Lady Ashburnham Pickles

For years, my husband talked about the Lady Ashburnham pickles that his mother used to make. Anytime he went to New Brunswick to visit (a 12-hour drive), he requested some to take home with him. I had never heard of them before, but a quick google search will tell you that they are pretty common on the east coast (of Canada and the U.S.) and the idea is pretty standard: basically, it's a sweet relish, yellow in colour.

Once my husband started his low-sodium diet, one of the many things he gave up was pickles.

Finally, last summer, I decided I would try to make a salt-free version for him. We had bought a pressure-cooker/canner, and our neighbour gave us a bunch of cucumbers from her garden, so I called my mother-in-law to ask for her recipe.

Here it is (thanks, Nancy!), minus the salt:

8-10 large cucumbers, peeled and seeded
4 cups chopped onion (I used white sweet onion)
Finely diced red pepper ("for colour," according to Nancy)
2 cups vinegar
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. turmeric
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed

Cut cucumbers into relish-sized pieces.
Let sit overnight, then drain (This is where the salt is supposed to be added; I didn't, and so there wasn't much to drain. My theory is that the salt would have pulled more moisture out; I could be wrong. Maybe I just had drier cucumbers. Either way, my batch turned out and got my husband's stamp of approval, and so did my second batch).
Combine all ingredients in large stock pot.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least an hour (I simmered longer, until more of the liquid had evaporated).
Can while still hot, using your canner's instructions.

Here's the canned product:

Lady Ashburnham pickles

Not bad for a Saturday night's work!
Note that I used two different sizes of mason jar. That's all that I had, and I was doing this (as with most serious cooking/baking these days) after Atticus was in bed, and after Canadian Tire (my go-to Mason jar location) had closed.

My husband went through the jars remarkably quickly, eating it with pretty much any kind of meat, and on potatoes. He thinks of it as a side dish, while I regard it as a condiment. Either way, it's pretty delicious, if I do say so myself. And he claims you don't notice the lack of salt.

No-Sodium Flour Tortillas

One of the main sources of hidden sodium, as it turns out, is bread products. A typical slice of bread can contain up to 230 mg of sodium!

There is a local bakery, Sticklings, which makes low-sodium, organic bread products. They're even available in grocery stores now, which is fantastic. But what I couldn't (and still can't) find, is a substitute for tortillas.

We lived without them for a couple of years, but I was feeling like we were eating a lot of the same-old meals and I desperately wanted fajitas. Thus, I went searching for how to make tortillas. My first stop, of course, was this excellent website for recipes: "Low Sodium Cooking: Showing You How to Give Up Sodium Without Giving Up Your Life".  
And here I found a recipe for no-sodium tortillas. I assumed that it would be difficult, but it's really pretty simple!

 Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I've used all white, and half-white, half-whole wheat)

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. shortening
1/2 cup warm water (plus more)

A short list of ingredients:

Note that my baking powder looks funny. That's because it's Baking Powder Substitute (you might be surprised how much sodium is in regular baking powder -- 75 mg in 1/4 tsp = 900 mg in a tbsp!) from The Healthy Heart Market. 

I've made these a few times now, with varying degrees of success. The first attempt, I used all white (unbleached, all-purpose) flour, and they turned out great. The second time, I used mostly whole-wheat, some white flour, and again, they were good. The next time, I accidentally used baking soda instead of powder (whoops!), and they turned out pretty hard. This time, I doubled the batch to make larger tortillas. They were slightly more difficult to roll to the right thickness, but a slightly more easy-to-use size.

Directions:
Stir flour and baking powder together.
Cut in shortening until it resembles cornmeal.
Add 1/2 cup of water and mix until dough forms a ball (it took a lot more than 1/2 a cup of water for me this time; perhaps because I used half whole-wheat flour).
Add more water, 1 tbsp at a time, if needed.
Let dough rest 15 minutes.
Divide into 12 portions and make balls (I doubled the batch, and only made 12 balls -- my husband requested larger tortillas this time).

Roll each ball into a 7-inch round (or larger, if using a double batch. I roll it as thinly as I possibly can (this takes a surprising amount of arm strength!).
Trim uneven edges (you can see from my photos that I skipped this step -- my husband is not that fussy about how his food looks).
Cook in ungreased skillet (I've used a regular, non-stick frying pan) over medium heat about 1.5 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. 

 Here's how I know it's time to flip:

(It's kind of hard to see, but big puffy bubbles form  in the tortilla. That's when it's time to flip.)

And here are the finished products! Not bad...

Note: My husband requested his tortillas be warmed, so I popped them into the microwave. BIG mistake! Nothing hardens a bread product quite like 30 seconds in the microwave. Next time, I'll try the oven.