Tips & Tricks

March 25, 2010

Old Spoon, New Trick

One of my favorite magazines is Real Simple and one of my favorite sections is where the editors show you how to use old appliances to do new things. For example, wrap rubber bands around your easter eggs before dipping in dye to make perfect patterns. Brilliant, right? Or turn the back side of an old, scratched pan into a magnet board and hang in your kitchen. A little more work, but still, pure genius. The point is, as much as a love William Sonoma and even that airplane magazine with the useless “inventions” – like a dog bowl that […]

March 12, 2010

Cater to Me

So it’s true. I’m getting hitched this fall to a wonderful guy who not only doesn’t mind that I often smell like onions and garlic, but is equally enthusiastic about exploring the possibilities of low sodium cooking. I’m not a typical bride and I definitely did not grow up dreaming of the details of this very special day. But I will admit, there are two things that I have always said are an important part of making my nuptials ideal: (1) I do not want to wear shoes and (2) I want the reception to be filled with lots of […]

March 4, 2010

Lemons into Lemonade

A girl walks into a bar. She’s young, beautiful, and smart to boot. The bartender, charming as always, asks her, “What will you be having?” And the girl answers, “I’ll have a long life, filled with a great career, a family, and utter enjoyment of each and every day.” The bartender pauses, wipes the counter, and slowly says in a soft voice, “how about you get cancer instead?” To which the girl replies, “That’s fine, but I’ll take my original order as well.” I know most of you come to this blog for stories about food, but sometimes it is […]

March 3, 2010

There’s an App for That

Oh technology. Right when I feel myself closing the information gap, there you go again, blasting off, ten leaps ahead of me. Since I live deep within the world of start-ups and software, I feel it is my duty to try and keep up with the lightening speed pace of the industry, constantly adopting the latest gadget or widget into my life. Through dedicated trolling of techcrunch, wired, and valleywag (you know, for the gossip), I have slowly but surely taken steps to becoming more tech savvy. First, there was the blog. Then came the iPhone. And next? I don’t know, […]

February 19, 2010

Cupcake Fail

Just take a gander at this cupcake. Okay. Go ahead, take two. Look at the creamy, white chocolate buttercream icing with dark chocolate sprinkles on top that look like lavender pollen dusted on by a group of fairies. And look at the muffin top, brimming with just enough moisture but hinting at a bit of crunch. Don’t you just want to sink your teeth into this treat? Well, if you do, be warned. You may lose a molar. The truth is, I made these cupcakes for a dear friend’s birthday who happens to have a gluten allergy. So these sweet […]

February 17, 2010

The Best Part of Waking Up

I was lucky in love this past weekend – trapped in the snowy Utah mountains with my best friends from high school for four glorious days. Conditions could not have been more ideal. We had gnar pow to ski in, a hot tub to soak in, and tons of fresh food to sink our teeth in. Our daily routine was simple: wake up, ski, eat, ski, tub, eat, sleep. Everything the body could possibly desire. On Sunday evening, dinner prep was in my hands. Or more accurately, I stole it from everyone else’s. The refrigerator was outfitted with steak filets, […]

February 8, 2010

Cooking with Kaz – The Preface

Last Friday night, I had an amazing low sodium cooking adventure where I learned to make a traditional, five-course, Japanese meal which included that beautiful ball of tofu sitting in a pond of orange beet puree that you see above. But before we get into this multi-volume thriller, a quick spoiler alert. This is a long post – actually, it will be broken into two posts – that is worth every minute of procrastination. So to prepare for the reading road ahead, I suggest we get our blood pumping and begin this morning with a little interactive blogging. When I say […]

February 2, 2010

The Maverick Challenge

Maverick Restaurant sits quietly on 17th street, just off the busy, foodie-trodden path of Valencia. Unless you know it is there, you might just pass by the banner, with its dashing red “M” emblem, that hangs modestly above the entry way. But this is a restaurant that no one, dietary restriction or not, wants to miss. Co-owners Scott Youkilis and Mike Pierce make a killer team with Mike manning the front of the house and the extraordinary wine list and Scott preparing the dazzling regional cuisine in the back. I made my first trip to Maverick in the spring of […]

January 27, 2010

Double Exposure

I know I promised some faux miso marinated cod today (and don’t worry, that lovely little recipe will be popping up later this afternoon). But first, I have to send a huge thank you to Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, the two genius minds behind food52.com. These ladies sure know how to cook, write, and bring a community of food lovers together and it was a major honor to show up on their Reciprocity blog roll this morning. I’ve had a blast submitting my recipes on their site and their weekly contests keep my culinary synapses firing. I feel so […]

January 26, 2010

A Top Chef’s Top Five

A professional kitchen is usually quite hot. And a good restaurant? Most likely bustling and busy. The words frantic, sweaty, and generally overwhelmed all come to mind when I ponder the life of a talented chef, at a popular restaurant, during its busiest hours. So have you ever wondered what said chef might be thinking when you, the one who loves food but can’t eat salt, waltzes in and unveils a laundry list of dietary restrictions? I did. So last week, I decided to ask. Today I unveil a new feature on Sodium Girl – investigative journalism at its best […]

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