Sunday, November 29, 2009

Easy Baked Fingerling Potatoes, the Ionique Spectra Salt Way

I have another recipe here that calls for baby Dutch yellow potatoes, mushrooms, and butter. When I moved to Chicagoland, I simplified the original recipe which was written in 2007. Since my sister-in-law, Janet, asked me for the recipe this Thanksgiving week-end (and I didn't take photos), I will be editing this posting at a future date.

Nevertheless, I've made this side dish several times. Lakhi Siap, my young friend who is a regular taster in my test kitchen, innovates on this particular potato dish by dividing his baking pan into two sections. He adds garlic on 1/2 of the pan and mozzarella cheese on the other half (after 45 minutes of baking).

For those who are Costco (warehouse club) fans, go to the produce section and look for a bag of fingerling potatoes. You cannot miss them. The bag has an assortment of white, yellow, red, and purple (yes, purple yam-type potatoes, something Filipino "ube" lovers would enjoy) potatoes.

I would scrub these potatoes (using Amway's stainless steel scourer) over running water after squirting them with a little Environne, my favorite "green" vegetable "detergent." I would wipe them dry with a paper towel or clean dish cloth. Then, I would use two pyrex dishes to bake these luscious potatoes: a rectangular 8" x 12" dish and a smaller square dish, the kind you would bake your brownies in (perhaps 8" x8" or 9" x 9").

Since these easy-to-make, no-fuss, baked fingerling potatoes is a suitable side dish for any main entree, I would also season each dish separately so my guests would have choices. Then, during the meal, I can ask them: "Do you want your potatoes with regular salt or low-sodium Ionique Spectra Salt?"

The rectangular dish would get the Montreal Steak Seasoning and sea salt while the smaller square dish would have garlic, Montreal Steak Seasoning and Ionique Spectra Salt, an ultra-low sodium salt substitute that takes away the guilt from tastebuds that ask for more salt than the usual.

Let me know if you're interested in Ionique Spectra Salt. I'm a "newly-minted" Independent Ionique Consultant who can get you started. There are also business opportunities available for those who are curious about them.

Say "Ionique" the same way you would call someone "Monique." The accent is on the third syllable.


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Easy Baked Fingerling Potatoes


Before baking: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ingredients:

1 rectangular pyrex (oven-proof, glass) pan
1 square pyrex (oven-proof, glass) pan
1 bag of Costco fingerling potatoes
2 to 3 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil (for each dish, to taste)
2 tsps. sea salt (for the rectangular dish)
4 squirts of Ionique Salt Spectra (for the square dish)
sprinkles of Herbs de Provence seasoning (2 tsps. or more, to taste, for each pyrex pan)
1 to 2 tsps. of Montreal Steak Seasoning (or more, to taste, for each pyrex pan)
1 heaping tbsp. of chopped garlic (fresh or bottled)

Procedure:

1. Clean, scrub, and drain potatoes of water. Wipe dry. Set aside.
2. Prepare pyrex glass pans by drizzling extra virgin olive oil lightly.
3. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on each dish. Tip: I put the larger-size potatoes in one pan.
4. Mix in the potatoes with the oil. Lightly brush or drizzle a little more extra virgin olive oil on top of the potatoes.
5. Season each dish with Herbs de Provence, about two tsps. for each dish.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
7. Take out the rectangular and square pans from the oven and season the potatoes.
- For the rectangular dish, add Montreal Steak Seasoning and sea salt.
- For the square dish, squirt Ionique Salt Spectra (four squirts in four different areas of the dish)
- Combine the seasonings with the potatoes. Mix thoroughly.
8. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil. The rest of the cooking time is devoted to "steaming" and softening the potatoes with the rest of the seasonings.
9. Return the dishes to the oven. Bake for another 15 or 20 minutes. Leave the aluminum foil cover on top of the dish to keep it warmed for your guests. This dish can be reheated although the skins might get crinkly. The crinkly skin does not affect the soft, buttery taste of the potatoes.
10. It is always best to test-taste a potato for "doneness."

Cooking Notes:


Sometimes, I reduce the temperature of the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooking time is longer, of course.

I found a recipe for Montreal Steak Seasoning here. I haven't tried it yet BUT it should be comparable.

About Ionique Spectra Salt: (quoted from the website)


The nutritional supplement that tastes like salt and helps reduce sodium consumption by 50%.

Most people love the taste of salt. Who doesn’t? But research has linked high salt intake with increased blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and other conditions. Current U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that healthy adults consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium daily—that’s one teaspoon. Middle-aged and older adults and those with high blood pressure should consume 1,500 mg.

Spectra SaltTM from Ionique® makes it easy to reduce sodium intake while ensuring you receive beneficial and balanced levels of other essential minerals and trace minerals. Spectra SaltTM is designed to be used anywhere salt is desired, but it provides lower amounts of sodium and higher RDAs of other essential minerals and trace minerals like iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, chloride, sodium, potassium, sulfate, and boron.

Refined table salt is sodium and chloride with valuable minerals and trace minerals being deliberately removed during the refining process. Sea salts and hand-extracted salts may not be better either. Most of these sea salts are 98 to 99 percent sodium and chloride. Only patent-pending Spectra SaltTM provides nutritionally significant levels of every essential mineral and trace mineral (with the exception of iron). With Spectra SaltTM, you enhance the depth and richness of food, add a complete balance of essential mineral nutrition of food, and reduce sodium!



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