Salt Substitutes to Liven Up Your Food

Posted on July 11, 2011


More and more people are reducing their salt intake…for any variety of reasons from high blood pressure and other health issues, to a simple matter of taste. Whether you have been advised to cut back on sodium, or you voluntarily chose to, here are some simple ways to keep the flavor high and the salt low.

Flavor Kicks…Instead of Salt

  1. Add fresh herbs or dried leafy herbs to salads, vegetables, dips, seafood, and poultry.
  2. Rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, and marjoram (fresh or dried) are wonderful additions to meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables, especially root veggies, plus pizza and pasta sauces.
  3. Use dried spices, such as all-spice, nutmeg and cumin to enhance a creamed spinach or cauliflower gratin. A word about cumin…ideally, you should dry roast it in a small pan to release it’s flavors before adding it to any dishes.
  4. Use curry powder (also should be dry roasted to bring out the flavor), to enhance vegetables, meats, fish, and to liven up dips, marinades and mayonnaise.
  5. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or lemon rind to flavor vegetables, such as broccoli and asparagus and on meats and fish. A squeeze of lemon of lime juice also adds a touch of freshness to soups, certain curries, and salads…a trick my mom taught me.
  6. Garlic is a great flavor booster for just about anything…if you like the flavor. You can make a fantastic garlic oil to drizzle on salads, pasta, and anything esle…I’ll teach you how in another post.
  7. Fresh ginger is a delicious addition to stir-fries and marinades. Lemongrass is another wonderful Asian herb to flavor soups, curries, and other dishes. Only use about 2 inches of the root end of the stalk; that’s where all the flavor is.
  8. Use a touch of Parmesan cheese (and I say touch, because Parmesan is salty) in soups and salads.
  9. Go nuts. Add your favorite unsalted nuts (preferably toasted to bring out the flavor) for pasta, rice, and vegetable dishes.
  10. Use pepper instead of salt. A dash of Tabasco is another option if you can stand the heat.

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Homemade Rocks! Perfect Basil Pesto

Posted on June 24, 2011

There’s nothing like a spoonful of freshly-made basil pesto to liven up a meal…like this delicious shrimp with pasta. Here’s my no-fail recipe for perfect pesto every time. It’s fabulous served with grilled shrimp, fish, or meats, drizzled over veggies, mixed in veggie-pasta salads, and of course, paired with fresh mozzarella and sun-sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes. Summer eating doesn’t get any better than this! If you want a lighter sauce, 2 tablespoons of water can be substituted for part of the oil.

Basil Pesto
Makes about 1 cup
2 cups tightly packed basil leaves, about 2 ounces
1/3 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a food processor pluse all of the ingredients until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Adjust the seasoning. Transfer the pesto to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly against the surface of the sauce (this prevents discoloration). Refrigerate or freeze until needed. The pesto keeps for 5 days refrigerated, and can be frozen for up to 1 month.

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Two-Star Michelin Chef Curtis Duffy Comes to KL…and Brings Some Unique Flavors of America!

Posted on May 2, 2011

What happens when a two-star Michelin chef from Chicago comes to town as part of an event called, “The Best of America,” held at the Hilton KL? He brings good things! At a cooking demo followed by a lunch, a lucky group of 30 learned how to make this olive oil poached salmon. Duffy seals the raw salmon with the oil in a bag using the sous-vide method, then he poaches it for 45 minutes at 118 degrees F. The finished fish, of a buttery yet firm texture, is combined with the flavor of licorice coming from lacy strips of fennel bulbs and a fennel leaf emulsion. A mustard vinaigrette, chopped black olives, red sorrel leaves, anise hyssop, sweet cicely leaves and fennel blooms round out the rest of the flavors. The accompaniment: a smattering of airy, crisp crackers made from tapioca flour, akin to rice crackers. Salmon and fennel are two of my favorite foods…so I truly enjoyed this dish and its fresh, green, spring-like presentation.

Soup followed…a healthy, earthy combination of barley and quinoa enveloped in veil of amaranth, moistened with a toasted sunflower seed consomme. At Duffy’s cooking demo, I learned that there are 12 garnishes in that dish, yes, twelve! Sultanas, caramelized pearl onions, puffed amaranth, fried sunflower seeds, sunflower sprouts, burgundy amaranth, quails grass, chive tops, chive blossoms, lemon balm, sweet woodruff, and Queen Anne’s lace. Let’s here it for fresh herbs!  Duffy described the flavor profile as earthy, nutty, and dark, with raisins and onions for sweetness, and the lemon balm to lighten and highlight.

