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 and tummy are craving sustenance, and there is nothing around you but sodium heavy, grab and go options?

When faced with this dilemma, I often opted for salad – a little boring, but it was better, or should I say “healthier,” than buying some bananas and chocolate from the Walgreens next door.  Which I admit, I did on occasion.  Some of my favorite downtown options were Mixt Greens and Harvest & Rowe where I could create a salad to my liking and load up my leafies with fillers like hard boiled egg, avocado, and jicama.  But usually, the most substaintial options, like roasted chicken, black beans, and even many of the vegetables were filled with sodium from being preseasoned or parboiled in salt water.  So to say these lunches were satisfying is a bit of an overstatement, but they definitely did the trick.

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered a spot on the Embarcadero that is able to serve up a low sodium lunch that goes beyond my wildest dreams, or my best salad creation.  Boulettes Larder is an adorable restaurant that sits nestled in the Ferry Building.  You can order take out or relax at one of the two community tables inside its doll-house-like interior.  The menu is eclectic and the food carefully crafted and as a diner, you are privy to front row seats in the open kitchen where pots boil and breads rise before your eyes.  The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and a wall of old bell jars filled with spices and herbs beckons you to stay a while and explore.  But in the many times I have passed Boulettes Larder and smelled the rich aromas wafting from its kitchen, I never dared to step in through its curtained doorway.  Neither the lamb and potato hash nor the pulled pork sandwich seemed to scream “sodium free.”

But dare I say it, I spoke to soon.  While on a lunch date there two weeks ago, I was introduced to the kind owner and head chef, Amaryll Shwertner, who, after being given my list of dietary needs, said there was plenty of options for me.  And one of these options even included soup.  It turns out, she doesn’t salt her broth.  She personally believes that the natural juices from the meat provides enough sodium to flavor the stock.  So unless one of the other line chefs salts the soup later in the day, many times her fresh vegetable purees are sodium free.

On this particular day, the asparagus soup had been salted, but the broth remained sodium free.  And let me tell you, there is nothing I find more comforting than a bowl of home-made chicken soup that has clearly been cooked with love and patience.  To make sure I wasn’t just sipping on clear consume, Amaryll threw in some fresh kale stalks that slowly cooked as I ate.   She also assured me that next time, if I called ten minutes ahead, she would be able to add more vegetables to the pot.

I’m looking forward to taking her up on her offer and coming back to this unexpected, low sodium gold mine.  Just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover, or a restaurant by its menu, and if you are able to form a relationship with the people creating your food, the possibilities can be endless.  Chow on and have a fun and food-filled weekend.

The Vampire Slayer

While I am not a Twilight junkie, I’ll admit that I am quite intrigued by the current living dead cultural phenomenon.  If I knew pale skin and stringy hair was “hot,” I wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to soak up sun and groom myself.  I also would have bought those Ray-Bans from the ’90s.  But it isn’t just the Vampire look that excites me, it is the social embrace of an aromatic that I dearly love.  Garlic, welcome home.

I rely heavily on garlic to infuse my low sodium foods with a deeper flavor.  A few cloves will bring a richness to a simple stir fry, stock, or sauteed vegetables.  This little powerhouse packs a lot of punch.  And what I really love most about garlic is its chameleon-like properties. The strength of its taste can completely change depending on how it is cooked and even the size of its cut.  If you want it spicy and tart, leave it raw and finely diced.  If you want it sweeter and more delicate, roast it or saute until soft and cut into larger slivers or chunks.

To celebrate garlic’s many facets, I decided to make a slow roasted, rustic garlic and white bean soup last week and then kindly subjected my poor friend Katrina (a non-Vampire genius) to this potent stew right before her dentist appointment.  That must have made for an interesting check up. While I would not suggest serving this soup as a main course, its mild taste and silky texture is a perfect way to start any meal.  It pairs very well with a heavier main dish, like pasta or pizza, and lingering whispers of garlic will arise with every bite.

