December 14, 2009

The Joy of (other people) Cooking

This weekend I attended 3 tree trimmings, two Chanukah parties, a birthday dinner, and an engagement lunch. It was a whole lot of season’s eatings. And throughout this whirlwind of celebrations, I not only enjoyed the company of my loved ones, but I was treated to some very special no sodium cooking as well.

First, the cupcakes. Sprinkles cupcakes have slowly crept up the coast from LA to the mouths of hungry, sweet toothed San Franciscans. I’ve had nibbles of the haute muffins before, but due to the sodium content, I have never fully partaken in the decadent enjoyment of these treats. For the engagement luncheon, however, one little lady was determined to not have me miss out on the sugar rush.

After buying a dozen real Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes, the Mom went to task to create an equally stunning and delicious sodium free version. She swapped soy milk for whole milk and used sodium free baking soda for the cake and made a meringue frosting for the top. And of course, she borrowed one of the signature candy bull’s eyes to create the perfect impostor.

which one is which?

Besides being beyond adorable, my Mom’s cupcake creation is a testament to how my dietary limits have influenced her cooking abilities. She always had the skills, but the challenge of cooking sodium free sharpened her kitchen instincts and increased her willingness to take risks. And can we talk about flare? I mean, including the little sugar bull’s eye just took her sodium free treat over the top. Let’s just say I’m pretty proud of the Mama.

Then the next morning, off to Boy’s Mom’s house for another sodium free feast: huevos rancheros. As I think I have mentioned before, I love beans. And I love breakfast. So I was pretty thrilled at this menu. Also, Boy’s Mom, being the creative genius that she is, has become quite adept at making on-the-fly sodium free substitutions. I knew I was in for a delicious start to the day.

To begin, she served a fresh fruit salad with yogurt but topped mine (ingeniously) with some crème fraîche which provided the perfect cool texture to round out the dish.

Then, the huevos rancheros. She cooked a special pot of no sodium refried beans with my favorite low sodium cheese and finished the dish with two beautifully fried eggs and some heated corn tortillas on the side.

Oh and that delicious looking salsa? Yeah, that is low sodium salsa from Trader Joe’s that Boy’s Mom, the part-time detective, found a year ago. It has a lot of delicious spice and is wonderful for a quick salsa fix.

So I hope this brief photo essay helps demonstrate that if you treat your dietary needs as an adventure, other people will be excited to join along in your culinary experimentation. So keep sharing, keep inventing, and chow on.

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