pasta sauce and noodles), your options will be limited and your meals will end up – I hate to say it – tasting pretty bland. But once you stop focusing on the […]

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February 26, 2010

Let's Do Lunch

Imagine this: it has been a busy week of working late and stressful deadlines.  You barely have the minutes to fit in friends, phone calls, not to mention laundry and the less pressing tasks of working out and brushing your teeth.  You barely have the energy to pull off your boots before you crash into your comfy bed (which never felt so good) and the last thing you have time or energy to accomplish is preparing a hearty, low sodium meal for your lunch the next day.  So what is one to do when noon thirty rolls around, the brain […]

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January 21, 2010

Bad News Bears

Well, I guess distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?  For the diligent readers, I wanted to quickly explain yesterday’s radio silence before, well, going silent once again.  My trusty computer companion caught some horrible cyber crud which has left both it and myself completely incompacitated.  But things are looking up and my little work station should running strong again tomorrow.  So I will be back and in full force, no virus is going to keep this little cook down.  And in the meantime, I will be cooking up some mean goodies to share with you next week, including: A […]

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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 […]

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February 27, 2009

Low-Sodium Bible

A wonderful man named Dick Logue started a Low Sodium Cooking website and community board dedicated to living on a low sodium diet. The recipes are a great place to start if you are just beginning to learn how to cook without salt and his newsletters always contain seasonal recipes. I definitely suggest trying the soy sauce and Teriyaki recipes – these can be used as bases for more complicated Asian dishes (like a thick plum sauce for pork lettuce cups…do I have you drooling yet?) and are also delicious on a freshly steamed bowl of rice. I believe the […]

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February 27, 2009

Hold the Salt

My journey with Lupus began with quite a bang – a 3 month hospital stay, chemotherapy, and too many ups and downs to count. The most lasting effect was renal insufficiency – meaning my kidneys only work at a fraction of the normal capacity. I cannot rid my body of toxins or water retention at a normal rate and this leads to high blood pressure and other functional complications. Amazingly/luckily/unbelievably – my kidneys actually regenerated enough that I no longer needed a kidney transplant (thank you, Dad) and my dialysis tubes could be removed. Now it was up to me. […]

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