I’ve never come across a palate cleanser quite like this before: liquid sudachi (a small, green Japanese citrus fruit described as a mandarin hybrid with a tangy grapefruit-like flavor) wrapped in coco butter and white chocolate with nepitella mint resting on a bed of super fine sugar. These white balls came with an official warning from the chef and waiter: put it in your mouth and keep your mouth closed. Why? Because the perfectly tart liquid center squirts out like a geyser. At the cooking demo, we learned how to make these lovely balls…I will give it a try someday.

Finally, this sinful dessert reminds me of the game Candyland. Strings of chocolate Manjari ganache form a checkered path along which one might fall into a pool of caramel spiked with cassia buds, puddles of blueberry and lemon puree, a sand pit of brown butter powder, or hit a rock of cocoa. Mountains of hazelnut financiers are buried under the winding path, one of them topped with a quenelle of mandarin ice cream garnished with dill, banana mint, and candied rind. All I can say is, Wow! I’ve never experienced so many flavor combinations on one dessert plate. The chocolate rush was so intense I felt like a kid again.

As part of Duffy’s gastronomic program he also prepared a six-course dinner, including all of these delicious dishes plus…sea urchin with rhubarb, hojo santa and hyssop bloom (excellent flavor combo); Nantucket bay scallops with romaine lettuce marmalade and white poppy seed milk (okay, the milk was a little too funky for me); and grilled Wagyu beef ribeye with smoked coconut pudding, yuzu puree, preserved kumquats with African blue basil (really nice, even if I’m not a red meat eater…my husband loved it).

During an interview, when I asked Duffy to describe his cuisine, he said, “thoughtful-progressive.” He’s right on both counts. I predict a third star will come his way someday.

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Chinese Herbal “Confinement” Soup for New Mothers

Posted on November 17, 2010

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Chinese Herbal “Confinement” Soup, a broth flavored with an assortment of dried Chinese herbs, is just one reason I find living in Malaysia so endlessly fascinating. The Chinese, Malaysains, and numerous other Asian cultures have a centuries-old tradition of serving new mothers foods that will restore their energy, alleviate pain, and improve their general health. So, why am I writing about this unusual soup?

As the U.S. Ambassador’s wife, one of my “duties” is to celebrate important events in our embassy community, which is comprised of about 100 American employees and their families. When it was brought to my attention that we had TEN new mothers (a mini baby boom of sorts) at Embassy Kuala Lumpur, I just couldn’t resist hosting a lunch for them. As I was going over the menu with my Chinese cook, Luann, and residence manager, Jennifer, they both jokingly suggested that I should serve confinement soup. “What’s that?” I asked. They  laughed, then explained that this broth is served to new mothers throughout their first thirty (some say forty or more) days of being confined to their homes with their babies while being waited on and fed (sounds good to me, I think we need something like this back home).

The day before the lunch, Luann showed me a plastic bag filled with a bunch of dried herbs she bought from the Chinese market. I opened it. We both giggled as I pulled out small bags of truly weird looking stuff. One bag contained a piece of a very thin white root, Fook San, that resembled dry wall or plaster (all if could think of was pica, the pregnancy disease where a woman craves non-food items). Other bags contained small red berries, Kei Chi; red dates the size of cherries, Hong Cho; a yellowish root resembling long strips of apple peelings, Yok Chok; a long, scraggly, dried beige root, Tung Sam; and a long, thin snow white  root, Wai San. I haven’t found a reputable source to tell me what all of these herbs do, suffice to say, they are purported to be be healthy for new mothers and others as well.

On the morning of the lunch, Luann washed all of her dried loot then placed it into a pot containing chicken broth and brought the concotion to a boil. She reduced the heat and very gently simmered (more like steeped) it for about 2 hours. After straining, she served it with some of the berries and dates floating in the bowl. It tasted like a chicken broth with slightly sweet and tart overtones.

Just in case you’re wondering, the rest of the delicious lunch menu looked like this:

  • Chinese Herbal “Confinement” Soup
  • Pad Thai with Shrimp
  • Quick and Easy Chicken Curry (from Eating for Pregnancy)
  • Steamed Tofu with Pork and Salted Radish
  • Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
  • Coconut Rice
  • Strawberry-Blueberry Chiffon Cakes

The meal was fabulous. As a party favor, each guest received a copy of my book, Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Mothers-to-Be. They were very happy, and I was too. PS: Flavours Magazine in Malaysia covered the event…I’ll post the link on twitter http://twitter.com/cjonescooks when the article comes out. Look forward to more recipes…I’m working on the chicken curry.

