Home

Introduction to “The Stone Soup Cook”

Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog! My name is Keri. I am an avid home cook who has some pretty cool equipment and about 30 years of experience cooking for everything from Thanksgiving dinners for 25, parties for 50 and simple meals on a daily basis. I live in a pretty small house in the Northern California that has a pretty big kitchen. I love to cook and I’m kinda fearless in the kitchen. …

Weekly Menus

Low-Sodium Cider-Vinegar Brined Pork Chops

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! Years ago, Mr. Stone Soup and I ate at a restaurant in the Central Valley. I ordered salmon ( a HUGE mistake), but Mr. Stone Soup order cider-vinegar braised pork chops, which were divine. This week, I’m continuing my dive into low-sodium recipes. This is a recipe I developed as an homage to those cider-vinegar braised pork chops, only with very low sodium, …

Weekly Menus

Low-Sodium Grilled Steak

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! This week, I’m continuing my exploration of low-sodium cuisine. I’m happy to report that I’m surviving my low-salt experimentation and learning to appreciate the flavor of fresh ingredients even more than I used to. And the best part? I continue to lose weight at a rapid pace. It’s amazing what some simple changes in my diet have done. Of course it has included …

Weekly Menus

Pumpkin-Pie Spice Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Weight Loss and Continuing my Reconciliation With a Low-Sodium Diet

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! This week, I’m continuing my exploration of low-sodium cuisine. I’m happy to report that I’m surviving my low-salt experimentation and learning to appreciate the flavor of fresh ingredients even more than I used to. And the best part? I’ve lost 8 pounds in about 9 days. That’s some results, huh? Today, I’m featuring this terrific recipe for pumpkin-pie spiced oven-roasted sweet potatoes: These …

Weekly Menus

Sole Meunier, Continuing to Watch My Salt and Reaching Detante With a Modified Diet

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! This week and last, I have been under doctor’s orders to increase my intake of water and decrease my intake of sodium. My body is, indeed, happier with me, and I am continuing this rather rigid diet at least for a little while longer. And I’m learning a lot about where sodium hides. Certainly sodium hides in plain sight in items such as …

Weekly Menus

Fruit Juice Smoothie, Hidden Sodium and Losing Weight

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! In my opinion, there is nothing much scarier than a “follow-up” appointment with a specialist. I spent last week in an anxious ball of stress worrying about my salt intake, how much water I was drinking and how high my blood pressure was. Today, I went to my follow-up and things are a good deal better, but I’ll still have to go back …

Weekly Menus

Low-Sodium Veggie Omelet, Surprise Health Issues, Making Positive Changes, Leaning into Joy and Feeling Better Emotionally and Physically

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! Today, and for the next few posts, I’m going to deviate from my sauces of California Cuisine to bring you a special segment on low-sodium California Cuisine recipes. Here’s why: On Sunday, Mr. Stone Soup took me to the emergency room. This is never a good way to start your day. We got there at 7:45 in the morning, which was fortunately just …

Weekly Menus

Mint Pesto and the Cultural Influences of California Cuisine

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my dive into the sauces of California Cuisine and this week I’m focusing on pesto. So far, I’ve featured traditional sweet basil pesto as well as almond-thyme and lemon pesto and spinach-pecan pesto, and today, I’m sharing a mint pesto recipe that is inspired by the mint chutneys and sauces of both Indian and Afghan cuisine. California cuisine is …

Weekly Menus

Spinach, Pecan and Thyme Pesto and Continuing To Explore the Foundational Sauces of California Cuisine

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my exploration of pesto with a recipe for spinach, pecan and thyme pesto: For the last few weeks, I have used my blog to post articles about the foundational sauces of California Cuisine. I started this exploration with mayonnaise. For my first few posts, I shared such sauces as roasted red bell pepper aioli, tartar sauce, honey-pecan prawns and even …

Weekly Menus

Basil Pesto, the Elegance of a Pizza and Salad, a Beach Weekend Getaway and the Importance of Fresh Ingredients and Lighter Preparation

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here! Last weekend, my best girlfriend and I headed to the beach for a girls’ weekend. It was hot–90* in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which–trust me–is unheard of, especially in the month of March, which should be cool and cloudy. Instead, we had bright sunshine, hot sand and cold waves! But it was gorgeous and we talked and talked and we walked and walked and we ate …

Weekly Menus

Almond-Thyme Pesto and More Fun With California Cuisine’s Foundational Sauces

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! For the last few weeks, I have used my blog to post articles about the foundational sauces of California Cuisine. Since California Cuisine doesn’t have an official set of foundational sauces like French Cuisine does, and I thought it should, I have chosen the following sauces: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, soy sauce, Hollandaise and tomato sauce. I started this exploration with mayonnaise. For …