So instead of learning kung fu or some other form of martial arts, stave off pesky night walkers with a few bulbs of garlic and a can of beans. And to make sure you don’t scare off those you love, have some mints readily available too.  Chow on…soup, not people.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 cans of no salt added cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (40 mg of sodium per serving)
• 4 cups water
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• tablespoon fresh thyme

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut bulbs of garlic in half and set in a baking pan.  Drizzle olive oil over the open top of the cloves and cover the pan with foil.  Let the garlic roast in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour.  When it is done, you should easily be able to remove the cloves by squeezing from the top of the bulb.  Use a fork tong to help loosen the garlic.  All of this can be done the day before you make the soup.

3. Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add butter until brown.  Since we are using very few spices in this recipe, the brown butter will act as a flavoring agent and will add a smoky, nutty taste to the soup.

4.  Add the garlic, beans, thyme, and water and bring the mixture to a boil, about ten minutes.

5.  Take soup off of heat and blend with your immersion blender until smooth.  Return to a medium flame and allow to simmer and thicken for another 20-30 minutes.

6. Once the soup has reduce by a third, add cream and pepper.

7. Keep warm, covered, and over very low heat until you serve.

A Question of Spice

It was a wonderful discovery to realize that a “low sodium diet” did not mean a “no spice” diet.  Removing salt from my bag of tricks did not limit me from using the spectrum of flavors from around the world, but instead, made me more aware of their existence and willing to try their taste.  Most spices are seeds or roots that are roasted, toasted, ground, or used whole which means they are naturally sodium free.

But be careful, not all spices are created equal.  Most commercial spice blends will add salt as an ingredient and even some of the purebreds may contain sodium to boost the taste. So it is important to only buy spices that either have a nutritional label or say they are salt and msg free somewhere on the bottle.  Some of my favorite companies include Morton & Bassett, Penzey’s Spices, and even Mrs. Dash has a line of salt free spice blends.

As for the vibrant yellow-orange granules at the top of this page, this is my good friend turmeric.  The spice comes from the dried stem of a ginger-like root which was originally cultivated in India for its rich pigment.  While it is most commonly found in prepared curry powders, turmeric is also used as a coloring agent to dye the skin, clothing, and food.  It is used in the United States as a filler for many ground mustards.  Fascinating!  And I like to use turmeric as my secret ingredient (watch out KFC) when making fried chicken.  It has a woodsy, sweet, and slightly bitter taste which brings out the heat and nuttiness of a cayenne and chicken combo.  Now how’s that for some early morning education?  Get spicy and chow on.

Dough Re Mi

It may seem quite odd that I would begin this week with a post about something made of flour and water after openly admitting to my inability to bake, rattle, and roll.  But I assure you, when it comes to a round ball of dough, I think have a bit more skill, or at least confidence.  And in conquering this basic yeast bread, I was able to open the door to a sodium free version of something that I dearly missed: soft-baked pretzels.

I am a city girl.  I love the rush of busy streets and the buzz of passing cars.  I like tall buildings and commuting by subway.  Most importantly, I love street food.  Well, make that “loved” street food.  Toasted almonds, steaming hot dogs, and soft-baked pretzels with grainy mustard on top – these were a few of my favorite things.  While two of the three are long-gone loves, I recently began rethinking the possibility of the pretzel.  The only thing that was standing between me and this treat was baking powder or baking soda and I already knew there was a low sodium substitute for those ingredients.  So this twisted sister had low sodium potential.  It was just a matter of me putting on my apron and making it happen.

A year ago, I bought a low sodium soft pretzel mix (0 mg of sodium) from a low sodium website and it has been sitting in my cupboard ever since, waiting for its moment to shine.  I thought that this was it, the experiment that would bring my long-forgetten purchase out of hiding, but after a pang of prepackaged guilt, I decided to forget the mix and make these little ladies from scratch.  With a little help from Epicurious.com, I found a simple New York pretzel recipe that was easily altered to be sodium free.

I know what you are thinking: a pretzel is not a pretzel without the chunky sea salt on top.  But just hold your horses for a second.  There is a low sodium solution to this dilemma.  To make up for the flavor, I added granulated garlic, red chili peppers, and a dash of smoked paprika. And to mimic the texture, I covered the pretzels with dried onion flakes.  And there you have it.  Savory, soft, and low sodium.  Different but entirely satisfying.

