Getting flavor without using salt

Once I was told to reduce my salt intake to about 1500 mg a day, it took me awhile to make food that tasted good. Everything in my repertoire had too much salt. I have learned how to coax flavors out of other seasonings and expanded into new seasonings I never used before. Also, there are certain foods that you do not even notice salt is missing. Here are what I have found works for me.

• Bloom your dry seasonings when making soups, stews or casseroles. Blooming means simply warming up your seasonings in your pan before you do anything else. For example, when making a beef stew I might use garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed and black pepper. I mix these ingredients together and then heat them in a pan (on low heat). Once you start to smell the seasonings - they need to be removed before they burn, or you can add your oil or butter and start your cooking.
• Season every step of the way. In my beef stew example, I would toss the cubed beef in a baggie with corn starch. The corn starch needs seasoning as well.
• Deglaze your pan. After browning the beef (or whatever you are making), remove it from the pan and add some liquid. There is lots of flavor in the bottom of that pan. I typically use red wine for the beef stew, but white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, milk or cream (depending on what you are making) work very well for this. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the goodies off the bottom of the pan. This makes for a very nice sauce.
• Ingredients in your food such as vinegar, onions, garlic, any type of tomato (especially paste), wine, lemon juice or anything with a strong flavor really makes delicious food and you do not even realize you are missing the salt.

• Most of my casseroles and soups start with a saute of diced onions, celery and grated carrot. These all cook easily and impart lots of flavor.
• Roasting. Tossing veggies with a little olive oil and seasonings, maybe some fresh lemon juice...then roasting in the oven makes veggies everyone loves. Hardy vegetables like carrots, squash and potatoes require 1 to 1 1/2 hours in the oven. Tender vegetables like aspargus, broccoli or zucchini will require maybe 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Anne Burelle is right. Brown food tastes good.

Granted, most of the tips above are for warm foods and cooler weather.

Summer months are tasty as well. Grilling gives food flavor without alot of manipulation. Fruit and veggies in season can be really tasty. Fresh chopped herbs add zing to any dish. I will add more recipes in the future, but for now, it is winter where I am, so warm up dinners are on the menu.