Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia Bread

I love making Focaccia because it's the low-maintenance girlfriend of the bread world. It's delicious, adapts to suit pretty much any topping you like, and only takes about an hour to make from start to finish. We're pretty hard core about sodium in our house so I didn't add any to the dough, but if you'd like a little hint of salt with your bread, feel free to sprinkle a small amount of Kosher Salt on top before baking.

Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia Bread
Serves 4-6

1 cup warm water (between 105-110 degrees F)
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 1/2 tbsp olive or avocado oil, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1 tsp dried onion flakes

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and grease the inside of a 12" cast iron skillet with oil.

In a medium bowl, combine water, yeast, and honey. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast is dissolved and the surface is bubbly.

In a separate bowl, combine flours and seasonings. Stir to combine.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil. Stir in half the flour mixture, and once combined, stir in the remaining half. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, continue roughly stirring the dough for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and isn't sticking to the sides of the bowl as much. You can also turn it out onto the counter and knead by hand, but focaccia is meant to be a soft, slightly sticky dough, and it's easy to add too much flour if you knead by hand.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a roughly 12" circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, because you can work it a little to make it fit once you place it in the skillet. Cover with a damp towel, and place in the oven for 20 minutes to proof.

Remove from oven, and increase the temperature to 400 degree. Using your fingers, or the floured end of a wooden spoon, press small dents into the top of the bread. Sprinkle the top liberally with oil, and whatever seasonings you desire (I usually top it with a little more dried rosemary and some dried onion flakes).

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for 2-3 minutes, and then remove from skillet to a cooling rack.

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Ricotta Spaghetti Squash Bake

There are a few things you should note about this recipe if you're watching your sodium intake like us. Most cheeses are off-limits on a heart diet, but a few are low in sodium like ricotta and fresh mozzarella - but you HAVE to buy fresh mozzarella and grate it yourself, rather than buying the pre-shredded bagged stuff, which is loaded with sodium (trust me, it's worth the extra time - the texture and flavor of freshly grated cheese is *completely* different)

The other thing is that if you decide to substitute another green for the kale, avoid spinach because it's naturally very high in sodium.

We ate this as a side dish with chicken breasts and steamed broccoli, but the next time I make this, I plan on turning it into an entree by cutting up the grilled chicken and stirring it in.

Ricotta Spaghetti Squash Bake
Serves 4-6
1 large spaghetti squash
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp thyme, divided
4 cloves garlic, 2 minced & 2 crushed with the flat of your knife
1 small onion, diced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups loosely packed fresh kale
15 oz part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup shredded fresh mozzarella, divided
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the insides with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, and place one crushed garlic clove in each cavity. Season with ground pepper and 1/2 tsp of the thyme. Carefully turn halves face down on a rimmed baking tray, and roast for 30-45 minutes or until fork tender.

While squash is baking, add remaining olive oil to a skillet and saute onions until translucent. Add minced garlic and cherry tomatoes and saute for 3 minutes, then add kale and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes until it begins to wilt. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Stir in ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella.

Once squash has finished cooking, leave the oven on at 400, and shred the insides of the squash with a fork. Scrape out of the skin and add to the ricotta mixture. Stir well, and pour into a greased baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

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Honey Vinaigrette Spring Pea Salad

 

adapted from this recipe by Food on Fifth

We have a great local produce market not too far from us called the Hollygrove Market, and twice a week they offer a flat rate $25 box of seasonal produce from local farms. This week's box included a pound of pink-eye beans, which frankly I'd never heard of before. After scouring the internet, I ended up doing another one of my hodgepodge recipes where I mix and match recipes depending on what we like, and which ingredients we have on hand. I ended up substituting in the pink-eye beans and keeping the cooking time at 5 minutes, which gave this salad a nice crunch!

Also, I realize pea shoots might be a little hard to find if you don't live in the city, but I think you could easily substitute some baby spinach leaves and turn this into more of a traditional salad.

Spring Pea Salad
Serves 6-8

3 cups each pink-eye beans, and fresh or frozen green peas (if frozen, make sure they are No Sodium Added)
6-8 leaves of fresh mint
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest from rind
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
2 cups loosely packed green pea shoots (I used sunflower plant shoots because that's all I could find at Whole Foods)

Honey Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive or avocado oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and toss in the pink-eye beans and green peas. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour beans and peas into a colander to drain. Rinse with cool running water, and leave to drain and cool down for about 10-15 minutes. Place in a large serving bowl.

Pour the olive oil, vinegar, honey, and mustard into a mason jar (or other container with a tight-fitting lid) and shake to emulsify. Season with fresh black pepper to taste, and set aside.

Roughly chop the mint leaves and add to the bowl of beans and peas, along with the lemon juice and zest. Cover and chill until read to serve.

When ready to serve, add in the pistachios, pea shoots, and vinaigrette, and gently toss.

Note: You can substitute frozen or fresh edamame or lima beans for the pink-eye beans - I was just using what I had on hand!

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Grilled Salmon with Sautéed Garlic Patty Pan Squash

 

One of the perks of switching to a low-sodium diet, is the ingredients you have to work with are generally much simpler, and meals come together more quickly. There aren't dozens of packaged ingredients to schlep from the fridge and pantry (and then back again). Just you, some fresh meat and produce, and whatever herbs and seasonings your heart desires ❤️

Grilled Salmon

Serves 4

1 Garlic clove, minced

2-3 tbsp olive oil (we use avocado oil we buy at Costco)

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Four 6 oz salmon fillets

Pepper, to taste

Mix first three ingredients together. Place salmon in a small pan, and pour marinade over top. Let sit for about 10 minutes while you heat up the grill to Medium-High. Place fish on oiled aluminum foil and grill 3-4 minutes per side. (Note: it's easy to flip if you loosen the fillet a bit with your spatula first, and then flip it by lifting up the edge of the foil)

Sautéed Garlic Patty Pan Squash

Serves 4

2 Patty Pan yellow squash (or regular yellow squash), roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Pepper (or salt-free Tony's 😉), to taste

Pour oil in skillet and heat to Medium. Once oil is hot, toss in squash, minced garlic, and pepper (or other seasonings). Cook 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Top with fresh chopped basil once it's in the serving bowl, or on plates.

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