Steamed Vegetable Plate with Cheese Sauce

I'm really lucky that my husband is not a picky eater. I have friends whose husbands can't abide onions or garlic or spices or green vegetables, etc. So their cooking adventures are very limited. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it would be to follow a low sodium regimen with such ingredient restrictions.

We both love vegetables, and, interestingly enough, I've been cooking vegetables without added salt or butter for years now -- long before I "had" to. The abundance & availability of fresh vegetables make the summer Sacramento heat almost worthwhile. I've been frequenting two farmers markets weekly, so one night I decided a nice steamed vegetable plate would be a wonderful evening meal. I used squash, green beans, baby carrots & new potatoes from the farmers markets. I steamed each vegetable separately until just perfectly done, then combined them for serving. I made a simple lower sodium cheese sauce to pour over everything. It was a simple yet satisfying meal. And there were enough leftovers to use another time as a vegetable side dish.



Cheese Sauce
(Printable Recipe)

Cook together two tablespoons each of flour & unsalted butter for about 2-3 minutes. Add two cups of warm milk or chicken/vegetable broth (Or 1 cup milk and 1 cup broth). Whisk till smooth and stir until thickened.

After the sauce has thickened somewhat, add 1/4 cup shredded naturally low sodium Swiss cheese and 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese. Stir while cheese is melting. Keep temperature low so cheese will stay smooth.

For extra flavor, add about 1/2 tsp. each of dry mustard and paprika and a teaspoon of low sodium Worcestershire sauce.  Add more liquid if sauce is too thick. Keep warm, if necessary, over extremely low heat.