These heart-shaped treats were a success and really fun to make.  One word of warning, though, they do go stale quickly and have a shelf-life of two to three days at most.  But don’t be afraid to use only part of the dough and save the rest for other baking adventures.  I used my leftovers to make some pizza dough that I covered in ricotta cheese (20 mg of sodium) and sauteed kale. It would also work well as bread sticks, hot crossed buns, and probably bagels.  Let your imagination run wild and conquer those low sodium barriers.  And the next time you hurriedly pass a cart of freshly baked soft pretzels, take a second to check out who’s manning it.  It might just be me.  Chow on.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon red chili pepper
• 3 teaspoons dried onion flakes

Directions:

1. Stir together sugar, yeast, and 1 ½ cups of lukewarm water in your mixing bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add 3 ½ cups flour, chili peppers, granulated garlic, and smoked paprika to yeast mixture and stir until it forms a dough.  I used a stand mixer and the dough hook, but if you have large biceps and patience you could definitely do this by hand.  You will have to knead the dough after mixing, adding additional flour until the dough is smooth but sticky.

3. Leave dough in bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to rise in a draft-free, room-temperature place for 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

4. Find a flat work surface where you can work with the dough.  Flour it well.  Lightly roll out the dough until it is a big square that is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and cut into 8 equal pieces. To make mini pretzels, cut into 16 equal pieces.

5. Channel your inner kindergartner and using your palms, roll 1 piece back and forth on a clean dry work surface into a rope about a foot and a half long. If dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust them with flour.

6. Twist dough into a pretzel shape and place finished pretzels on an oiled baking sheet and continue until you use all the dough.

7. Let pretzels stand, uncovered, about 20 minutes.

8. While the pretzels rest, put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat  to 425°F. Bring a wide 6-quart pot of water to a boil.

9. Using your hands or a spider skimmer, slide 3 pretzels, 1 at a time, to boiling water and cook.  Turn over once with tongs, until pretzels are puffed and shape is set, about 3 minutes. Transfer parboiled pretzels to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

10. Return the pretzels to the oiled baking sheet and brush them lightly with some of egg and sprinkle with dried onion.

11. Bake until golden brown and lightly crusted, about 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve warm.

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 muffins were wheat and salt free.  Pretty much a cupcake’s worst nightmare.  But the restricted ingredients were not the problem here, it was my inability to follow directions.  I consider myself a good cook because I am willing to experiment, to go commando without the aid of a recipe and alter flavors and more importantly, intentions, as I go.  And this is how I’ve been able to come up with low sodium versions of standard recipes – I’m not afraid to draw outside the lines.

But when it comes to baking,  lines and measurements and exact ingredients are of the utmost importance.  And on this fateful day of cupcakery, I had none of the above.  First, I couldn’t find a recipe I liked so I decided to combine two that looked intriguing.  Fail number one.  Second, I didn’t have the right amount of eggs nor the right amount of butter, so I “made up the difference” with orange juice and applesauce.  Fail number two.  And finally, when the batter looked too runny (and since my measuring cups were already covered in soap in the sink), I decided to haphazardly throw in some extra flour until it looked right.

The result: beautiful cupcakes that tasted like dusty cardboard.  And the fate of these failed treats?  Let’s just say the two dozen goodies held the birthday candle long after it had been blown out.  Luckily, I decided to take one for the team and I ate most of the frosting off of the tops, just so the cupcakes didn’t get self conscious.  You can’t really mess up white chocolate, cream, and butter.

The point of this sad and truly wasteful tale is that you will fail.  Many times.  Especially when you are constantly trying to cook without the crutch of salt and officially rewrite recipe history.  But failure is okay.  Maybe a little embarassing, but completely normal.  And with every failure you learn a lesson that will make you an even stronger cook the next time around.  I learned that I am not a baker and next time, this friend is getting a birthday meatloaf.  Chow on.

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, some white onions, and a carton of button mushrooms.  So I figured grilled steaks topped with caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms would be a classic hit.  The real trick, though, came in marinating the steaks.  Although meat has its own set of natural flavors that are finger lickin’ good, it is always nice to surprise people with an unexpected taste.  To “kick it up a notch” if you will.

In my kitchen, I have every seasoning tool I could possibly need.  But in a foreign ski house?  Well, you can imagine that the sodium free flavorings were scarce.  But this was far from a hopeless situation.  Rather an opportunity for creative brilliance.  Because even in the most dire sodium free situations, I can guarantee you that there are plenty of punchy flavors available. You  just have to know where to look. Think outside the spice rack.

