Low Sodium Cinnamon Rolls

These are the very best cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten. No commercial cinnamon rolls can compare!
Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Dough:

• 2 c. lukewarm whey (or water)
• 3 tbsp. mild olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 ½ tsp. (2 pkgs.) rapid/quick rise yeast
• 5-6 c. flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• Filling mix

Combine whey, egg, oil, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Mix in a little flour and let stand a few minutes until bubbles start to form.
Stir in flour until thick batter forms. Then add flour slowly until dough starts to come from sides of bowl.
Turn onto floured surface, round into ball. Cover with bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
Knead, adding flour if necessary so it isn't sticky. Dough should feel smooth and soft.
Put into well oiled bowl. Turn so it is covered with oil. Cover with towel. Allow to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free location. Dough should double in size.
Punch down and divide into 4 sections.
Place each section on a lightly floured or oiled surface. Roll out into a rectangle. Spread softened butter across dough (hands work best for this). Generously spread filling mix on top of butter, leaving a 1-inch strip on one long edge of the dough. Lightly tamp the filling into the butter using the back of a spatula or spoon.
Roll up the dough toward the un-sugared edge. Seal edge gently. Cut the roll into 2-inch thick pieces and place on a greased baking sheet cut side down.
Cover and allow to rise for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake at 350°F for 15 - 17 minutes, or just until tops start to brown. Remove immediately.
Transfer to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before storing.
Filling:

• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Sources of sodium in this recipe: whey, egg.
Thanks to these recipes for inspiration:
Salt-Free Bread, Lauren’s Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls.

Low Sodium Seasoned Crackers

Everyone who was interested in my ranch crackers, here’s the recipe, desalted by me. Plus the ranch seasoning mix, courtesy of Mom. Tastes just like ranch!

Low-Sodium Seasoned Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour (white, whole wheat, any kind)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Generous amount of seasoning mix* (I used about ½ a spice jar worth.)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare two baking sheets: line with parchment paper OR aluminum foil and no-stick spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and seasoning mix. Don’t be afraid to add plenty of seasoning mix, you really can’t add too much. Because there is no salt in this recipe, you need to go bold.

Cut in unsalted butter until mixture is crumbly.

Add water and vanilla and mix until dough forms. Use a fork or your hands. Dough should form a ball and hold together, but it should not be sticky.

Split dough into two portions. On a floured or oiled surface, roll out dough until very thin. Use a knife, spatula, or pizza cutter to cut into desired shapes. Using your fingers or a spatula, gently place the crackers on the prepared cookie sheets, close together. The crackers will not spread during the baking process, so you can really squeeze them in.

Bake at 400°F for 8 – 12 minutes, or until the crackers are no longer doughy. Be careful, they burn quickly. Cool completely and store in air-tight container, if there are any left! Makes about 2 baking sheets worth of crackers.

*Ranch seasoning mix below!

Homemade Salt-Free Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. dried parsley

2 tsp. dried dill

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. pepper

Blend together and grind finely in a spice grinder.

Garden Update

Well, thanks to those fence panels I talked about earlier, I’m going to have 13 4’ x 4’ raised garden beds. I’m saving the wood I bought to use on other projects, so yay!

Thought you might like to see some of the finished beds, so here are some pictures:

Sorry about the screen: I took them from an upstairs window.

In order to stretch my topsoil as far as possible, I fill the boxes with a generous layer of moldy, rotting hay before adding the soil. It will sink over time, but I’ll just top it up with layers of compost and mulch as needed.

These pictures are a few weeks old. I’ve since filled three more beds with soil and planted potatoes in the upper-right-hand bed. I’ve also planted everything else that says to plant “as soon as soil can be worked.”  And I planted broccoli and cabbage under little milk-jug protectors, since I didn’t get them started inside soon enough. Three of them have already sprouted and seem to have no trouble with the freezing nights.

And speaking of starting seeds: I started my tomatoes, watermelon, muskmelon, and some others indoors. They have mostly sprouted and some are starting to grow true leaves.

And out in the garden, my radishes are coming up. Yay!

Still have five more boxes to build and six more to fill. Buying my topsoil by the truckload is a lot easier than digging it by hand, even at $25 a load. One load will fill at least 4 boxes, so I should only need one more load, and then maybe a load of compost later.

Yes, this looks like a lot of work, but I really haven’t spent that much time on it: an hour here or there, nothing more.