The Wish List

It’s holiday time and it’s getting down to the wire for finishing your list and checking it twice. For those of you who are last minute shoppers, much like myself, I thought I would impart some gifting advice and help you navigate the world of food related presents that are easy on the wallet and require very little time to procure.

Thoughtful and useful, these knick knacks and do dads are perfect for those seeking to become more comfortable in their kitchen and more adventurous in their cooking. And if none of these suggestions strike a chord with your inner elf, you can always buy your loved ones a warm pair socks. I know I need some.

Cooking Classes

The best way for people to learn how to cook something is by actively watching and participating in its construction. And if your loved one is a classic type A, and wants the dish to be perfect the first time he or she attempts it, cooking classes will help them feel like an immediate master of the stove. As for the rest of us, cooking classes are also a fun and social way to get outside of your cooking comfort zone. So grab a gift certificate or save a date on the calendar for a class at one of these local culinary schools:

Salud, San Mateo Whole Foods

Tante Marie

Parties That Cook

Baking Arts

City Girl Cooks

First Class Cooking

Scents and Spices

Doesn’t saffron rice and truffle mashed potatoes sound delicious? But who really wants to spend upwards of $5 on oils and spices? This year, give the gift of ultimate flavor by supplying your friends and family with the taste bud tools that will take a no sodium dish from edible to extraordinary.

Penzy’s Spices

iGourmet – Flavored Oils and Aged Balsamics

McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil

Far West Fungi

Herb Tree

Cooking Utensils

One of the most difficult things about a dietary restriction is having to make the majority of your food from scratch. But by adding these few items to your tool belt, you can cut time and energy when creating home-made meals.

Immersion Blender

Microplane

Rice Cooker

Cookbooks and Recipe Resources

We all need inspiration and when learning how to cook sodium free, the more resources for culinary creativity the better. These food muses will ignite your cooking instincts and will help you better understand where sodium lurks and how to find flavor in its absence.

The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook

The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium International Cookbook

Pocket Guide to Low Sodium Foods

Healthy Heart Living Magazine

Cooks Illustrated

Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It

Miscellaneous Stocking Stuffers

And for the no sodium chef that has everything, here are two more gift ideas that can round out any fully stocked kitchen.

Farmers Market Tokens from CUESA

CSA Memberships

Stir it Up

One of the first things I learned to cook, when I jumped out of the nest and went to college, was stir fry. It was a one-pan wonder, filled with healthy ingredients, and seemed to take little skill to master.  Or at least the recipe was simple enough to create a quick, warm, and edible meal.

It wasn’t until recently that I tasted some really fantastic, home-made stir fry (care of Boy’s Dad) which was whipped up in virtually minutes post Stanford v. Notre Dame game in a fit of excitement and hunger. Gerhart for Heisman. Stir fry for dinner.

Where as my past attempts at Chinese food usually resulted in a sauceless mixture of vegetables, chicken, and chili, this stir fry recipe has all the silky textures and muted spices that you would expect from a really good Chinese restaurant. Beyond all of that good stuff, Boy’s Dad also makes it sodium free. Low sodium Chinese food that tastes delicious? You’ll have to try it to believe it.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-4 boneless chicken thighs, depending on number of guests or how hungry you are (90 mg per 3oz serving)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 beer – something like Blue Moon with hints of fruit flavor
• 2 tablespoons salt-free Chinese Five Spice
• 1/2 cup of fresh Shitake mushrooms
• 1 bunch of Chinese broccoli
• 1/2 cup of diced bell pepper
• 1/4 cup of green onion
• a handful of sliced garlic
• 2 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut chicken thighs into strips. “But what size strip!” you say? Think about what size would be best for picking up with chop sticks and throwing directly into your mouth for eating pleasure. That’s the size you want.  Or about 1/4 of an inch thick.

2. Put the now “stripped” chicken thighs into a bowl with the Chinese Five Spice, a half can of beer, and the corn starch. Mix with your hands to make sure everything is coated. The corn starch will help adhere the spices to the chicken.

