Alton Brown's Basic Bread

I wanted to compare the flavor of the 5 minute artisan bread to one of my favorites, Alton Brown's bread recipe. So I baked a loaf of his bread. To me, it had much better flavor and texture. I attribute this to the use of a pre-ferment. Parts of the yeast & flour and all of the liquid are combined and set in the fridge to ferment overnight. This gives a real flavor boost, a slight tang reminiscent of sourdough. Also,the dough can be kneaded in the food processor

Very Basic Bread
Adapted from Good Eats
(Printable Recipe)

1 pound bread flour, plus extra for shaping (1 lb. flour = 3¾ - 4 cups flour)
1 teaspoon instant rapid rise yeast
2 teaspoons honey
10 ounces bottled or filtered water
2 teaspoons kosher salt (I only use 1 tsp.)

Pre-ferment: Combine 1 cup of the flour, 1/4 teaspoon of the yeast, all of the honey, and all of the bottled water in a straight-sided container; cover loosely and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

Dough: Place the remaining 11 ounces (3 cups) of flour, remaining yeast (3/4 tsp.), salt, into a bowl; add the pre-ferment and knead just until it comes together. Cover the dough in the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes (autolyse).

After 20 minutes, knead the dough again until you are able to gently pull the dough into a thin sheet that light will pass through. The dough will be sticky, but not so sticky that you can't handle it.

Place the dough ball into a lightly greased container. Allow to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it onto a counter top, lightly dust your hands with flour, and press the dough out with your knuckles; then fold 1 side in towards the middle of the mass and then the other, as if you were making a tri-fold wallet. Repeat the folding a second time. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for another 10 minutes.

Flatten dough again with your knuckles and then fold the dough in onto itself, like you are shaping something that looks like a jellyfish. Turn the dough over and squeeze the bottom together so that the top surface of the dough is smooth. Place the dough back onto the counter and begin to roll gently between your hands. Do not grab the dough but allow it to move gently back and forth between your hands, moving in a circular motion. Move the dough ball to a pizza peel or the bottom of a sheet pan that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal. Cover with the kitchen towel and allow to bench proof for 1 hour, or until you poke the dough and it quickly fills back in where you poked it.

Place a baking stone into the lowest rack of oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Gently slash the top surface of the dough ball in several places, approximately 1/3 to 1/2-inch deep. Slide the bread onto the stone in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Once the bread has reached an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F, remove to a cooling rack and allow to sit for 30 minutes before slicing.

Note: I have adapted this recipe for use without a stand mixer, and I use a baking stone. I do not use the cornstarch glaze, nor do I use a pan filled with hot water in the bottom of the oven. Instead, I spray water into the oven approximately every 3 minutes for the first 10 minutes.

Cracked Wheat Bread

I've been looking for a good bulgur wheat bread recipe. I've made the one in Laurel's Kitchen a few times, and although the taste was good, I wasn't happy with its dense texture. Grainlady, from the Cooking Forum, posted a recipe I decided to try. The results were quite good. It was light & high, full of cracked wheat nuggets, and not overly sweet. It makes excellent toast and sandwiches.

BULGUR WHEAT LOAF
Grainlady from GardenWeb's Cooking Forum/Pillsbury

(Printable Recipe)

3/4 c. water
1/2 c. bulgur wheat
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups All-Purpose Unbleached Flour
2 T. brown sugar
1 to 1-1/2 t. salt (I only used 1/2 tsp. salt)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. water heated to 120°-130°F
1/4 c. oil
1 c. Whole Wheat Flour
2 t. water
1 egg white
1 t. bulgur wheat (optional)

Grease cookie sheet. Bring 3/4 c. water to a boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 c. bulgur. Let stand 20-25 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, brown sugar, salt, yeast, 1 cup hot water and oil; beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in bulgur mixture, whole wheat flour and additional 1 cup all-purpose flour to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in 1/4-1/2 cup all-purpose flour until dough is elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in a warm place (80-85°F) until light and doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles. Shape into round loaf. Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and ALMOST doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover dough. With very sharp knife, cut a 1/2-inch deep slash across top of loaf. Cut another at a right angle, making a cross. In small bowl, beat 2 t. water and egg white until blended. Brush over top of loaf; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon bulgur, if desired (I omitted this step). Bake at 375°F for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Once I got the butter spread taken care of, I felt the need for bread. What's the use of having a huge tub full of buttery spread, if there's nothing around that requires spreading! So I've been busy this week making bread. Baking low sodium bread can be tricky. The lack of salt can result in bland, flat tasting loaves. Breads with sweeteners, eggs, oils, & flavorings taste fine. But traditional hearth loaves consisting of just flour, yeast, salt, & water are problematic.

