Dinner

March 1, 2010

Gimme A Beet

It is the end of February and that means San Francisco has had a few days of faux-spring weather, causing me to swap the soup ladle for the grill. While I love a good beef patty, there is something about the taste of a nutty veggie burger. But the pre-made brands are skyrocketing with sodium and, although I have tried creating a chickpea patty of my own, the addition of breadcrumbs made it taste more like a falafel than a hamburger. This isn’t a bad thing, just not the result I was looking for. So I wondered, what vegetable is […]

February 16, 2010

All Sunchoked Up

There are certain foods that are in your cooking comfort zone – tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, even eggplant to a degree. Then there are others which you know taste good – they said so on Top Chef – but are so alien to you, that any time you see them in the grocery store, you hurry past and hope they didn’t see you coming. Sunchokes are one of those foods. I most commonly have heard of sunchokes as the base of a creamy, wintery soup for which people hmm and haw over its delicate taste. As a relative of the sunflower, […]

February 12, 2010

A Super(bowl) Makeover Story

I don’t know about you, but I rolled home last sunday full of chili, chips, and chicken wings. I love Super Bowl Sunday for a variety of reasons – mainly good time spent with friends and the excuse to be overly-gluttonous. But I forgot that on Super Bowl Sunday, even more so than on my second favorite holiday of the year – Thanksgiving – our eyes become much bigger than our stomachs. And I came home on Sunday evening with a tupperware tub full of spicy, ginger chicken wings that needed to be consumed. Now, wasting food annoys me more […]

February 9, 2010

Cooking with Kaz – The Novel

I’m sure none of you could sleep well last night, awaiting today’s big reveal of Kaz’s five-course, Shojin feast. I think I’m personally working on about four hours of sleep. So let’s jump right in and get to the good stuff. I just can’t wait any longer. Last Friday, I invited three friends over to share in my low sodium, Japanese cooking project and our evening with Kaz couldn’t have been more special. He is one of the warmest people I have ever met and Kaz immediately made himself at home. He regaled us with stories from Japan, LA, and […]

January 28, 2010

A Tale of Two Cods

One of my proudest achievements so far, as a low sodium cook, has been creating a recipe for Faux Miso-Marinated Cod. If you have never experienced the real thing, a two-day, miso/sake/mirin bath gives this already fatty fish a sweet and silky flavor that really does melt in your mouth. I personally believe it is one of the greatest ways to prepare fish. The texture is satisfying and the taste overcomes any remnants of fishy-ness that might displease your palate. It is an utterly decadent dish and as an added bonus, incredibly easy to cook. The problem? Miso contains over […]

January 12, 2010

Take Home Take Out

Chinese chicken salad is to an extensive menu as “Don’t Stop Believing” is to karaoke. It is the ultimate go-to. History has proven that, without fail, you will find satisfaction with this choice. A cold bed of cabbage topped with juicy chicken, silky dressing, and those delicious crispy things. It is delicate enough to make you feel healthy, but full of savory bites so that you feel full. Now, as you’ve probably guessed, most prepared versions contain a high amount of sodium due to either the dressing, which is usually soy based, or the spice blend used to flavor the […]

January 6, 2010

Not Your Average Tamale: Part Two

Now that you have your carnitas filling ready to go, it is time to prepare the salsa, the masa, and the corn husks. So let’s wrap this dish up, literally, so you can get your tamale on the table and chow on. Pineapple and Serrano Chili Salsa Ingredients: 1 whole pineapple, cut into 1/4 inch cubes 3 tomatoes 2 tomatillos 2 serrano chilies 1 white onion, diced 8 cloves garlic, diced 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped Directions: 1. To prepare the tomatoes, wash and remove the stems. For the tomatillos, remove stems and the outer leaves and wash off the […]

January 5, 2010

Not Your Average Tamale: Part One

Here we go, everyone. We are about to embark on a journey through the creation of homemade, low sodium, high-kicking tamales. A two-part adventure filled with mouth watering photos and step-by-step instructions will whisk you off to a world where fresh herbs, roasted tomatoes, and a juicy pork butt are transformed into a decadent and edible celebration for your mouth. For those of you who have never been privy to the fun of these little steamed presents, a tamale, or tamal, is a Latin American dish that traditionally consists of corn husks filled with masa, meat, cheese, chilies, salsa, and […]

January 4, 2010

Crispy Fried Chicken

Happy new decade! I have a great feeling about this one and since I am always scheming on how to push the boundaries of low sodium cooking, I have a lot of fun low sodium projects ahead. The last weeks of 2009 were filled with a host of low sodium feasting and as promised, these next few days will be spent recapping each delicious bite: low sodium tamales, low sodium Chinese chicken salad, low sodium dream bars, low sodium gumbo. They are all coming your way and will blow your mind in due time. But to kick us off, I […]

December 18, 2009

Pot Roasted Pappardelle

To avoid holiday hostess stress, I’ve come to realize that it is best to prepare dishes that can cook uninterrupted and unattended for long periods of time. Whether in a crock pot or an oven safe casserole dish, your one pot pièce de résistance will simmer, thicken, and marinate on its own while you mingle with guests (and charm them with your wit and wile). And when it’s time to sit down (or stand as is often the case in our San Fran apartment), your meal is ready to be plated and served with little hassle. Another tip and host/hostess […]

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