3. Heat a large wok or pan on the stove. After about a minute later, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil . To test if the oil is ready for cooking throw in one slice of onion or garlic – if the oil spits, it is time to get cooking.

4. Put the chicken (try to leave most of the sauce in the bowl) into the sizzling pan. Let the chicken cook for 8-10 minutes until it is almost done.

5. Put chicken back into the bowl with the sauce. It is okay, no health hazard here, you will be cooking them again in just a few short minutes.

6. Reheat the second tablespoon of sesame oil in the pan. When hot, throw in the garlic.

7. When the garlic is cooked and maybe a little crispy (like little delicious garlic chips – should take 2 minutes) put in the mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, half of your green onions, your bell peppers, and I (of course) threw in a few dried chili peppers for extra heat. If the veggies look a little dry, drizzle some extra sesame oil or orange juice (just a few teaspoons or so) to help them rehydrate.

8. Put the chicken and the sauce in with the rest of the ingredients and stir it up.

9. Before serving, give it a taste. If it needs more flavor, throw in a dash of white or black pepper, some paprika, maybe some ground mustard – give it a try to find your personal favorite. If the sauce has cooked down, add more of the beer and a few teaspoons of extra cornstarch.

10. To serve, ladle the stir fry and sauce into bowls with chop sticks and a spoon – you will want to drink up all that warm, soupy liquid – and sprinkle your leftover green onions on top for flare and flavor. As a surprise for guests, also drizzle some dark soy sauce on the very top. Only 55mg per tablespoon and you’ll hardly ever use that much.

Get Stuffed

My tummy is rumbling in anticipation of my favorite day of the year…THANKSGIVING! And don’t be fooled, just because you are limiting your sodium intake this festive season, you do not have to miss out on any of the rich earthy flavors that make this holiday so memorable.

I was reminded again last night, as I was cooking dinner for a group of 8 stranger – Moroccan stew, couscous, and a cauliflower salad with apple and fig chutney – that it is easy to build rich flavors without salt.  The limitation of your ingredients will force you to become a more creative cook, dazzling your guests with spices and pairings they do not expect. The element of surprise will add exponential enjoyment to your sodium free meals.

This Thanksgiving, whether you are attempting a single sodium free side dish or gunning for a full blown, sodium free dinner, I challenge you to think not of what you can’t eat, but of what you can.  Can’t have cheese on your mashed potatoes? Make them silky with cream or mascarpone and add a kick of flavor with roasted fennel, browned butter, or truffle oil. Your masterpieces will have the other guests drooling and who knows, it may be a sodium free thanksgiving for everyone next year.

To get your inspiration engines started, check out these tips and tricks and recipe ideas that will have friends and families colonizing your kitchen.

Tips and Tricks: Foul Play

Since we (the royal we, that is) often spend the holidays at the homes of others, you will most likely need to bring your own bird, sides, and pies for the evening. Thanksgiving dinner can be a huge undertaking for the hosts and if you want to be certain that your meal is sodium free and safe, I suggest you spend time “getting your bird on” in your own kitchen.

I spent many years lugging along a bland piece of chicken breast as my entrée, staring longingly at the crispy, golden skin of the juicy, salt brined turkey on everyone else’s plate.  Clearly, cooking an entire turkey for myself was a little excessive and too big of an undertaking. If I was hosting the dinner and feeding a handful of other guests, an entire sodium free turkey would make sense. But for a single plate of Thanksgiving deliciousness (or let’s be honest, 3 to 4) a whole bird may be too much…Or not.

Secret Sodium Alert:

Most turkeys, even if you do not brine or salt them, may be injected with some sort of saline solution to keep them moist. So if you are cooking a whole bird, make sure yours is truly sodium free.

Then, a moment of holiday brilliance, I realized I could substitute the typical turkey for a much smaller piece of poultry: a Cornish game hen. Besides being easy to cook, these little juicy poultry nuggets also happen to be absolutely adorable and they are just big enough that there is plenty of juicy meat to nibble on the next day. These birds are rather flexible in terms of cooking technique – you can stuff and roast them, debone and sautée, or plop them on open beer cans and let the fun really begin – look at their posture!