My first attempt this week was a recipe several Cooking Forum members have been playing with -- the famous 5 minute artisan bread. The recipe is amazingly simple and lives up to its promise of home baked bread with very little effort. I like the idea that the dough can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks. That means that the dough is available & ready whenever you feel the urge to have some freshly baked bread. Supposedly, the longer the dough is refrigerated, the better it tastes. I only use half the salt or less that bread recipes call for, and this was no exception. After two days fermentation, I found the bread still rather flat tasting. It didn't seem to improve any when I baked a second loaf four days later. I also found the texture rather dense and slightly gummy. However, my husband loved the stuff, and he's the one I'm trying to please. He really enjoyed tearing off a chunk of freshly baked bread and slathering it with my homemade lower calorie/sodium buttery spread. This is a perfect bread for those new to baking with yeast doughs.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes - Basic Recipe

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day : Cookbook
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/  : Website
PictureTutorial

(Printable Recipe)
Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (I only used 1-1/2 tsp.)

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (I only used 1-1/2 tsp. salt)

3 cups lukewarm water

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches (I used a Danish dough whisk). Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Total Yield: 4 loaves

Low Sodium Buttery Spread

For years now I've been making my own homemade spread consisting of 1 pound butter whipped with 1 cup oil. But I wondered if there was a way to reduce the fat content of my homemade spread to make it more like the "lite" spreads found in the supermarket.

I looked online and found a few recipes. One, from BetterBaking.com, called for the addition of one full cup of water. Another, from Tammysrecipes.com combined 1/2 c. oil & 1/2 c. water to the pound of butter. The Laurel's Kitchen recipe used only 2 T. water, but added 2 T. dried skim milk & 1/4 tsp lecithin. On RecipeLink.com, I found an adaptation of Laurel's Kitchen called "Gloriamarie's Better Butter" that called for 4 T. water, 4 T. powdered milk, & 1 tsp. liquid lecithin.

I decided to play around with these recipes. Two weeks ago I combined one pound of butter, one cup of oil, & 1/4 cup of water. The water addition was not noticeable at all.

The result was very creamy and easily spreadable, just like the soft margarine sold in grocery stores. The added benefits were the lower salt content (because of the oil, water, & using some unsalted butter), and the lower calorie/fat count (because of the water). It had a true butter taste because of the real butter with no artificial flavorings or additives. 

All in all, I'm very satisfied with this product. I'm hesitant to add more water, although I suppose it's possible. The Better Baking recipe got good reviews, but I'm not sure I could successfully incorporate an additional 3/4 cup of water.

The Better Baking recipe called for the mixture to be whipped in a food processor, but I was afraid the large quantity of liquid ingredients would overflow. Laurel's Kitchen said to use a blender, but I didn't think a blender could mix everything correctly. So I used my electric hand mixer & a large, deep bowl. If I had a stand mixer, I'm sure that would do a superior job.

Low Sodium Buttery Spread
(Printable Recipe)

1 pound butter, 4 sticks in whatever combination desired
(Notes: I used 2 sticks salted & 2 sticks unsalted, resulting in an very lightly salted finished product.)
1 cup vegetable oil of choice (a light flavored oil works best)
1/4 cup water (optional)
4 tbsp. dry skimmed milk (optional)
1 tsp. liquid or granular lecithin (optional - an emulsifier)

Using an electric mixer (stand or hand-held), whip softened butter until fluffy. While still beating, dribble in the oil. (Liquid lecithin can be quite thick. You will need to "dissolve" it in a portion of the vegetable oil. I don't always use it.) Stop every once in a while to push down mixture with rubber spatula. Dissolve dried milk powder, if using, in water. (Granular lecithin should be dissolved in the water along with the milk powder.) While still beating, dribble in the water mixture. Stop every once in a while to push down mixture with rubber spatula. The mixture will be very fluffy.

Transfer mixture to a container and freeze for about 20 minutes to firm it up. Then keep refrigerated. Do not leave at room temperature for very long, because it might break down & separate.

Notes: For salt free spread, use all unsalted butter. For lightly salted spread, use 2 cubes unsalted butter & 2 cubes salted butter. For barely salted spread, use 3 cubes unsalted butter & 1 cube salted butter.

