Losing Salt and Discovering Flavor

I didn't realize just what kind of a cooking rut I had fallen into until I suddenly had to give up one of the key ingredients in all my recipes, salt. I had been cooking for years, and had, like many seat-of-the-pants cooks, fallen into a tried and true routine of spices and dishes. You know what I mean, those recipes and flavors that you can always rely on. Sure, you can mix them up and branch out from your core team, but never too far.

My team was generally Italian-American. I went through Italian seasoning mix, garlic, green onions at a pretty even clip, and of course, there was always salt rounding everything out and making sure that all those spices played nicely with each other. Once in a while, I'd saute in a little pepper, some cajun spice, and on a wild night, we'd go for the Jerk seasoning.

The dishes rotated through a regular cycle of pastas, picattas, pomegranate and grilled steaks. I stayed with chicken, salmon, turkey, steak, the occasional tofu and pork loin. All this worked fine, because all that does work fine together. You really can't go wrong with a mix of basil,oregano,garlic,thyme,rosemary,salt and pepper. It just works on so many things, but after a lot of years, it gets stale and ...dare I say it, boring. At least for the cook.

But when my girlfriend was told to go on a salt-free diet, something clicked in me. Suddenly all my old standards seemed incomplete and inadequate. You may have read some of my early posts regarding rushing out and finding new spices and no-salt options, however, what I have rediscovered is my joy at using fresh herbs in everything I prepare. Suddenly my dishes are bursting with multifaceted tastes that are exciting and new and dangerous (at least to my safe little flavor realm). Suddenly my taste buds are waking up and digging out from beneath the layers of salt that have been coating them for years.

And with the new flavors I am trying new combinations, stretching my imagination in regard to what I want to cook next. Before this change, I would try and yank out some old standard the moment I got home, going through the motions ;until I could get it on the table and consumed...but now, my day is filled with thoughts of what I am going to make, how I will prepare it, how will the flavors mix and blend, where the new tastes will lead me, what new combination will reveal a new joy. 

Truly losing my favorite spice has opened new doors of flavor and excitement.