Main Ingredient

August 22, 2012

Salt-Free Oyster Mushroom Calamari

No. There’s no greater word in the dictionary. See? I just used it twice. And before you can say no to that claim, let me explain. Remember when you were little and your parents told you, “no,” and then you answered, “why not?” to which they replied, yet again, “no” and then the “no” and “why not” rally began, finally ending with you tiring out your parents and eating that strawberry shortcake popsicle instead of a nap? Remember that? Well that was the beginning of falling in love with “no.” Because, you see, even from early on you understood that “no” […]

August 9, 2012

Oh Fudge

I’ve always had a sweet tooth. Maybe several. And it seems that when I started cutting down the salt, I grew a few more. I love chocolate. I love sour candies. I even love those Necco Wafers which, no offense, taste like cardboard. But since they’re in the candy aisle, I’ll happily eat them if that’s all that is available. So that’s pretty much all I have to say about my affection for confections. In terms of fudge, though, I have a few more things I’d like to talk about. First, I’ve never made it before. Second, I don’t own a […]

August 1, 2012

Good Taste and Good Dip

Good taste. In fashion, this means not wearing hammer pants with a bolo tie. In manners, this means not gawking at that guy wearing hammer pants with a bolo tie. And in food, well this is where it differs a bit. Good taste might just mean being daring enough to pair the culinary equivalent of hammer pants (zucchini) with a bolo tie (peaches) to discover newfangled, unimaginable ways to create flavor and excite the palate. This is where Karen Palmer enters. (Enter: Karen Palmer) As a past colleague at DailyCandy and a recipient of a culinary degree, she defines refinement, […]

July 25, 2012

Baked Grapes, An Olive Alternative

I read books. As long as you count Fifty Shades of Grey. But my preference for literature lies strongly in culinary novels. Of every kind. Cookbooks, blogs, and most definitely magazines. And yesterday, I splurged. I bought four food glossies and spent an afternoon poring over every word. Every recipe. Every picture. And then I found this: Baked grapes. I thought my pickled cherries were a snazzy party trick. But man, Sunset magazine really raised the bar for olive substitutions. And when you pull these out at your next cocktail night or brunch with friends, you too will set a […]

July 20, 2012

Salt-Free Banh Mi Oh My

This is for reals. But this is not for you. I know that it looks like this is for you. It should be for you. But trust me. It is not for you. This recipe is actually for that guy, or gal, who hears the words “salt-free” and almost passes out from boredom. It’s for that person who feels paralyzed by shock and awe that you eat food (presumably) without any taste, that probably looks like cardboard. It’s for all those people who have forgotten that hundreds of other spices, herbs, vinegars, jams, and ingredients too hot and spicy to […]

July 17, 2012

Low-Sodium Appetizers, On a Stick

There are a lot of great things about appetizers. Mostly that they are small and you can eat a lot of them. But one of the other main reasons I love them is that, in making them, they don’t have to take up too much of your time. Please take these extremely low-sodium Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Kabobs as an example. Many people think extraordinary low-sodium food only comes from hours of slaving away in the kitchen. But, surprise surprise, it can also be a simple as slicing up watermelon and tomatoes and sliding them on a stick. I’d write […]

June 27, 2012

Kidneys, Cooking Classes, Scones

Pass it forward. Most of the time when I say this, I’m talking about shuffling that plate of spicy green beans in my direction. But today, I’m talking about experiences. And scones. But mostly experiences. Our lives are filled with them — good and bad; some worthy of pictures, some better left to a gossip session over tea; many part of our everyday routines and many others that are life changing. But all of them, moments in time. Our time. Many people keep their experiences to themselves. But over the years, I’ve learned that if you take these little time […]

June 20, 2012

Low-Sodium Leftover Rice

Let’s say you have eight people over for dinner. And you make rice for eight hundred. What do you do with all those leftover grains? A few tubs of tupperware and some basic arithmetic lead us to conclude that what you have are leftovers. Which is just a muse for creativity. And when it comes to rice, you’ve got one of the greatest leftover canvases to work with. There are many stellar, second-day, low-sodium options for rice. You can make spring rolls. You can top the rice with spices and avocado for a cold snack, that’s totally great when you’re on-the-go. You […]

June 14, 2012

Low-Sodium Spicy Green Beans

Do you remember that show, My Two Dads? It was about two guys (duh) raising a daughter. Kind of like Three Men and a Baby, but with a lot less Ted Danson and a lot more of a dude that looks like George Michael. I have two dads now. My father and my father-in-law. Neither looks like Ted Danson nor George Michael. But they both like each other. A lot. This obviously wasn’t a requirement for my matirmonial arrangement, but it really worked out for the best. They talk politics and sports, burgers and beer. And both love to find […]

June 12, 2012

Low-Sodium Asian Slaw & Spareribs

I know it’s Father’s day this weekend. But I want to talk about grandparents. My grandparents. Nana and Papa. Yeah, they were as adorable as they sound. Their house was filled with knick knacks and chachkis from around the world. Shoots and Ladders. Tons of crossword puzzles. Books by Shell Silverstein. PBS programming. Origami paper and party hats for crafting. And re-crafting. And then fashion shows for everyone after dinner. The kitchen was filled with Hansen’s soda (because it was natural). The smell of toasted wheat bread. And a rotating schedule of cornflake crusted chicken parmesan and some other chicken dish […]

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