Even though I didn’t have salt free smoked paprika or salt free lemon pepper to rub on my steak, I did have two common household items to make the meat tender, juicy, smoky, and bittersweet: BEER and COFFEE.  Most houses, especially ski houses, will have these two ingredients and together they draw out the natural flavors hiding in the meat.  A quick sear on the grill and a spattering of onions and ‘shrooms and we had ourselves a meal worthy of any Chicago steakhouse.

So remember, interesting flavors are lurking everywhere.  Don’t be afraid to mix and match your everyday noshings with more complex recipes.  You never know what you’ll discover or how a few drops of brew will heighten the entire eating experience.  Crack a cold one open and chow on.

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, sunchokes have a taste more akin to the artichoke and a shape that resembles bulbs of ginger.

I’ll tell you what made me most nervous about this vegetable – I had no idea how I was going to peel the little sucker.  With all its curves and pointy nubs, it seemed like it would take hours just to prep two handfuls of them, which didn’t seem worth it.  Sorry sunchoke.

But lucky for me, Boy thought very differently and came home one night with a bag full of sunchokes.  Our assignment – cook them.  But since we were both so unfamiliar with this ingredient, we decided to try not one, but two recipes: Sunchoke Soup with Pumpkin Seeds and Sunchoke Chips.  We kept the flavors of both recipes very simple so we could experience the full effect of the ingredient – we weren’t really sure what they tasted like.  Turns out, that on their own, sunchokes pack quite a punch.  And while the soup took some time to make, the chips could not have been easier.

Although peeling does take some time and effort, it moves along much quicker than I had imagined and for some recipes, like the chips, the sunchokes taste better with the skin on. I also want to add that I think artichokes are an even more time consuming vegetable – you have to cut the tips of their leaves and steam them and then take out the heart and so on and so on.  So when it comes to making a soup with that same earthy flavor, I would much rather grab a few sunchokes and get cooking.

So the next time you find yourself hiding from a mysterious, but intriguing ingredient, remember to set aside a few hours and give it a chance. You may find your new favorite flavor enhancer or go-to crowd pleaser.  You just have to be willing to take a leap of faith and see what happens.  Sometimes you will fail, but most of the time, you will come out on top with something really delicious to eat.  Chow on.

Sunchoke Soup

with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Fried Shimeji Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 10 sunchoke bulbs (0 mg of sodium)
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (0 mg of sodium)
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped (0 mg of sodium)
• 6 cups of water
• pumpkin seeds, shelled and unsalted (0 mg of sodium)
• shimeji mushrooms (or any kind that you have in your fridge)
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (0 mg of sodium)
• 1 teaspoon of any white vinegar (0 mg of sodium)
• 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche or heavy cream (0 mg of sodium)

Directions:

1. Begin by peeling your sunchokes.  To make it easier, first cut off the knots on the sunchoke.  This will give you a more even surface for peeling without losing too much of the ingredient.

2. Cut the sunchoke into smaller, round pieces and set aside in a bowl that contains 2 cups of water and the vinegar.  This will keep the sunchokes from turning brown.

3. Heat butter in a pot over medium heat and carefully stir until the butter has been browned.  Without much seasoning in this recipe, the brown butter gives it a nice, nutty flavor that will enhance the whole dish.

4. Add the garlic to the butter and let saute until soft.

5. Add the remaining 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.

6. Add the sunchokes to the pot and allow them to simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until they are soft.  Be prepared to wait, so either pay your bills or play a game.  I hope your scrabble board never looks like mine.

7. When the sunchokes have softened, take an immersion blender to the pot and let it go.  Blend until the soup is silky.

8. While the soup is reducing – you want it to be thick (not gummy), like the consistency of a potato leek soup – heat a nonstick pan.

9. Add pumpkin seeds.  Watch them carefully.  They will plump up when they are toasted.  Remove the seeds and keep them covered and warm.

10. Add the sesame oil to the pan and heat over medium high flame.

11. When oil is hot, add the shimeji mushrooms and fry them until a golden brown.  Put them aside as well.

12. To serve, add a dollop of crème fraiche to heaping bowl of the hot sunchoke soup.  Top with pumpkin seeds and mushrooms and enjoy.

