My kids (the girls at least) have gotten old enough that they’d likely do a better job of editing photos than I can at this point. Â Photography is not my strong suit, and looking at photos on a screen for too long makes me feel like my eyes are swimming, or rather drowning, and I start to get sea sick.
Let it be known to the internet that the above image of my smoky chipotle chive roasted potatoes was NOT the photo chosen by my children.  My bad for asking them once it I had no intention of going back and changing anything.  “Um and what are those green things?” asked the little one, with crinkled nose.  “Don’t worry about it.  Grown ups like green things.  Kids do too sometimes.”
On a serious note though, since landing on the fifth stage of grieving garlic (very high FODMAP) my one real issue is how the hell do I flavor my food in any meaningful, worthwhile way without the use of some form of garlic? Â Anyone who’s ever cooked anything, or even who’s ever eaten food in his/her life, will know well that you’ll find garlic in most savory foods that taste good, and especially in the memorable ones you want to eat over and over.
I won’t get into all of these foods because it’s just painful to talk about and it would take up the whole post.  But I will say this – scallions, chives, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili pepper have shed a beam of light on my sad, dark, garlic-free cooking.  One of these days I will make garlic infused oil because I’m very curious about this low FODMAP option. Don’t worry, you guys will be the first to know when it happens.  Until then, be still my beating heart, and stay tuned for my must-try roasted potato recipe!
Smoky Chipotle Chive Roasted Potatoes - Low FODMAP
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red or white baby potatoes scrubbed
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Cut your potatoes into quarters, or small chunks about 3/4 inch thick and put them in a large bowl. Toss them with the olive oil to completely coat.
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In a small bowl combine the salt, paprika and chipotle pepper. Sprinkle the mixture over the potatoes and again, toss to coat them completely.
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Transfer the potatoes to the baking sheets, arranging in a single layer and not allowing them to touch each other, which will keep them crispy.
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Roast for a total of 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, turning over once around 20 minutes so they brown evenly.
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Remove from oven and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle all the fresh chives over the potatoes and toss a bit to allow the flavors to blend.
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Serve as a side dish with breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! Enjoy!
Is a garlic-free life even worth living? Â Probably not, but I choose my moments.
Do you enjoy editing photos? Â
Best food photo advice?
I am so sad for you that you can’t eat garlic! I love roasted potatoes. Not sure if this would be too spicy for me but it’s worth a try!
Even though it bothers me I still wind up having it once a week or so in a sauce or something, it’s just too good! You can halve the chipotle pepper and it’ll just mainly be smoky 🙂
I think all of your photos are perfect! That sucks about garlic but I’ve always had issues eating garlicky stuff too. I’m reallllllly starting to wonder about this FODMAP thing. I need to check into it asap.
I bet many people with ongoing digestive problems are sensitive to at least some high FODMAP foods, worth looking into just to be aware of what to look out for.
That is majority tragic about the lack of garlic in your life. I couldn’t eat onions or garlic for much of my life, but no i can. And your photos always look better than mine so no worries there!
I still eat it about once per week as long as I’m not running the next morning! I love caramelized onions and sometimes still eat those too. And thanks, still a lot to work on with my pictures but at least they’ve improved from the beginning, which isn’t saying much!
I don’t know if I could give up garlic. That would be hard but you know I’ve recently been wondering if it’s the cause of my bloating and constipation. I feel your pain. I also feel your pain on photo editing. I love doing it, but sometimes I get dizzy and overwhelmed doing it. It’s a lot of work and things start looking the same after awhile.
I love and miss roasted garlic the most I think! Your pictures are always amazing and somehow getting even better, you’re definitely doing it right!
From one garlic lover to another, who also can’t eat it, I feel your pain. However, chives have been a good substitute and pretty looking too for added color. These potatoes are going to be served along with my roasted chicken and sautéed kale medley. I always think of you with the weather. I hate it hot and humid and despise it zero and freezing. I love low/mid seventies and sunny. The two days a year we get of that weather Is blissful. Guess I am a weather complainer huh? Have a GREAT weekend!
I’m a total complainer regarding the weather so you’re in good company! Way too hot for me these past few days. Chives and scallions are delicious but not exactly a replacement for garlic!
I’ve never really loved the taste garlic (it hurts my stomach too) but I know it adds great flavor. I need to start cooking with paprika more! Funny what one of your kids said about the “green stuff.” My sister and dad do that a lot and even if it’s just garnishing, they take it off or eat around it.
Taking off “green stuff” is a pet peeve of mine so I have to look away! Smoked paprika is really awesome I think.