This makes a perfect spread and can be used for topping freshly cooked vegetables. I've even used it when frying or scrambling eggs in a non-stick skillet. And remember, the water, dried milk, and lecithin are all optional. The original 1 lb. butter to 1 cup oil is really easy and good all on its own.

Salt Free Spice Blends #2 (Online Sources)

Although some decent spice blends are available from my local grocery stores, I've found a whole new world of tastier and more interesting blends online. Yes, I could make my own spice blends, but I wouldn't get the variety I can get by ordering online. And, yes, I know I have to pay shipping costs for anything I order online, but my husband's health & contentedness with his low sodium diet is worth an awful lot to me. Penzey's Spices is a wonderful source I learned about from Cooking Forum members. You can buy most spice blends in several sizes and either in plastic bags or glass jars. The quality is so good and the variety is almost mind boggling. My favorites are the Adobo, the Singapore, the Jerk, and the Mural of Flavor seasonings. I have purchased several different ground chili peppers, curry blends, and single herbs or spices from Penzey's too.

The Spice House is another good source. I use their Salt Free Spicy West Indies Barbecue Seasoning in my barbecued beans recipe. Savory Spice Shop has several unique blends. I especially like their Black Canyon Chili Powder. It contains cocoa & cinnamon, so it taste like mole. The Za'atar blend makes a wonderful bread dip when mixed with extra virgin olive oil and some crushed garlic. I have yet to order from American Spice, but many of their blends are intriguing.

I feel confident ordering from the sources cited above because they all list the ingredients on their spice blends. So it's easy to find the truly salt free blends. Once, when I was sick, my husband did the grocery shopping. I was out of chili powder and needed some for that evening's dinner. He picked up some McCormick's chili powder and, later when he got home, we discovered it contained salt. We were both surprised because we always thought chili powders were unsalted. Another reason to read labels carefully!

Salt Free Spice Blends #1

You cannot create tasty, low salt dishes without an arsenal of spices and spice blends. I've got two drawers and two shelves full of various spices. Some good salt free combinations are available at most local grocery stores. Mrs. Dash has several salt free spice blends, and most stores carry a pretty good selection. I like the Garlic Herb, Onion & Herb, Southwest Chipotle, and Mesquite blends the best. However, I don't use the Mrs. Dash blends much because I don't like the inclusion of dried orange peel and/or lemon peel in so many of the products. To me, it makes everything taste the same. I've tried the marinades but didn't like them either; the flavors were too harsh. I'd rather make my own salt free or low salt marinades. McCormick also has some tasty salt free blends. One favorite is Garlic & Herb. Trader Joe's salt free seasoning blend is good too.

I've found the salt free version of Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning at local grocery stores in addition to Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning. I like the Magic seasoning sprinkled on fried or scrambled eggs, fish and chicken breasts. Although I'm Greek, I just don't care much for the Cavender's; it's kind of blah. I've found Johnny's Jamaica Me Crazy seasoned pepper in my local store; it's salt free and spicy.

Every time I go grocery shopping, I check the spice aisle. You never know when another blend will hit the shelves. I'm also always on the look out when I shop at Trader Joe's, Cost Plus World Market, and Costco.

The spice blends are invaluable in low salt cooking. I don't use them much at the table, mainly in cooking. They make a real difference in grilling, broiling, roasting, or sauteing plain cuts of meats. They add a nice dimension of flavor when creating crumb crusts for meats too. Mixed with mayo, they really add something special to sandwiches; mixed with sour cream they also can provide a tasty, low sodium dip.

Roast Turkey

A few days after Thanksgiving, I went grocery shopping. For some reason I ended up at the meat section,  staring at the different packages. One of the butchers approached me and pretty much begged me to buy a fresh turkey. He promised me he'd mark it down from its already sale price. Well, at 39 cents per pound, I couldn't resist. So I walked away with a 15 pound fresh Foster Farms turkey (Foster Farms doesn't add any enhancement solutions to their poultry). I stuck it in my freezer. Last week I finally decided to do something with it. I let it defrost in the fridge for about four days, then roasted it.

Turkey is incredibly easy and wonderfully tasty on a low salt diet. I rubbed it with herbs, stuffed the cavity with lemon halves, and surrounded the bird with chunks of carrots, celery, & onions. I threw in some whole allspice, whole black peppercorns, & a couple of bay leaves. I also poured about two cups of low sodium chicken broth into the bottom of the pan.