Sunchoke Chips

Ingredients:

• 4 sunchoke bulbs, washed and unpeeled
• 1/2 cup of canola oil

Directions:

1. Begin to heat a large, deep pan (like a wok) and add the canola oil.

2. Clean the sunchokes and then use a mandolin or knife to slice thin, chip rounds.

3. Use the spit test to see if oil is hot. (Spit test is when you flick some water or a small piece of the sunchoke into the oil. If it hisses and spits back at you, the oil is ready to go).

4. In small batches, add the sunchokes to the oil and let them fry for 2-3 minutes. You do not want the pan to be crowded.

5. Remove the sunchokes with tongs or a spider skimmer and let them cool on a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat step 4 and 5 until all the sunchoke slices have been crisped.

6. You can dust them with lemon pepper, cayenne, or smoked paprika, but they taste quite flavorful without any spice. To serve, scoop them into a paper bag (if you are taking them out) or a bowl (if you are staying at home). Watch out potatoes, these guys have your number.

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 than when it is raining, you are home sick from work, and your cable goes out.  Both circumstances just seem totally unnecessary and I was determined to let not a single morsel of those drumsticks and thighs go to waste.  It was time for project Leftover Makeover.

The truth is, when you set your mind to it, using leftovers is not a difficult task and it can actually lead you to try more interesting flavor combinations than you would have otherwise attempted…not to mention save you a few bucks.  You simply have to force yourself to stick to the leftover plan and skip that dinner out, yet again, to eat another version of chicken.  But think of it this way, if you are craving something in particular, like pasta, Japanese, or good ol’ American, just use that as your inspiration.  Like my favorite fashion reality celeb always says, make it work.  You thought I was going to say “smile with your eyes” didn’t you?

So here are my three makeover stories – truly successful transformations in my mind – in which I used every inch of meat and even the bone to feed myself during the long week between momentous sport celebrations.  Goodbye Superbowl, hello Olympics!  I actually did not buy a single ingredient to make any of these and only used what products I had in my refrigerator and cupboards.  And speaking of products, I wanted to give a quick shout out to another great reader and low sodium sleuth, CS, who sent along some links for the spices and mixes she uses to make cooking easy and delicious.  One of my favorites products is a low sodium Thai Spice which just screams “unique taste found here.”  Having spice blends like this in your home will help you easily spice up your cooking and make even day-old goodies taste new in no time.  So don’t be afraid to stock up on things that can quickly add flavor to your cooking.  You deserve a break somewhere in that busy life.

Now on with the food.  Enjoy the long weekend.  I’ll be back with more recipes and tips on Tuesday.  Stay warm and chow on.

Makeover 1: Chicken Wings become a Brussel Sprout, Enoki Mushroom, and Chicken Hash

It is as easy as making an easy pie.  Just slice the chicken and the brussel sprouts and throw them in a heated and oiled pan.  We had some enoki mushrooms that were getting a bit slimy in the fridge so we threw those in too, but any vegetable will work.  These are simple flavors and since the chicken already had the spicy, ginger sauce on it, we didn’t add a single spice.

Makeover 2: Chicken Wings become Chicken Tortilla Soup

Besides the wings, I had a tub full of freshly made salsa that had not been touched.  To make the salsa, I simply roasted four tomatoes and three tomatillos in the oven and then blended them together with my immersion blender.  It was practically a tomato soup.  So I used this as my broth and then added some heat (jalapenos) and meat (the chicken) as well as some leftover chips to create a spicy soup with a bit of crunch.

Makeover 3: Chicken Wings become Chinese Breakfast Porridge (Jook)

Check out the wonderful food52.com for my Jook recipe.  If you haven’t had this breakfast, or dinner, treat before, set aside a few hours this weekend to make it.  You may find that this comfort food knocks macaroni and cheese off its pedestal…well, that is a complete exaggeration, but it is truly delicious and worth the time and effort.

Custard’s Last Stand

Although this may be a shock, there are some people in this world who do not like chocolate.  No, no.  I don’t mean myself.  Trust me, I’m on a steady diet of the dark stuff for breakfast every morning.  It’s good for your health, right?  But there are people out there (hey Dad) who, for some reason, do not taste the bitter sweet, buttery flavors that we find so decadent.  So for those folk, I wanted to offer up a Valentine’s Day treat that is not dipped, coated, or sprinkled with any form of cacao: A Simple Vanilla Custard.

