Fingerling Potatoes with Red Onion and Sage

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

You know the food we keep in our freezers and cupboards that never seems to get used? Well, at the beginning of the week, I decided that I was going to grocery shop as little as possible in order to utilize food that we already have at home. It seems silly to have excessive food stored when so many people are in need. My plan was to go to the West Seattle Farmer's Market on Sunday and then to only buy necessities such as milk, throughout the week. I must tell you that this has been a great practice in resourcefulness.

For example, I forgot how much I love sun tea. I have made two pitchers this week and it has been a refreshing and inexpensive means to consuming my much needed caffeine. Example two: we received a beautiful piece of Coho Salmon, a jar of home canned salmon and two jars of home canned albacore tuna from our friend, Max Flockerzie about six months ago. I hadn't used any of these items in six months but I prepared all of them this week. I have never prepared tuna fish sandwiches with canned albacore in a jar and I cannot believe how good it is! I have been missing out for sure. To make a short story long, it is good to use what we already have instead of constantly running to the grocery store to buy more. I am going to be much more mindful of this moving forward.

Now, to the task at hand. My brother, Nick, has been visiting Seattle since Sunday night so I am finally getting around to preparing my second recipe of the week today, which is Wednesday. I thought I was going to be motivated to make a special dinner while he was in town but we ended up having friends over for pizza one night and going out for dinner at Alki Beach the second tonight. Although this recipe for Fingerling Potatoes with Red Onion and Sage is not fancy, it was delicious and fun to prepare. I used all organic ingredients from Metropolitan Market and the sage was picked fresh from my herb garden. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

2 pounds fingerling potatoes (in cold-weather months, substitute baby red Bliss potatoes)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 small red onion, chopped

1 bunch fresh sage (about 1/4 cup minced)

coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash potatoes and place in casserole dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast for 35 minutes or until soft (time will depend on size of potatoes). In medium skillet over medium heat, saute garlic and onion in remaining tablespoon olive oil until soft (about 3 minutes). Add sage and saute 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.

When soft, remove potatoes from oven and toss with onion-herb mixture. Season to taste with salt and serve. Serves 6.

The main course was the piece of salmon from Max that I marinated in fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and miso paste. I also sauteed zucchini, carrots, yellow squash and garlic scapes that I purchased at the Farmer's Market. Finally, I had three organic beets that I roasted and seasoned with kosher salt, fig balsamic and olive oil. Kind of a hodgepodge meal but it hit the spot and everyone walked away from the table fully satisfied.