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Your Guide to Washing and Storing Greens

Posted on February 3, 2010

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Should I wash the bagged greens I buy in the grocery store? We’ve all asked ourselves this question…and the FDA has given us their answer: No. Supposedly, the greens are washed in a facility that is more sanitary than the average home kitchen. Some experts claim that re-washing them in one’s home may cause contamination, but others argue that you should wash them again. In Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today’s Mothers-to-Be, Rose Ann Hudson, RD LD, and I offer advice on washing and storing greens…and we do suggest re-washing, simply because pregnant women should be extremely  cautious about food-borne illnesses. This, however, assumes that you keep a very clean kitchen. If you don’t have the time or energy to re-wash and dry your greens…don’t sweat. It’s almost always safe to eat them straight from the bag. Here are some helpful hints for buying, washing, and storing greens.

Buying

  • When choosing bagged or boxed greens, look through all angles of the container to make sure the lettuce is not wilted or deteriorating in any way. It’s amazing how rapidly lettuce wilts, and once it starts, the rest of the contents seem to follow quickly.
  • When shopping, place your greens and herbs in plastic bags. Don’t just throw them into your cart where they can become contaminated by other foods, such as poultry juices, cold cuts, or other spills.
  • Pick up the head of lettuce you plan to buy and examine it for bruised leaves and brown spots. Look at the stem where it was cut to see if it is a fresh cut. It should not be dry and brown.
  • Examine the lettuce and other vegetables before you choose them at a salad bar, especially if you’re buying them at the end of the day, after they’ve been sitting out for a while.
  • Organic greens are no cleaner than non-organic ones. They can harbor potentially harmful bacteria and still need to be thoroughly washed.

Washing and Storing

  • When buying bagged greens don’t assume that they’ve been washed. The bag should clearly state: “prewashed,” “triple washed,” “or ready to eat.” For instance, whole heads of romaine, sold in bags, have not been washed.
  • Avoid cross-contamination. Don’t wash your greens or other vegetables next to raw meats.
  • For large-leaf lettuce (romaine, red and green leaf, Boston, curly endive or escarole, collard greens, kale and mustard greens), wash the leaves, discarding any badly bruised ones. Tear the leafy part of the lettuce into bite-size pieces, discarding the thick stems, if desired. Spin-dry the lettuce and, if not using immediately, place it in a zip-lock bag and store it in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator. Greens washed and stored this way will keep for about five days.
  • For small lettuce leaves (watercress, Belgian endive, arugula, chicory, and radicchio), wash the lettuce leaves, discarding any badly bruised ones, then spin-dry. Discard the thick stems of the watercress and break the leafy tops into bite-size pieces. Stack the endive or radicchio leaves and slice them just before adding then to the salad, or tear them into bite-size pieces. Store washed whole lettuce leaves in a zip-lock bag in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.
  • Fresh leafy herbs (parsley, cilantro, and dill) should be washed and spun-dry, then stored in a zip-lock bag in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.
  • For cabbage, wash just before using. Discard the tough outer leaves and wash some of the inner leaves. If the core leaves are really tight, you don’t need to wash all the way to the center.

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Sun-Soaked Tarragon Vinegar

Posted on May 20, 2009

Infusing vinegar with fresh tarragon raises salad dressings to a whole new level. Combine 1 cup lightly packed fresh tarragon sprigs, ends trimmed, washed, and bruised leaves removed, with 2-1/2 cups of distilled white vinegar in a jar. Seal the jar and place it in a sunny spot for 1 day and then at room temperature for 5 more days. Remove the tarragon sprigs and strain the vinegar. Return the vinegar to the jar and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

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Storing Fresh Herbs

Posted on May 15, 2009

Fresh herbs are a cook’s best friend. They add a bang of flavor to everything from sauces and salads to desserts and even drinks. Storing them properly will considerably increase their shelf life. For soft-leaf herbs (cilantro, parsley and dill), on the same day of purchase, trim the stem ends and wash the herbs in cold water. If the leaves appear droopy, allow them to soak for about 20 minutes. Spin dry in a salad spinner, wrap loosely in a paper towel, place in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate. For woody-stem herbs (thyme, rosemary and oregano), keep them in their original packaging until ready to use.

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