This wonderful recipe was brought to me by Boy’s step-mom, who was also the co-creator of those wonderful fried chicken treats.  As you are probably realizing now, the list of participating chefs in this Sodium Girl’s ongoing saga is constantly growing.  Boy, Boy’s Mom, Boy’s Dad, Boy’s Step Mom, Boy’s Sister, not to mention my own family and friends – everyone is getting in on the low sodium cooking act and the truth is, it seems that people really enjoy the experimentation and creativity that is involved.  It sure pays off to be open and honest about your health and food needs – you’ll find that the people in your life want to help and that, while low sodium cooking may sometimes feel like a chore for you, it is rather fun for them.  Plus, you get treated to good meals and new recipes that you did not have to slave over yourself.  I’m always accepting “submissions” for new posts.

So when your sweet tooth comes a calling, here’s a great recipe for some sugar and spice and everything nice – minus the chocolate and of course, the salt.  Chow on.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Position oven rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.

2. In a saucepan warm the cream, half-and-half and sugar.

3. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl and slowly add 1/3 of the cream and sugar mixture, whisking the whole time.

4. Pour egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the rest of the cream/half-and-half/sugar mixture and add the vanilla.

5. Take the sauce pan off the heat and strain into a large measuring cup or a pitcher.

6. Pour custard into 8 ramekins or custard cups.

7. Place ramekins or custard cups in a deep oven pan and fill the pan with warm water until it reaches half way up the sides of the cups.  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

8. Bake the custard for 40 minutes or until they are barely set – they should still be a little jiggly.

9. Remove custard from the oven and allow to cool.  To serve, you can add a dollop of fresh whipped cream, some chocolate shavings, or even some crushed salt free pistachio nuts.

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 zen temples and demonstrated genuine excitement in being able to share his knowledge of healthy food with three strange strangers.  Did I mention he’s for hire?

When Kaz arrived, he immediately began unpacking his bag of goodies.  Like a Japanese Mary Poppins, he pulled out tons of foreign ingredients from his small black pouch and began to display them, very methodically, on my kitchen table.  It was important to Kaz that we had a firm understanding of each ingredient we would be using – especially the ones that were new to our American eyes.  Any chef, even an Iron Chef, needs to know what his culinary tools taste and feel like (check out minute 7 on the video).  That way, you can more confidently guess what food pairings and cooking methods will serve each spice, vegetable, and slice of meat best.  So before we even turned the rice cooker on, Kaz spent the first 15 minutes of the lesson talking about each item we were going to use and had us try each of the unprepared products, whetting our appetite and getting our cooking buzz going.

From left to right, front to back: dried daikon, fresh spinach, gluten balls, shimeji mushroom, shiso leaf, dried persimmon and dried date, ginger root, dried konbu

From left to right: wasabi powder, sesame paste, yuzu, sake, liquid amino acid, brown rice vinegar, and mirin.

Every one of these products were sodium free, except for the Bragg’s Amino Acid which has 160 mg of sodium for half of a teaspoon but can serve as a soy sauce substitute depending on your dietary restraints.  Each product can be found at any asian market, like Nijiya in Japan Town and Ranch 99 in Daily city.  These are easily two of my favorite stores in existence and you will have a blast treasure hunting the aisles for products like these.

But before we go any further, let’s honor Kaz’s cooking philosophy and pause for a quick Japanese cooking vocabulary lesson.

Dashi is any broth used as a base in all of Japanese cooking.  Konbu, bonito flakes, and shitake mushrooms are often used for flavor.

Konbu looks like dried seaweed and is one of the main ingredients in making dashi.  It is also often sold pickled and in pre-shedded packets.

Bonito flakes are dried fish skin.  Sounds scary, but it is an incredibly flavorful addition for broths or on top of rice and steamed veggies. You can easily find no sodium versions of this in the markets mentioned above.  I have three gigantic bags in my cupboard.

Mirin is a sweet cooking wine and is delicious on pretty much everything.