This, year, I will be roasting my little friend next to my Aunt’s behemoth bird. They should get along quite nicely and can be roasted at approximately the same temperature, just a shorter amount of time.

Recipe Box: My Thanksgiving Menu

What you may begin to realize is that even when you are limiting your sodium intake, you can continue to use regular recipes. All you have to do is be conscious of where sodium may be hiding – butter, broths, brines, seasoning blends, dairy products, pie crusts/doughs/breads, baking sodium and baking powder, and packaged sauces – and then, get creative with your substitutions.

I love using Epicurious for recipe starters and find Cooks Illustrated to be one of the best culinary resources (for every level cook) available. Christopher Kimball, I heart you and your test kitchen.

Here are some of the recipes that I will using for my sodium free dinner. I’ve included my own substitutions, but if you have other flavor twists that you want to share, pass them along to sodiumgirl@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to steal them.

Appetizers:

• A spread of sodium free pickles
  • curried, pickled carrots and dill pickled green beans and fennel
• Sodium free spinach dip and crudite (fancy for raw vegetables)
  • substitute mascarpone, ricotta cheese, or crème fraiche for the sour cream and cream cheese

  

Starters and Sides:

• Brussel sprouts hash and caramelized onions
  • use sweet butter and leave out the Kosher salt
• Root vegetable gratin
  • brown sweetened butter to give it a nutty flavor, add some farmers cheese if you can find some (or you can make your own!) and grate some fresh nutmeg on top for added “je ne sais quoi” spice

Main Course:

• Cornish game hen
  • Although I will be using an altered beer can chicken recipe – straight up succulent – I like the idea of this cider brine (sans salt). Although salt is an essential part of the brining process, I think the cider helps denature the protein, making it juicy and more melt-in-your-mouth delicious. If you can’t brine, but want to add an extra juice-assuring technique to your holiday cooking, I would give this a try. Plus, the gravy recipe also looks good!
• Sodium free stuffing with wild mushrooms
  • I will be using sodium free bread and my favorite sodium free chicken broth to give this crunch and kick and have bought a bounty of wild mushrooms to give it a meaty texture

For more low sodium/sodium free Thanksgiving recipes check out Dick Logue’s Low Sodium Cooking Newsletter – the Thanksgiving issue.

Happy eating, happy holidays, and I’ll see you at the gym…if I can get off the couch.

Check Out My Cheese

Usually I try to come up with a somewhat intriguing title. But this time, the subject was so exciting that I had to rush past the presentation and skip to the good stuff.

I made cheese. No seriously, I did. All by myself. Most amazingly, it was really easy. And most surprisingly, people who usually eat salt, lots of it, liked it.

So the scenario goes like this: like I said in my last post, I signed up to attend the Jam It session at 18 reasons on Thursday night at which jamming, pickling, and DIY-fooding enthusiasts and professionals gathered to share their recipes and their home-made goods. I figured that this was a perfect testing ground to see how normal, everyday sodium freaks would respond to my no sodium food.

At this point, I feel pretty confident in my pickling ability. But to kick this conquest up a notch and give myself an extra special challenge, I decided to roll the dice, make cheese, and feed it to the masses.

Two friends sent me paneer and buttermilk cheese recipes which use milk, lemons, and salt to create the desired final product. For my first attempt, I decided to use hemp milk. I mean, I couldn’t look more like a crazy northern Californian if I tried. Hemp milk has virtually no sodium in it (5mg per serving), but it also has virtually no ability to curd and whey . So I threw the tie-dyed cartoon in the recycling bin and decided to use the real deal. Soy milk.

It has 85mg of sodium per serving and I knew, from an unfortunate previous experiences, that it indeed will curdle unlike its free-loving, hemp substitute. I bought a quart of unsweetened soy milk and used half of it for my cheese.

The entire cheese-making process lasted about 40 minutes, with endless hours of eating enjoyment to follow. I plan on bringing this winning recipe to the east coast for Thanksgiving Day appetizers along with some curry carrot pickles and dill and fennel green bean pickles. You better believe I’ll impress the pants off of those Pilgrims.

