Recipe Box: Battle Citrus, No Sodium

There is a lot coming up this week: home-made pickles, home-made cheese (hopefully), an appearance at 18 Reason's "Jam It" event on Thursday, and a starters list on how to create your own scrumptious and salt-free Thanksgiving meal.

But while we wait for the pickles to pickle and for the cheese to curd and whey, I wanted to write a quick post about a groundbreaking event that occurred last March:

Iron Chef Battle: Citrus, No Sodium

The culinary smack down was the second in a series of two Iron Chef competitions, originally hosted by our good friends Kwame (who is now in cooking school, lucky) and Mei (who is now in London writing for Wired UK and igniting some Go-Game awesomeness across the pond).  The first battle was centered on the delicious meat product we all lovingly call "bacon."  My attendance at this battle and my minor participation (Mei made me some sodium-free, bacon-free dishes because she is amazing) sparked discussion with fellow judges on sodium-free cooking.  To say they least, they were not convinced that sodium-free food could be as flavorful or exciting as more traditional, sodium-filled recipes.

So the challenge was set.  12 guests, with well-versed and discerning palettes, were invited to Boy and my apartment for an 8-course course on sodium-free food.  Over a period of 24 hours, endless shopping for random citrus products (Yuzu juice to Buddha's hand), and a brief period in which words were not exchanged - Boy and I poured our hearts and souls into the dishes and what resulted was proof that cooking excellence (or at least satisfaction) could be achieved without salt.

But don't take my word, judge for yourself.