As soon as the cooked turkey had rested a bit, I carved it up. I put the wing tips, back, neck, gizzard, & heart in a separate container for making stock. Then I froze the two thighs & two wings. I made a delicious gravy from the turkey drippings & the broth that was in the roasting pan. We ate the legs for dinner, and I've been making hot turkey sandwiches, cold turkey sandwiches, mole, & curry with the breast meat. I really got my money's worth!

Pot Roast & Mashed Potatoes

Pot roast is one of the easiest low salt dishes to prepare, and it's pretty much fool proof too. I try to buy a large chuck roast that's not too fatty. Once I get it home, I remove as much visible fat as I can and brown it well on both sides in a dutch oven. Then I add the flavorings I'm in the mood for. Last week I was in a tomato mood, so I added one can of no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, a cup of homemade beef broth, a bay leaf, several cloves of garlic, and half of a package of frozen pearl onions. I also threw in a tea ball with some whole allspice and whole black pepper. Sometimes I put the pot roast in the oven, but this time I kept it on the stove top at a low simmer. I turned it once after about two hours and let it continue cooking. Really simple and really tasty! The sauce was wonderful!


Once it was done, I divided it and froze half of it. I was able to get two dinners and one lunch from the portion I kept in the fridge.

Mashed Potatoes
The pot roast gravy was begging for mashed potatoes, but salt free mashed potatoes can be pretty blah. I wanted to experiment to see if I could improve the flavor. The biggest problem was in boiling the peeled potato cubes. The water seemed to leach out all the good potato flavor. And without salt there's no way to really replace that flavor. I've tried roasted garlic, green onions, sour cream, etc. Better than plain, but still lacking something.

I decided this time to eliminate the boiling and the peeling. Instead I steamed whole, unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes until they were tender. I hoped this would keep the potato flavor from being diluted. Once the potatoes were tender, I mashed them, with the peels still on, and added milk, butter, and freshly ground pepper. I didn't want to add anything else because I wanted to taste them unadulterated to see if my experiment was successful. They tasted pretty good, much better than previous attempts, so I was happy with the results.

Deli Style Sandwiches

It's actually easy to prepare tasty low sodium sandwiches. The biggest problem is staying away from deli meats. I recall a conversation with a well-meaning friend after my husband's hospitalization. She assumed that since he had heart disease, his biggest restriction was fat content. So she gave me all kinds of advice on preparing low fat sandwiches from the lean prepared meats in the grocery deli case. Even though I told her several times that the salt content was too high for my husband to consume, she still didn't quite get it.

The good news is that there are some lower sodium deli options out there. You just need to look for them.

Low Sodium Deli Meats
Columbus Reduced Sodium Turkey Breast (2 oz. = 240 mg. sodium) can be found in packages at Trader Joe's. I can also buy Jennie-O Reduced Sodium Turkey Breast (2 oz. = 260 mg. sodium) from the full service deli at my local grocer store.

Yesterday I discovered that a new grocery store in my area carries Boar's Head meat products. The really exciting thing for me was finding Boar's Head Deluxe Low Sodium Cap-Off Top Round Roast Beef (2 oz. = 80 mg. sodium). Needless to say, I bought some of the roast beef. The store also carried Boar's Head Premium Lower Sodium Skinless Turkey Breast (2 oz. = 360 mg. sodium), but its salt content is higher than what I can get at other stores. (Boar's Head also has a NSA turkey breast that's only 55 mg sodium/serving, but unfortunately none of my local stores carries it.) The store also sell Boar's Head Branded Deluxe ham (2 oz. = 480 mg. sodium), but like the premium turkey, I can find other brands that are lower in sodium at my local store.

Low Sodium Bread
Homemade low salt bread or rolls make sandwiches special too. You can adapt most regular bread & roll recipes to lower sodium content. Use half the salt called for or even less. If you make a flavored bread or roll, you can get away with using much less salt and still have a tasty bread. Of course, sometimes, you want to be able to just pick up some bread at the grocery store. Alvarado Street No Salt Sprouted Multi Grain Bread (1 slice = 10mg. sodium) is available at my local grocery stores. Many stores sell Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Low Sodium Sprouted Grain Bread (1 slice = 0 mg. sodium). And Trader Joe's has their own unsalted bread too.

Extras
I like to add homemade caramelized onions and roasted peppers to sandwiches too. Last summer I grew poblano chiles. After harvesting them, I broiled them until the skins were charred. Then I removed the peels & seeds and froze them individually. You can do the same with red bell peppers.