Ingredients

• 1 quart of soy milk
• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons of fresh dill
• Cheesecloth

Instructions:

1. Heat half a quart of soy milk in a heavy saucepan – but let’s be honest, I used a pot.

2. When it begins to boil and starts to rise, immediately take it off the heat. Be sure to watch for this, because the milk will rise quickly and if you don’t have cat-like reflexes, you will end up with one hot, sticky mess on your stove.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the milk and stir for two minutes to help separate the curds from the whey.

4. Let the curdy milk sit for 10 minutes.

5. Pour the milk into a colander that is lined with 3 layers of cheese cloth. When it is cool enough to handle, close the cheese cloth tightly around the curds and squeeze out the extra liquid.

6. At this point, since there was no salt in the cheese, I added 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 2 teaspoons of fresh dill. Mix the spices in with the cheese and close the cheese cloth again to remove the remaining liquid.

7. Place the cheese (still in the cheese cloth) on a plate and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick.

8. Place another plate on top of the cheese and weight it with your heaviest (or two heaviest) cooking books.

9. After 20 minutes of flattening, you can refrigerate overnight or use immediately. If it turns out to be a little more chunky and loose, use it as a spread on some crackers with your fennel relish that you made. If it is harder, try preparing it like traditional paneer and fry it in some hot oil.

And just for fun, here is a shot early into the 18 Reasons event. A special shout to Karen Solomon for eating my cheese, liking my pickled fennel relish, and writing a kick ass book that I can’t wait to plow through. Chow on everyone.

Pick a Pickled Pepper

Or carrots. Or fennel. Or grapes. On Monday night, I rushed home with vinegar in hand to prepare for the 18 Reasons Jam It event as well as create some down-home gifts for my relatives in Philadelphia. It’s Turkey Time people, and nothing says “thank you” on Thanksgiving like a jar of pickles. Am I right? I know I am.

Let me tell you this – sodium free pickling is not only possible, it is easy and can be even more thrilling than your typically transformed cucumber. Without salt, you become more creative with your seasonings and spices. And if you are a nervous to create your own pickling blend, lucky for us, salt free pickling spices already exist in cute little pre-packaged packages (available at your local Whole Foods).

So put your pot on the stove and get ready to infuse some veggies with sweet and sour tang. Here are three zippy recipes for mind-blowing treats that can be equally impressive as an appetizer or as an accompaniment in salads, side dishes, and main courses.

Pickled Fennel

“Licorice never tasted so good” – Me

Ingredients

• 2 bulbs of fennel
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 dried chili peppers
• zest and juice from 1 large orange
• 2 cups white wine or champagne vinegar
• 1/2 a cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of black peppercorn
• 1 quart sized mason jar

Instructions:

1. Take two bulbs of fennel, cut off stems, and slice in to crescent shaped spears

2. Stuff fennel slices, some of the soft fennel fronds from the stem (packs extra flavor), three cloves of garlic, and two dried chili peppers into a small mason jar

3. Zest one orange and place in the mason jar with fennel

4. Heat 2 cups of white wine vinegar, 1/2 a cup of sugar, juice from one orange, and a teaspoon of black peppercorns in a pot. Remove from heat once it begins boiling

5. Carefully (it’s hot!) fill the mason jar with heated pickling liquid (step 4). The heat tends to reduce the size of the fennel almost immediately, so if you have left over slices, stuff more into the jar

6. For added punch, slice fresh ginger and put in jar as well. Once lid is closed, shake it up, allow to cool, and stick it in the fridge. In two days, it will be ready for munching.

Pickled Grapes

“Not jam, not wine, just plain delicious” – Me

As a quick disclaimer: I stole this recipe from Smitten Kitchen who was inspired by Orangette and tweaked it according to my sodium girl needs.

Inredients:

• 5-6 handfuls of seedless black or red grapes
• 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups of white wine or champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of black peppercorn

Instructions:

1. Pick up some plump, seedless back or red grapes and slice off the belly buttons (the top part where the stem was) of five or six handfuls. By taking off this top piece of the grape, you will allow the pickling juices to seep into the fruit immediately.

