My blood pressure seems to be declining quite nicely the last few days, but I’m still on pretty high doses of a couple of drugs, so I think it’s definitely not appropriate for me to eat salty restaurant food at all for now. Maybe after I lose more weight and am able to go off more medication.
Thanks a lot for the Cajun and Southeast Asian ideas, GinaMarie and Hal_, and on your interesting ideas, Ttrockwood! I’ve never heard of nutritional yeast and will definitely look into it. Does it work well put into dishes like stews at the same time salt would be put in, or is it best sprinkled on at the table?
Your cabbage recipe reminded me that I used to really enjoy my mother’s Austrian-style red cabbage with apples and caraway seeds. I should make that soon, perhaps with goulash, as she used to do.
Yesterday, my girlfriend and I made an improvised, Indian-inspired scrambled egg dish that came out very well. I will try to reconstruct the recipe, as some amounts were not exactly measured:
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
1 teaspoon amchur (unripe mango) powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large white onion, sliced
5 large organic eggs, roughly beaten
About 1/2 to 3/4 cup full-fat Fage yogurt
The juice of about 3/4 of a lemon, with seeds removed
About half a bunch of fresh cilantro including stems, roughly torn into pieces.
Fire the olive oil in a frying pan for a short time at a moderate flame
Add the spices, lower the flame as necessary and mix continuously to prevent burning or clumping.
A minute or two later, add the garlic. Cook for a while, then add the onion. Continue to stir as needed and add more olive oil if needed.
When the onion seems more or less fully cooked, add the eggs. Stir until the eggs are fully cooked.
Add the yogurt and cook, mixing as needed, until the water is substantially reduced.
Add the lemon juice. Continue to stir as needed and cook for a few more minutes.
Taste and see if any ingredients need to be added for more balance of tastes.
If everything tastes right, add the cilantro, stir for a couple of minutes, try again, and when ready, serve. The dish should have a sauce but should not be watery.
Add additional yogurt and sprinkle ground cayenne pepper at the table to taste; eat with a bit of low-sodium pita if desired.
I think I’ll go to Grand Sichuan St Marks this evening and have Sauteed Spicy Chinese Broccoli, which they are able to make deliciously for me without salt. I have 7 apples I plan to halve and bake later with cinnamon, allspice and a bit of ground ginger.