Yuzu is a small lemon/lime-like citrus.  It is often used to make ponzu or other sauces and a lot of American chefs are substituting this stronger, more acidic flavor for more traditional citrus products.

Kuzu Ko is a powder made from the root of the Kuzu plant.  Although it is often called arrowroot powder, it is different than the ones sold in Whole Foods market.  This product must be purchased at an asian market.

Now, back to the food.  For the rest of the post, I will be translating directly from the Sodium Girl Shojin Menu that Kaz so kindly created.  It is part food encyclopedia, part recipe, and part picture fun.  As you’ll see, most of the recipes are very simple.  The power of their flavor lies in long-soaks and ingredients like ginger, sesame, and shiso which leach out deeper natural sweet and sour tastes.  We also asked Kaz, if he hadn’t been restricted by my diet, what other products he would have brought.  He said that only two items were missing from our evening’s pantry – soy sauce and salt – and that none of these recipes rely on them for their desired outcome.  With that thought in mind, enjoy the following tale of Kaz and low sodium Japanese cooking and start thinking about which one of these Japanese tapas you will try back at home.

PREP WORK: 3 KINDS OF DASHI

Ingredients:

• Konbu (0 mg of sodium)
• Dried shitake mushroom (0 mg of sodium)
• Dried daikon (0 mg of sodium)
• Water

Directions:

1. In three separate bowls of water, soak konbu in one, dried shitake in another, and the dried daikon in the third overnight.  Use a cup of water for each person, per bowl. Since there were five of us, we used five cups of water in each bowl.  If you are not sure how much to make, it is safer to err on the side of more water rather than less as you will be using it to flavor most of the dishes.

Dried daikon. Could be an interesting substitute for salty onion strips on a green bean casserole.

2. In three separate pots, heat the three flavored waters (konbu, shitake, and daikon) and bring to a boil over medium heat.

3. While prepping the rest of your food, lower heat and keep the three types of dashi warm and simmering.

DISH ONE: GINGER RICE

Ginger has many positive health benefits.  It reduces pain and inflammation, helps with migraines and can prevent kidney damage, and it keeps your body warm during winter and cool in the summer.  So ginger rice is often cooked in the winter to represent the hope of a warm spring to come.

Ingredients:

• Short grain rice (0 mg of sodium)
• Ginger root (0 mg of sodium)
• Shitake dashi (0 mg of sodium)
• Dried daikon (0 mg of sodium)
• Mirin (check back of package – 0 mg of sodium)

Directions:

1. Wash rice in water.  I never do this, as I often cook rice when I want something quick to eat.  But if you want to stick to tradition, check out this video of how to properly rinse your grains.

2. Add a combination of shitake dashi, daikon dashi, and water to the rice in your rice cooker.  The correct ratio for rice to liquid is 1:1 and about a 1/2 cup of rice per person.

3. Wash ginger and then cut into matchstick strips – no need to peel the ginger.  Add the strips to your rice cooker.

Dan on the line, man-handling ginger for the first time.

Kaz takes over operation ginger. The maverick steps in to show us amateurs how it is done

4. Add about one to two teaspoons of mirin to taste.

5. Let the rice, ginger, and mirin sit for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.

6. Turn your rice cooker on and let it go.  Easy peasy.

The finished product. Check out that steam!

DISH TWO: KABU (White Radish) SWEET PICKLES

Simple yet satisfying, pickles take only five minutes to prepare.  Let them sit overnight to bring out the most flavors in these small, Japanese radishes.

Ingredients:

• 5 white radishes or substitute with turnip (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/2 cup of rice vinegar (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 tablespoons of yuzu or citrus juice (check back of package – 0 mg of sodium)
• 1/2 cup of konbu dashi (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/4 cup of white sugar (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 shiso leaves, thinly sliced (0 mg of sodium)
• Konbu (check back of package – 0 mg of sodium)

Directions:

1. Mix vinegar, sugar, dashi, and yuzu to make the vinaigrette.

2. Shred a small amount of the konbu and add that and the shiso leaves to the vinaigrette.

3. Thinly slice the radish into rounds.  We used a mandolin on the lowest setting to create very delicate disks.

4. Add the radish to the vinaigrette and let sit overnight.

DISH THREE: SESAME TOFU

Sesame tofu is a signature dish of Shojin Ryori.  In old days, a suribachi (or textured mortal and pestal) and sesame seeds were used to make sesame paste, which was a very time consuming task.  Even today, some Zen monks still make the sesame paste at their temples using a suribachi.  We took an easier road and used sodium free, prepared sesame paste.  Feel free to use almond or peanut butter as a substitute if you are not allergic to nuts.

