I'm a salt freak. I salt practically everything I eat. And pink is my favorite color. My salt of choice is, of course, pink Himalayan.

Though the pretty pink stuff claims lots of health benefits, due to its high mineral content, I like it for its color and beauty. And its saltiness.

Salt is one of the oldest known seasonings used for food. It is an essential nutrient, but too much may be detrimental to health. At around 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride, salt, if used in excess, can raise the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension.

I like to think a martini is healthy. The salty olive is tempered by the calming effect of the gin. Blood pressure remains stable.

All salt is either evaporated from brine, or mined. Table salt is often iodized to provide iodine to the diet, and anti-caking agents are added. Sea salt, as the name implies, is evaporated from the sea, and contains trace minerals.

The pink Himalayan salt, with hues ranging from off-white to a dark pink, is hand-mined from the Himalayan mountains. It's so pretty I almost hate to use it. But it's salt, so I do.

Most of the salt in our diets comes from processed and restaurant food. In my defense, I do most of my own cooking, using fresh ingredients. I don't use, or consume, much processed food. So most of my salt intake comes from the pinches, albeit more pinches than most would consider normal, that I sprinkle on at the table.

I don't use a shaker. My father used one only to shake salt into the palm of his hand, then take pinches from it to sprinkle on his food. (He taught me to make Manhattans too.) I have a pretty little salt bowl and I take pinches from it to salt my food. You may have gathered by now (if you've been reading my food columns) that my table setting is almost as important as the food. The chunky pink salt looks beautiful in the clear glass bowl with its pale purple glass cover.

Last weekend I picked up a bottle of rosé at Trader Joe's. Rosé is in now. It's not the sweet stuff you used to get before developing a mature taste for decent wine. I hadn't drunk pink wine since getting sick after drinking a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill during a Frank Zappa concert at Windham College in Vermont in the 70s.

Last night I got the chilled bottle out of the fridge and dug out a nice pale pink wine glass (I have a huge selection of glasses that I've collected over the years, being a beautiful glass freak, too). I got the Roku set up for my next episode of “Nurse Jackie,” and set the table with a pink and white Marimekko table cloth, a pink steak knife (I have a set of six different pastel colors of steak knives), a pinky orange and white plate, and my favorite silver-plated antique fork. And of course the pink salt in the pretty dish, and the pink wine in the pink glass. (Believe it or not I was wearing a pink bathrobe too.)

I know you're dying to know what I cooked. I'll never skip over that part. It was a pork loin, roasted with olive oil, garlic and fresh coarsely ground pepper, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli, again with the requisite olive oil and garlic. And salt of course. On everything.

And the rosé. I'm not a wine snob by any stretch of the imagination. I'm cheap. I don't require expensive wines. If it tastes good and I get a little buzz, I'm happy. (But take note: I love getting a good bottle of wine as a gift). And I'll drink red wine with seafood and white wine with steak. But it did occur to me that there’s some disagreement as to whether pork is red meat or white. So the rosé was a good choice.

I didn't have dessert last night, but I like salt with some desserts. I used to eat saltines with ice cream. Sweet and savory – the perfect combination. And now there are ice creams, like salted caramel, with salt already in them.

Salt has long been used as a preservative for food, so I like to pretend it's a preservative for my body too.  Any excuse.

Salt has been disappearing from restaurant tables, mainly for health reasons. And salting food in many restaurants these days is considered an insult to the chef. Chefs take time to make their food taste good as is. And it usually does. But for me, salt just makes it better.

Sue Mello isn’t a salt freak, but she’s not a naysayer either. “It’s an interesting food item. Just the right amount can make all the difference.”

While some have suggested that everyone should reduce salt intake, others point out that there is no evidence that salt restriction is of any benefit to otherwise healthy individuals.

I’m an otherwise healthy individual.

Salt should be my middle name. I'd change it, but Suzi Salt sounds kind of flaky. And Margaret Salt McLellan would get on my case.

I’m not a chef. I lay no claim to being an authority on food or cooking. I’m a good cook, and a lover of good food. And I know how to spell and put a sentence together. This column is simply meant to be fun, and hopefully inspiring. So to anyone reading this whose hackles are raised because you know more about the subject of food than I, relax. I believe you.

For more stories about food and other things, type in ‘On eating and loving food’ at the top right of the Boothbay Register website page, in search box.