2. Fill a small mason jar with the grapes, 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seed, and one stick of cinnamon.  Or, as in my case, use 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon if you forget to buy cinnamon sticks

3. Heat two cups of white wine or champagne vinegar in a pot with 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns. Remove from heat once it boils

4. Let the pickling liquid (step 3) fully cool before filling the mason jar. This will keep the fruit from becoming too mushy

5. Shake and shimmy your mason jar and put in refrigerator. The grapes will be good to go in two days.

BONUS TIP: on my quest to find a good substitute for olives, I realized that a savory grape pickle could do the trick. I think they could act as a mischievous doppelganger in tapenade and Mediterranean salads, fooling any palate. I can’t wait to test out this theory in the weeks to come.

Pickled Carrots

“Curry in a hurry” – Me

Ingredients

• 1 package or 2 bunches of carrots (heirloom varietals are very pretty)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1teaspoon of freshly sliced ginger
• 2 dried chili peppers
• 1/2 a tablespoon of turmeric
• 1/4 tablespoon of curry
• 1 tablespoon of salt free pickling spices
• 2 cups of distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 a cup of sugar

Instructions:

1. To make this as effortless as possible, buy some previously washed and peeled carrots. I went with some beautiful yellow carrots and I think if I had more time, I may have even chosen to go with the more colorful heirloom variety

2. Stuff a small mason jar with carrots, 3cloves of garlic, teaspoon of freshly sliced ginger, and 2dried chili peppers, 1/2 a tablespoon of turmeric, 1/4 tablespoon of curry, and 1 tablespoon of salt free pickling spices

3. Heat 2 cups of distilled vinegar,1 cup of water, and 1/2 a cup of sugar. Remove from heat once it is boiling

4. Carefully fill jar with pickling liquid, wait until it is cool, and place in the fridge. Wait 2 days before cracking open and noshing on some healthy and spicy carrot nuggets

Now wasn’t that easy? Just wait until you taste them!

Black Dress Theory

Let’s face it, food tastes good with salt. French fries, pasta water, even chocolate – salt is everywhere and is the universally adored flavor enhancer. We are so accustomed to eating meals laden with the shimmering crystals that, to cook or eat a dish without them seems like an impossible feat, or at least impossibly boring. When people find out that I cannot have salt, they often react with horror and remark that, if they had to do such a thing, they “would commit hara-kiri.”

But this morning, I thought of an analogy that might illuminate the ultimately positive reality of eating low sodium. Although it takes some getting used to, not relying on salt has helped me discover other ways to heighten the delicious factor in my food. Eating low sodium does not mean eating without flavor. Sweet butter (when browned) can add nutty, earthy and delicious notes to your food. Vinegars, which are mostly sodium free and can help lower your blood pressure, come in many varieties – apple cider, rice wine, balsamic to name a few – and lend a tang and a zip to meats, greens, and even ice cream when reduced to a sauce. And don’t forget about spices – no one said you can’t have spices, you just have to look for the brands that are salt free. Cayenne, cumin, curry, star anise, coriander, fennel seed, mustard, white pepper, wasabi – holy mole, there is no shortage of options here. And then there’s wine reductions and beer baths, honey and molasses, citrus and fresh herbs. Choices abound, your meals will never fall flat.

So here is a small tale to help highlight the silver lining of low sodium living. And bare with me, this gets girly:

Limiting your sodium intake is like someone telling you that you cannot wear black anymore. Ok, at first, that seems like it would be difficult. People love wearing black. It’s slimming, it’s bad-ass, it’s professional, it’s easy. We all have the little black dress or the killer, I’m-going-to nail-this-meeting black suit. So at first, having to clear the closet of all your go-to black items feels like a bad, practical joke. And having to re-fill it with other things (what could those even be?) and re-style your wardrobe (what will I wear!) seems like an expensive and ultimately time-consuming venture.

Then, a moment of brilliance. You realize, a nice navy dress doesn’t look half bad and is just as snappy for business meetings. And actually, that metallic gold number you’ve had your eye on forever, but didn’t think you had the guts to pull off, is actually way more bad-ass than that cliché (and face it, fading) black dress.