Ingredients:

• Sesame paste
• Kuzo ko or “arrow root” powder
• Konbu dashi or water
• Two or three people on hand for assembly line with strips of saran wrap and small rubber bands – great for team building.
• A bowl of ice cold water.

Directions:

1. In a deep pot, mix the sesame paste, kuzu, and water.  The ratio is 1:1:6 and to make enough for five people, it is safe to go with 1 cup of sesame paste, 1 cup of kuzu, and 1 cup of water.

2. Stir the mixture constantly, in one direction, over low heat until the mixture starts to thicken.  This is quite an arm workout, so be prepared to build your biceps or tap out and take turns with a buddy.

My turn. This is my kind of boot camp.

3. Once it is thickened, stir even faster for 15 to 30 minutes. Feel the burn!

4. Turn up heat for last 2 minutes of stirring.  Should be clear and very difficult to stir.

5. Drop spoonful-sized balls into saran wrap and quickly twist and tie with a rubber band.  Drop the sesame paste balls into the ice cold water bath.

6. Take a taste of your creation while you wait for it to get tofu-d.

No actors here, just genuine satisfaction. Kaz is quite proud of us.

7. And voila, you have perfect little sesame tofu for the taking.  Top with some wasabi and an orange, beet puree for extra flavor and color.

DISH FOUR: SPINACH DRESSED WITH GROUND SESAME PASTE

After taking the easy road with the sesame tofu, Kaz wasn’t going to let us get off that easy for our second to last dish.  The suribachi came into play and we made our own sesame paste by hand for this warm salad.  Who needs salt when you have blood, sweat, and tears.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 bunches of fresh spinach (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 cups of sesame seeds (0 mg of sodium)
• A handful of dried persimmon and dates (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 tablespoons of mirin (0 mg of sodium)
• 1 tablespoon of yuzu (0 mg of sodium)
• Water for blanching and a bowl of ice cold water to cool the greens

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil in a pot over high heat.  Quickly blanch your spinach, dunking it in the water for about a minute, and immediately transfer it to the ice cold water bath.

2. In the suribachi, begin to grind the sesame seeds, moving the pestle in one direction.  This is done most easily by placing the bowl in your lap.  Then, put one hand on top of the pestle, keeping it in place, and move your other hand in a circular pattern.  These techniques will give you the greatest amount of stability and sesame crushing strength.

Clearly don't have the technique right...but hey, it still works.

3. Once a past has begun to form, add the persimmon and dates and grind those as well.  The dried fruit is used for a richer sweetness and as a substitute for sugar.

4. Add the mirin to give the paste a smoother, more liquid-like texture.

5. Take the spinach out of the cold water and drain the excess liquid by squeezing the spinach.

6. Cut the spinach into 2 inch strips.  Mix with sesame paste dressing and let sit 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

DISH 5: CLEAR BROTH SOUP AND SHIMEJI MUSHROOM

Ingredients:

• Bunch of shimeji mushroom (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/2 tablespoon of mirin (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/2 tablespoon of sake (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 cups daikon dashi (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 cups shitake dashi (0 mg of sodium)
• 2 cups konbu dashi (0 mg of sodium)
• 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil (0 mg of sodium)
• Cilantro and bonito flakes (check back of package – 0 mg of sodium)

Directions:

1. In a small saute pan, heat the sesame oil over medium-high flame.

2. Saute the shimeji mushrooms for 2-3 minutes and then add the mirin and sake.  Cover to steam the mushrooms until ready to serve.

3. Combine the konbu, daikon, and shitake dashi in a pot over medium-high heat.

4. When dashi is warm, place shimeji in soup bowl and ladle the broth on top.  Garnish with cilantro and bonito flakes.

Now for the final product – all five dishes displayed in full and all five of us ready to (slowly) enjoy our bounty.  If Japanese food can look and taste this good without sodium, what can’t we make?

The traditional, five plate set-up

With the fillings.

Time to chow on.