I’m pretty sure I could eat garlic straight out of a jar… but it doesn’t always necessarily result in my stomach feeling so great haha. And I love this recipe… I think I’m going to try it this weekend for next week – seems perfect for my stomach at the moment. Thanks for sharing! : )
Hope you’re feeling a bit better, putting in maybe half of the chipotle pepper might be better for your stomach! It’s easy to play around with 🙂
I hate editing photos! I have gotten used to the task but still, bleh. I hate photography and want nothing to do with a camera ever (um, not the best trait when you are blogger lol). I have been meaning to buy baby potatoes – adding this to my list for today 🙂 My son would enjoy them.
Yup, I didn’t consider the whole photography thing when starting the blog so it’s been a challenge and I’m finally like, okay I have to work on this! You can make the potatoes less spicy by cutting down the chipotle, I know my kids need them very mild but my husband loves them spicier.
Editing and picking the photos I want….the worst!
(Do you have a DSLR….that might solve some problems right there, haha!)
And I love Chives!! I always have freeze-dried chives in my spice cabinet 😛
I think one day I will get myself an actual camera, but for now it’s still amateur iPhone pictures! I have freeze dried and fresh chives around at all times, yum 🙂
Oh girl, I feel your pain. Garlic does horrible things to my stomach as well, so flavouring food has definitely become a little difficult. Mostly I’ve just learned to live with it and avoid it, but there are times where I’ll bite the bullet and deal with a little bit of pain for a while. Oh, and yeah… I’m not huge on editing pictures either, but I find that if I work at it in little chunks, leave it, and come back, it helps.
I do that too with garlic, especially when going out to eat since they put it in everything! And whatever you’re doing with your editing, it’s working REALLY well. Lots of practice I guess! Not staring at one picture for too long helps though, very good advice 🙂
Yes for some reason me and garlic don’t mesh as well as I would like. However I will gladly eat all of these potatoes for you… if you want. Editing photos? You mean using filters on instagram ;)? I like to keep it real (lazy) and usually just use a good quality original with natural lighting!
Garlic seems to be problematic for many people. I’m with you on pictures too, nothing professional going on over here, although maybe one day I’ll get there!
In my effort to find a suitable replacement for garlic and onions, I found this recommended:
asafoetida powder (if needing it, get the kind that is not supplemented with rice powder)
It is also known as hing and is used in Indian food. I bought here:
Organic Asafoetida Powder – from Starwest Botanicals
It’s awesome! In raw form, it does not smell that great but when just a pinch is added to food during cooking, it makes a wonderful seasoning!
I am probably in the minority in that I a not a huge fan of garlic. It never really makes me feel so great either. Food photography is not easy. I think trying to just practice as much as possible is helpful. Pic Monkey has an option for editing but I usually just do it on my i-phone. Making a photo box (very inexpensive) is an option too. Have a great weekend!
I’ve been playing around with different editing options but it kind of drives me nuts! It really isn’t easy and requires a lot of patience and practice.
These potatoes look amazing! I have a hard time with too much garlic as well. I always love your pics so they work for me 🙂
Thank you! I’m at a point where I feel like I need to work on them a bit more but good to know you like them 🙂
I had the exact sentiment about garlic and ONIONS after going through the FODMAP list thoroughly,and smoked paprika is a godsend! I just bought it yesterday ironically, and I am going to put to use for this recipe this weekend! A million thanks for this Michelle!
Smoked paprika is so good, not a garlic replacement, but maybe not something I would have used much if I was still doing lots of garlic and onion!
I recently started reading your blog and obviously noticed right away how big Yoga is in your life. 🙂 I’ve wanted to try it, but am looking for a workout (like make me sweat) more than just a session for relaxation. I bought a Jillian Michael’s Yoga DVD but have heard it’s not “real yoga”. Would it still be a good jumping off point, in your opinion? Thanks!!
I really like Fiji Mcalpine’s videos on doyogawithme.com, also fightmaster yoga and yoga with Tim both on YouTube. I have a post a few months back that’s a guide to home practice with tons of links. Just search yoga home practice on my site and it should come up 🙂 I’ve never seen the Jillian michaels but definitely try some of the online ones and compare, see what works for you.
Although these look DELICIOUS, I am mourning your loss of garlic. My husband has an almost disgusting love affair with garlic – when we first started dating, although he’s an awesome cook, he thought when a recipe said “1 clove” it meant 1 head. And saw nothing weird about the taste. weirdo.
I used to do that with garlic too, always at least doubling the amount! I do still have it when out to eat but don’t buy it anymore, so sad!
Garlic is my favorite. I’m sad you cannot eat it. These do look good though…I think I’m the worst photo editor so I understand your pain!
Haha! Sad about garlic, but at least chives make me happy 🙂 Photos are just tough.
Be still my garlic loving heart. It aches for you, although I do love the seasonings you’re using know to make up for its loss. Also, potatoes will always have my heart.
I like to edit my pics while I’m watching TV at night. it’s sort of a mindless approach which makes it low stress for me.
I know, garlic is awesome and it’s one thing I’ll occasionally do a little suffering for, just not every day anymore! Potatoes taste great with pretty much anything, luckily 🙂