The point is, in having to limit your choices, you begin to discover new worlds, new combinations, new possibilities that you would have never otherwise explored. And when that black tie event rolls around and you can’t put on the standard black outfit, you’ll just have to settle for the fuschia pink pantsuit.  And honestly, standing out never is a bad thing.

Fridge Frittata

First off – go see Food, Inc. I’ve read the books, I volunteer at the Ferry Building, I shop at Farmer’s Markets whenever I can.  But this movie, even for the most food-enlightened, is a huge wake up call.  We truly are what we eat and our food industry is the cornerstone of our community’s and our world’s health, social, and environmental issues.

So I have to say, after I left the movie, I was glad to know that my fridge was full of locally produced, seasonal ingredients – all of which needed to be eaten right away if I was going to keep them from ending up in my compost bin. And yes, that was probably the most typical Northern Californian sentence I have ever written – sorry I’m not sorry.

My refrigerator had the following items to work with:

chard (grown from my own potted garden)

heirloom tomatoes (from my monthly Farm Fresh To You delivery- thank you Capay Farms)

potatoes

eggplant

half of a red onion (woopsies…a few weeks old)

one slice of Heidi’s Hens no-salt turkey breast

and two eggs

What do you get when you combine all of those ingredients?

A delicious, oven-baked dinner frittata! Here’s how:

1. Set oven to 360 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a pan.  When hot add diced red onion and cook until translucent.  I was low on olive oil and added a few dashes of champagne vinegar to help deglaze the pan and add some extra moisture to cook the onions. When softened and clearer in color, transfer onions to a bowl.

3. Slice one small eggplant into half-inch disks and wrap in paper towels.  Find something heavy – I used a cutting board and a potted plant on top – to squish the water out of the eggplants.  Most people sprinkle eggplants with salt to get out the extra moisture but this is my sodium-safe trick. It will allow you to brown the little nuggets more easily.

3. Add more oil to pan and reheat.  When hot, add diced potatoes and eggplant and sauté until brown (because they are small, this should take about 5-10 min).  I added a little curry powder and red wine towards the end to add some extra flavor. When cooked, take out potatoes and eggplant and put in bowl with onions.

4. Add oil to pan again and reheat. Take off stems of chard (keeping them on is also completely OK – they will soften in the oven – just dice more finely to help cooking process) and chop the chard into bite sized bits. Throw into hot pan for 3 min or so. I added some no-sodium mustard and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar towards the end.

5. In an oven safe dish, coat bottom with oil or salt-free (sweet) butter and add the onion, eggplant, potato mixture.

6. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. I added some white pepper, cumin, and a little water and red wine.

7. Pour egg mixture over onion, eggplant, potato-ness.

8. Cover the top of onion, eggplant, potato, and now egg-ness with your softened chard – building a top layer.

9. Slice one heirloom tomato into 1/4 inch or smaller rounds.

10. Put tomato rounds on top of the chard and sprinkle some black pepper on top.

11. Bake in oven for 30 min (or until all egg is cooked).

12. Put under broiler on high for 2-3 minutes to crisp the chard and tomatoes.

13. Invite friends over to marvel your ingenious fridge-spiration…or eat it all yourself. This recipe will feed 2-4 and although the picture is a bit hideous, it is really delicious and works with any veggie combination!

And the next day…I used the leftover eggplant to make EGGPLANT CHILI!  Sounds weird but seriously good.

I cubed the eggplant – mimicking chunks of meat – and used all my other standard chili ingredients: tomatoes, black beans, peppers, cumin, cayenne pepper, a pinch of oregano, and paprika. After little it simmer for an hour, I topped it off with some arugula and avacado and even used some really old Matzoh crackers for dipping.  It tasted chili-tastic and was full of good, healthy things.

This seemed a little bit daring but I am glad I tried it and was successful in heroically saving the food in my fridge from going unused and transfered it safely to my belly.  All in a day’s work.

Beefcakes

Just a quick warning – the beginning of this story is sodium-heavy – but, I promise that the ending holds a savory surprise.