Low Sodium Flavored Mayonnaise
In addition to the usual lettuce, tomatoes, & onions, I like to make flavored mayonnaise for sandwiches. I buy huge jars of Christopher Ranch Whole Peeled Garlic at Costco. I freeze half as is and roast the other half. I smash several thawed roasted garlic cloves with homemade mayo for a tasty sandwich spread. Sometimes I'll combine frozen homemade basil cubes with mayo. The easiest is mixing spice blends with mayonnaise. I especially like curry with chicken or turkey sandwiches. I've also used ground chipotle and even chili powder. Flavored mayo makes what could have been a bland sliced chicken sandwich unbelievably good.

Hodgson Mill Insta-Bake: A Whole Grain Biscuit Mix

Sometimes I need help and inspiration, especially if the day has gotten away from me. I always keep a box of Hodgson Mill Insta-Bake (1/3 c. dry = 270mg. sodium) in my freezer. Insta-Bake is a whole wheat buttermilk baking mix similar to Bisquick, but much, much lower in sodium content and with whole wheat flour. Regular Bisquick has 490 mgs. sodium per 1/3 cup, while the Reduced Fat Bisquick has 340 mgs. sodium per 1/3 cup. I keep a box of Hodgson Mill on hand for recipes that call for a small amount of biscuit mix, mainly zucchini patties. You can find it in the health food sections of most grocery stores. One evening I followed the biscuit recipe on the back of the box. I added some thinly sliced green onions to the dough and brushed melted garlic butter on the warm biscuits for extra flavor. I followed the directions for making drop biscuits, and they turned out pretty good. A quick, wholesome, and lower sodium addition to any meal.

Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Biscuits
Makes about 10 biscuits

2 cups Insta-Bake mix
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Heat oven to 425°F

In medium bowl, combine Insta-Bake and butter until crumbly. Add milk and stir to make a soft dough (the whole wheat mix required adding more liquid). Drop dough by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper). Bake about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Notes: I probably added about another 2-3 tablespoons of milk because of the whole wheat flour. I crushed 3 cloves garlic into 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter & let it steep before brushing on the warm biscuits right before serving.

Pork Chile Verde

My freezer was overflowing, so I decided to thaw out some bone-in pork country ribs. I decided to make some chili verde. 

The Chile Verde is easy, so I make it often. If I'm feeling super ambitious and have actually planned ahead, I roast & peel fresh green chilies. I try to do a lot of chile preparation during the summer months when farmers markets sell them. But many times, I resort to canned. I've found a pretty good brand , Hatch Select Whole Green Chiles (1 chile = 75mg. sodium); I always rinse the chiles well before using them. Today I cooked the verde on top of the stove, but many times, I throw everything into my crock pot.


Pork Chili Verde 
(Printable Recipe)

2 lbs. pork shoulder/country ribs (boneless or bone-in)
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
NSA chicken broth/stock 
3 canned/fresh green chilies, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin, ground (or to taste)
1/4 c orange juice
2 tbsp lime juice
1 bay leaf

Remove pork's visible fat. (If using pork shoulder, cut into large chunks.) In a dutch oven, brown pork in oil. Add enough broth just to barely cover. Also add the chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oregano, bay leaf, orange juice, and lime juice. Cover pot, and let it cook at a low simmer for about two hours or until pork is quite tender. Remove the cover and let most of the juice evaporate. If possible, spoon out excess fat. Saute the pork in the remaining fat until slightly crisp.

I served the pork in corn tortillas. Corn tortillas are great for low salt diets, lots of flavor but no sodium. I don't fry them; I just steam them a bit in the microwave to soften them. All in all, an easy, tasty, & super low sodium meal.

Barbecued Baked Beans

While rummaging through my pantry, I came across a package of great northern beans and decided to cook them. I'd had good luck using a barbecued bean recipe from Cook's Illustrated, so I figured I'd try it again. Beans are difficult on a low sodium diet. They can taste pretty flat without the salt or smoked meat products -- ham, bacon, ham hocks, etc. But this recipe tasted pretty good because it was highly flavored.

My only complaint with the recipe was that the salt & acidic ingredients (BBQ sauce, brown sugar, mustard, & molasses) were added at the beginning. Most recipes caution against doing this because it will make the beans hard & they won't get tender. I kept those ingredients out until the beans had sufficiently softened.

Anyhow, here's the recipe with my notes.

