Happy New Year and All That

Happy 2011!!  I am happy to report that I was able to ring in the New Year in the comfort of my own home, having been discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.  Now that I am no longer being served low-salt, low-taste food on a regular schedule, I am forced to cook my own.  I can't go out to eat--there's too much salt in everything.  I can't buy prepared foods--there's too much salt in everything.  That leaves me to fend for myself.

Having watched (and smelled) LA eat some sad-looking burgers from the hospital cafeteria, I was craving a burger.  I'm sure I could make a healthy version.  And I did.  96% lean ground beef seasoned with black pepper and garlic powder, low-sodium sliced Colby-Jack cheese (thank you, Sargento), lettuce, tomato, and a whole-wheat roll.  The burger was a bit overcooked and dry, and the roll was overtoasted.  Even so, we both agreed it was the best burger ever.  I guess context is everything.  Had we not been burned out on hospital food, we may not have been so enamored of the burger.  As it was our first post-hospital meal, we were thrilled by it.  The meal was rounded out with a baked potato.  I thought about making potato wedges, but just didn't have the energy.  Baked potatoes would have to do.  Fat-free sour cream, low-sodium shredded Cheddar (thank you again, Sargento!), and imitation bacon bits topped the spuds.  Who knew low-sodium could taste so good??  On a side note, imitation bacon bits have lower sodium than real bacon bits, so I am allowed to have them.  On another side note, Morningstar bacon (which we call "facon") tastes just like imitation bacon bits.  Don't waste your money.

The next evening, we were having company and I was feeling a bit lazy.  I cooked up some frozen "Southern-style" hashbrowns, chopped broccoli, and green peas.  This I dumped into a small casserole dish and seasoned with black pepper, my stand-by garlic powder, and some chipotle powder.  I mixed Eggbeaters with milk to create the custard, then poured it over the veggies, then topped it all with more of my low-sodium shredded cheddar.  I baked it for 50 minutes at 375 degrees, and it came out puffed up and golden.  I'll admit it was a tad spicy, but LA and I were thrilled with the outcome.  He even went back for seconds!  The leftovers were combined with more Eggbeaters and hashbrowns, then wrapped in a tortilla, and we had breakfast burritos the following morning. 

I won't lie and say that this whole low-sodium thing is easy, but it's turning out not to be as difficult as I thought.  I can't buy a lot of my old standards at the supermarket, and I'm having to cook a lot more than I was before, since we can't just pop out and grab something.  But it's totally worth it, to keep me alive and keep LA healthy.  More to come on the low-sodium lifestyle!

Hurray for Soup!

I was joylessly contemplating another meal made from the prepackaged contents of my pantry. Ugh—macaroni and cheese or Rice-a-Roni? I couldn’t bear another meal of dehydrated cheese with a side of sodium. But what were my other options? Then lightning struck! Crushed tomatoes. Canned corn. Elbow macaroni. With some ingenuity and a few other ingredients, I could have minestrone! I excitedly collected everything that I thought might make an acceptable soup.

I wouldn’t call my minestrone “traditional”. I prefer to think of it as Kitchen Sink Minestrone. Everything but the aforementioned kitchen sink went into it. My ultimate goal was to make something that would pass as edible, while being healthier than the majority of my recent meals. Healthier than Tuna Helper? Unbelievable, I know.

My final ingredient list was:

1 ½ tbsp of minced garlic
About 1 cup of frozen Southern-style hash browns
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
5 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 quarts of water
14 oz can of corn
14 oz can of chickpeas
2 oz elbow macaroni
8 oz of frozen peas
5 cubes of frozen chopped basil (5 tsp)

I heated 3 tbsp of oil in my 7 quart Dutch oven, since I figured I would end up making a very large amount of soup. I quickly cooked the garlic, and then added the hash browns. Right from the freezer. Why thaw? Then I dumped in the tomatoes, chickpeas, corn and the water. I crumbled the bouillon cubes right into the soup. I know they say to dissolve them in the water, but that’s really just an extra step. I brought this to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer and covered it.

After about 30 minutes of cooking, I added the macaroni, which proceeded to stick to the bottom of the pan. Rather than stir the soup, I had to scrape it. Eh, it won’t affect the flavor, and I’m probably the only one who’ll be eating it. I covered the pot again and let it cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring/scraping occasionally. I then added the peas and the basil. Again, right from the freezer. I let it cook another 5-10 minutes, adjusted the seasoning with salt and pepper, and decided that enough had gone into it.

When I served it (to myself), I topped the soup with a bit of shredded Parmesan cheese and some chopped parsley (from the freezer). To be honest, it tasted better than I expected. I was quite pleased with myself. But did I achieve my goals? I feel a lot better knowing that I’ve gotten some vegetables into my body, as this hasn’t happened too often in recent weeks/months/years. I can also say with no small sense of accomplishment that the soup was edible, and quite possibly even tasty. Another bonus is the realization that I have an option other than dried noodles in a powder sauce. Of course, I did end up with a vat of soup. If anyone wants to partake of the Makeshift Minestrone (oooh, that’s an even better name), come on over!

One final note.  I rarely use spell check, but decided to give it a go today.  Spell check was not pleased with my use of "oooh" and recommended that I change it to "pooh".  Thanks, spell check!

“Cold soup is a very tricky thing and it is the rare hostess who can carry it off. More often than not the dinner guest is left with the impression that had he only come a little earlier he could’ve gotten it while it was still hot."
                            --Fran Lebowitz
                               Metropolitan Life