For the Boy’s birthday, I decided to dive into a baking adventure and make MEAT CUPCAKES – inspired by my friend Gina’s meat cookies and Mei’s salmon cupcakes.  So, at five a.m., I rolled out of bed to begin creating two delicious bite-sized tins of celebratory meat muffins: a bacon, beer, & chive cupcake with blue cheese “frosting” and a fig and prosciutto cupcake with goat cheese “frosting.” I did not intend on making these sodium-girl friendly, but I soon realized that I had stumbled upon a new flavor-saving discovery.

As I was kneading and measuring and sprinkling and whisking, I was enjoying the delicious aroma’s of the bacon sizzling in my cast-iron griddle (okay, it was a teflon pan, but I think the image is nice). I found myself thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to have just one slice of bacon? But by definition, bacon is a long strip of meat from the back, side, or belly of a pig that has has been cured, smoked, and brined to perfection – which also translates to mean “high in sodium.” I’ve considered making my own bacon – i.e. buying strips of pure pork from the butcher – but somehow, I just didn’t think it would taste the same.  But my, how did I misjudge the situation.

Out of curiosity, or maybe torture, I flipped the package of bacon over to the list of ingredients. And low and behold the angels did sing – 75mg of sodium per serving / 2 slices of bacon. Whaaat? Did I read that correctly? Yes, 75mg of sodium per serving! To put this in a more palatable context – two slices of pork heaven equals one egg. A completely safe and kidney-friendly amount if you are craving a bacon fix.  Clearly, this is not an every-day diet item (for people with or without kidney problems). But if that pasta needs an extra hint of something naughty and crunchy or that piece of halibut could use a nice pork belt, then you have found the ingredient.

So, what kind of magical bacon product had I come upon? Turns out, Whole Foods’s 365 brand makes uncured bacon with a very low amount of sodium.  There are even internet rumors that they make a uncured turkey bacon with 0mg sodium – but I will need to do more detective work to verify.

To make the bacon flavor rival that of its cured / brined / smoked siblings, I sprinkled smoked paprika and a little cumin on the suckers before throwing them into the frying pan.  None of my blind tasters had any idea that their bacon cupcakes lacked its most recognizable ingredient.  On that point – smoked paprika is a wonderful substitution for adding a richer, “cured” flavor to any of your meat dishes.  You can also buy liquid smoke or hickory flavoring to add a grilled taste without the grill – but there does seem to be some concern with the safety of using liquid smoke, so use sparingly and maybe stick to the smoked paprika for now!

And now another close up of the beauties and the official beef cake recipes, with sodium-free substitutions:

Cupcake base

Mix the following dry ingredients:

– 2 cups of flour

– 2 teaspoons of baking powder

– 1/4 teaspoon salt

– 1/4 cup brown sugar

Add Wet Ingredients:

1 cup softened/melted butter

4 eggs beaten

I halved the above cupcake base into two separate bowls and then added the following ingredients:

Bacon, Beer, Chive Cupcake

1/2 cup of pale ale

Cut chives

1 whole package of bacon

– fried in pan with cumin, smoked paprika, and ancho chile poweder

– when cooled, crumbled and thrown into the oven for some extra crisp

Prosciutto and Fig

one package of prosciutto

one jar of fig jam

Baking

line mini muffin tin (should make around 30) and fill 3/4 of each tin with batter

bake at 375 for 25 min

let cool at room temp for 30 min

Frosting

For the bacon beef cake:

– mix mild blue cheese with some creme fraiche and spoon into a ziplock bag

– cut tip of edge and pipe onto cupcake

– sprinkle bacon and chive bits

For the prosciutto beef cake:

– mix goat cheese (herbed or plain) with some creme fraiche and spoon into a ziplock bag

– cut tip of edge and pipe onto cupcake

– cut bits of dried fig and make rosettes with prosciutto slices

For a sodium free version:

– Use the uncured bacon

– substitute Mascarpone for the cheese and add more herbs to increase flavor

– still working on a no-sodium prosciutto…but that may just have to be a fig cupcake…