Barbecued Baked Beans 
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated 2/2005

Serves 6 to 8
(Printable Recipe)
4 slices bacon, chopped fine (I either just use 2 slices low sodium bacon or omit altogether)
1 onion , minced
4 cloves garlic , minced
1 pound dried small white beans, rinsed and picked over (See Notes)
8 cups water
1 cup strong coffee, black
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used 1/2 cup Heinz No Salt Added Ketchup & 1 tsp. The Spice House Salt Free Spicy West Indies Barbecue Seasoning)
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
4-1/2 teaspoons brown mustard, prepared (I used a salt free mustard)
1 tablespoon mild molasses
Hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
Ground black pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the beans, water , coffee, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, molasses, & 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, stirring every hour, until the beans are tender, about 4 hours. (I used slow cooker and cooked beans first without ketchup, mustard & molasses)

3. Remove the lid and continue to bake, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened to a syrupy consistency, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Notes : I soaked the beans overnight & rinsed. I cooked them in water for 45 minutes at a very low simmer with 1 bay leaf, 4 small cloves garlic cut in chunks, and a tea ball filled with whole peppercorns, & allspice. I drained them, reserving the cooking water. I sautéed the onion, garlic, & 1/2 a jalapeño pepper in olive oil. I did not use bacon this time. I added the beans & used Pacific Low Sodium Chicken Broth to cover, along with the coffee, and brown sugar. I dumped this all in the slow cooker. I added the molasses, prepared mustard & barbecue sauce (ketchup & spice blend) AFTER the beans became tender. I added 1 tsp. of liquid smoke near the end. I only added ladles of reserved bean cooking liquid if the beans seemed too dry.

Low Sodium Homemade Mayo

Sometimes I get a craving for chicken salad, tuna salad, or egg salad. Now normally, if I'm just smearing a bit of mayo on a sandwich, I'll use the prepared, store bought stuff. No one makes a truly low or no salt version. However, if I'm using a lot of mayo, I make my own unsalted version. At one time my local Safeway carried Davidson's Pasteurized Eggs and I could make true unsalted mayonnaise without worrying about salmonella. Eventually, the store stopped carrying those eggs, and I turned to EggBeaters (1/4 c. = 115 mg. sodium). I found a recipe for making mayo with the egg substitute. Not a no salt spread, but lower in sodium than the commercially prepared stuff. But I couldn't really use up a carton of EggBeaters before it would go bad. I just don't always use eggs a lot. So I was on the lookout for a powdered, dried form of eggs I could use.

Last week I picked up some Just Whites, powdered egg whites, and I decided to try them to make salt free mayo. They worked just fine. The mayonnaise was a bit thinner than store bought, but that would not be a problem in the chicken salad.

Low Sodium Homemade Mayonnaise 
(Printable Recipe)

1/3 cup Egg Beaters (at room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used 1 tbsp. lemon juice & 1 tbsp. vinegar)
1 cup vegetable oil

Notes: I also added a dash of low sodium Worcestershire sauce; a couple sprinkles garlic powder; 1/4 tsp. white pepper; and a pinch of sugar.

Combine egg substitute, spices, lemon juice and 1/2 cup oil in a food processor. Whirl a few seconds to mix. (I used the blender & let it blend for about 20-30 seconds) With machine running, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup oil in a fine stream. (I poured the oil very slowly directly over the blades; I also had to stop & blend in the oil with a rubber spatula a couple of times)

Using Just Whites: I used 4 tsp. powder to 1/4 cup water and followed the package directions.

Braised Sweet and Sour Cabbage

This is a favorite of mine, braised sweet & sour cabbage. This recipe is so tasty, it doesn't need any salt at all. It is so adaptable too. You can add a couple of cooked and crumbled pieces of low sodium bacon. You can leave out the apple altogether if you don't have one handy. You can use all loso/NSA chicken broth instead of apple juice. I can eat it hot, cold, and even room temperature. Give it a try!

Braised Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
Canarybird from Garden Web's Cooking Forum

(Printable Recipe)

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 large apple, cored and chopped
1 small red cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly shredded (about 6 cups shredded)
1 cup apple juice (I often use 1/2 cup NSA chicken broth & 1/2 cup apple juice)
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar (I use 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat in a deep frying pan. Cook the onion and apple for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the cabbage and toss well. Add the apple juice, vinegar, sugar and seasoning and stir.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until the liquid reduces completely and the cabbage is tender. Leftovers can be chilled for one day and reheated over a moderate heat. Serves 4 - 6.