Sorry to say, but this site has been so depressing for a few days. I thought I'd ask an average, everyday question....to make us all feel a little more normal today.
I made Eggplant Lasagna, and my BIL and SIL are coming for dinner. They leave for Cali tomorrow to see their beautiful grand daughter.
Sorry, sometimes we just need some REGULAR conversation.......or at least THIS caregiver does.
We had steakhouse flavored pork tenderloin, sauteed zucchini seasoned with fresh ground peppercorns and Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning (salt-free!) and a Mexican four cheese shredded blend on top, fresh greens with sliced black olives, roma tomatoes and "mozzarella melt" shredded cheese - it's softer than regular and Kraft makes it, open-faced cornbread-like muffin dipped in "extra light taste" olive oil mixed with oregano leaves and red pepper flakes, applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon, and a glass of Merlot. For dessert we had homemade strawberry shortcake (I make the strawberry part by slicing the strawberries adding one packet of Stevia, mashing them and then I add heavy whipping cream and stir together) a little extra creamy whipping cream on top sprinkled with sliced almonds.
I added......wait for it.....SALT!!😂
So many are feeling as-salted!
Tonight for dinner, we baked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in our Toaster oven on the turbo setting. An easy fix, and a good flavor! They browned just right, 45 minutes.
It did take the two of us, which is why I always say "We".
What did you have for dinner? 🥝🍓🍉🥕🥗🥑🥑🥑🍅🍍🍐🍊🍋🍒🍇🍈🍌🍏🍎🧡💛💙💜💚❣️
Just saying..............:P
Sea salt is very cheap to make by evaporation, if you have hot dry weather and flat land next to the sea (like down the road from here). Before pumps came along, it used to be captured behind barriers at highest tide. Sea water does contain trace elements and minerals, sometimes nasty ones like lead if the sea is polluted. DH spent some time thinking how to get the trace elements out of sea water (eg by differential distillation), and came to the conclusion that it would be difficult, uneconomic and pointless – there is no market for what you could extract, and no other reason to do it. The evaporated salt sometimes contains mud if it is being scraped off mud flats in the old way, and this is liquified to let the impurities settle out.
DH moved on to working out whether salt could be synthesised from sodium and chlorine chemicals. Conclusion – tricky and very expensive. Then found on Wikipedia that, conversely, almost any manufacturing process that requires sodium or chlorine obtains it by breaking down sodium chloride. It says “sodium chloride is available so cheaply that it need never be synthesised’.
Wikipedia says 280 million tons of salt was used in 2017 (latest figure), with China the main producer. The USA produced 43 million tons, virtually all by evaporation. If harvesting sea water is not convenient, saline lakes and remnant salt pans can also provide the raw material, but these will contain different trace elements and minerals.
I have been unable to find any confirmation that ‘Anticaking ingredients strip nutrients from table salt’. Or that ‘sea salt has less sodium’ ‘because the granules are bigger’. Granule size is usually the result of processing options.
I’ve had salt conversations before, probably because it’s a local industry. One with MIL who used a herbal flavored salt, and insisted that it wasn’t ‘real’ salt so she could use lots in spite of what her doctor instructed. Another was with a migrant woman who simply refused to believe that cheap supermarket table salt could possibly be sea salt.
I have no problems with people who like to pay more for fancy salt. I do laugh about some of the fads. ‘Almond milk’ which contains less than 4% almonds. Super healthy quinoa that doesn’t seem to have made the South Americans healthier even though they use it all the time. My favorite one was a sign on a truck delivering bottled water, saying ‘Gluten Free’! I've learned to take many of these claims with (guess) a pinch of salt. However if anyone thinks they know more than this about salt, please post again. I’m hanging out for it. But I suspect this may be more than enough!
Elaine1962...I agree with you about the little bit of salt and sugar once in a while. Even better if you pair them in a Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart!
When I was growing up there was 1 salt in the house...the Morton's..when it rains it pours...salt. We did not have a water softener and we did not salt our driveway in the winter. Oh, maybe once I saw Rock Salt when we were at a friends house and they made Ice Cream. What a treat that was!
My ten minutes are up.
Going to have a late dinner,
and 'add no salt'.
If you get this email, don’t open it. It’s spam."
But instead my tongue twisted and I said
"You stupid cow. You've completely ruined my life."
"Because pepper makes them sneeze."
Herastandin Pepper"
Through gritted teeth"
Doc I think I tore NACL"
It’s sodium goooood"
He was taking everything with a grain of salt."
Ask for salt and tequila".
Preferably Himalayan pink rock salt, due to its high mineral content and detoxifying effects."
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/different-types-of-salt#pink-salt
And for general interest salt mines in Hutchinson Kansas
https://www.underkansas.org/tickets