Welcome to Saturday's Potluck

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 5:00am

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Welcome to party. The subject is onions. If you are sensitive or working with strong onions may need to cut under running water or wear eye protection to prevent crying. I generally only cry when grinding the 5 pounds needed for a favorite relish.

Learning to master individual ingredients and the full flavor profile available with different cooking techniques provides culinary freedom. Below is a selection of video primarily on onions. The focus is on simplicity. The next step is adding additional foods, spices and herbs from around the world or the local growing enviornment to tantalize the taste buds and satisfy the soul.

Let nature, farmer, grocer and transportation industry provide the flavors.
(6.26)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFKCfNhijSQ]

Modify the flavors with techiniques when choice is limited by selection or budget. I have successfully freezed onions at most of these stages to add complex flavor to dishes when time cook is in short supply.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aguIhwhl2QQ]

(3.56)
[video:https://https://youtu.be/TKNNieoMLvs?t=6]

(4.47)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV9spqCzSkQ]

(1.41)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYTV30mbfU]

(1.36)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bhA0GcoLM]

(2.56)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imhp9oT92pQ]

Keep the onion as the star and add a few ingredients for a complex dish. As a side note Steven Raichlen's book Barbecue Bible is a wonder trip around the worldwide flavors and techniques of barbecue, side dishes and condiments.
(5.02)
[video:https://youtu.be/W3nDAa2Wseo?t=13]

Thoughts to keep in mind when want to grow fresh ingredients.
(4.26)
[video:https://youtu.be/hz6JnREkEV4?t=6]

(3.25 min)
[video:https://youtu.be/yLvd7hRRhTM?t=8]

________

Food intolerance can happen with onions, fortunately not many. Same as any food or drug can benefit the larger population be a serious problem for a few.

For the ancient Egyptians, eating an onion was like biting into a piece of eternity, so enamored were they of the vegetable’s spherical shape and concentric circles, supposedly representative of unending time.

For me, the experience of biting an onion is slightly less transcendent. I have an intolerance that renders me unable to eat allium plants—the family of food that includes onions, garlic, spring onions, leeks, chives, and scallions—without severe gastrointestinal problems.

Though no good data exists on the number of people with this peculiar problem, I’ve come to learn that I’m definitely not alone.
...
Even though I had a lead, the process of confirming the source of my ills was still laborious. Remove onions, wait a few days, try onions, wait for a response, cry. Remove garlic, wait a few days, try garlic, wait for a response, prove once and for all you’re definitely a vampire, cry. Each new revelation sent me spiraling. I was sad, and I was hungry. But for the first time in a year, I at least knew what was wrong with me and could finally start moving forward.

________

What is on your mind today?

Tags:

Open Thread

Saturday

Vote

Comments

Submitted by QMS on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 7:53am

Onions on the mind

Have found a simple and delicious treatment of onions.
Peel and core a whole onion leaving the root side intact
add a bit of Worcestershire and oil, wrap in foil and bake.
Use a metal ring to keep it upright.
Another trick, when an onion starts getting old and sprouting
shoots, drop it in a pot of dirt and harvest the greens as they
sprout out. This one has a seed pod at the top.

Thanks for the OT!

—

question everything

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 11:08am

Bite of fresh onion greens sprinked on an

@QMS omelet sounds good. Keep my inside and outside onion green going a little longer by removing the outer stalks to eat and leave the center to continue growing.

Need to serve the Worcestershire method to a friend, who really likes meats marinated with Worcestershire. One of my favorite onion flavorings is Thyme, Swiss Cheese and olive oil/butter combination often on a pizza dough so no dishes.- Thanks

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 8:51am

oh onion, my onion, ...

There is a song with O something, my something, but I don"t remember what it says....

Thank you for the Open Thread. I like onions and will try to grow them soon. Fremch onion soup is just the best soup after chicken broth...

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 11:22am

Soldier food

@mimi

"I will not move my army without onions." This curious message was sent by General Ulysses S. Grant to the War Department in Washington during the Civil War. It reflects the fact that, throughout history, onions were valued as much for their medicinal properties as for their culinary use. While we have more sophisticated ways of treating battle wounds today than using onions,

Leave a few onions to overwinter and enjoy fresh spring greens early next year.
Thanks for stopping by.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by Dawn's Meta on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 11:33am

Walt Whitman on the death of Abraham Lincoln

@mimi from Wiki...

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,[a]
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;[b]
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,[c]
Fallen cold and dead.

—

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 12:06pm

thank you, that"s what I vaguely remembered

@Dawn's Meta
captain dawn made it dawn on me.
I love this blog. You are the best.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by jakkalbessie on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 9:14am

Love onions!

Thanks for the added reminder of patience in caramelizing onions! Seem to get in too much of a hurry at times. One of my favorites as a topping on veggies.

The smoked spicy barbeque onions opens up a new range of possibilities for me! My brother in law loves to smoke things so this will be one of our next food choices!

Thanks for the OT and always ones on food! Hope you have a great rest of your day. Off to a yoga workshop for osteoporosis/osteopenia.

—

Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 1:23pm

Used to pass on those type of recipes

@jakkalbessie to my Dad. Plenty of great meals, with take home. Enjoy the rest of the day.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 9:17am

I want that chip in his own brain,

Elon Musk startup shows monkey with brain chip implants playing video game

making Elon Musk playing one of these 15 Shocking Games About Suicide ad nauseam.

I want a bag of nice

Thank God for Cheetoh chips.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 11:50am

Too many modern wonders depend on the torture of

@mimi animals. Modern drugs, surgeries, behavioral sciences, beauty products, medical robotics and toxicity studies all require scientific studies done on animals.

Can not even enjoy Cheetos anymore since PepsiCo started adding MSG (monosodium glutamate)to their American snack products.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 1:00pm

no worries, I never eat that junk, it just was

@studentofearth
for fun to make word games.
Well, I admit I started to snack on peanuts fluffies (can"t find a picture of what I buy here in Germany) as a snack to have in my car. But it is harmless, lots of air, lots of salt and a little bit of peanut flavor.

So I have to drink a lot of water as well.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 10:12am

I seem to have a mild version of allium intolerance

I can take 'em in small quantities (and never straight), but if I overdo it, I regret it.

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 2:22pm

Hard to avoid sometimes, a couple of tips.

@TheOtherMaven when avoidance was not possible.
This works for some to calm down an immune response from food. The self-continuing cycle can build to a pretty significant event. I often travel with someone with multiple intolerances and carry both these products with me. First is dried mulberry berries, white or purple doesn't seem to be a difference. Mulberries seem to have some activity of stabilizing mast cells involved in the immune response. I have not known of anyone who has successfully used commercial tablets. It will only take two or three berries if effective for you. Use juice at home since it more effective. Second is Alka-Seltzer Gold effervescent tablets, a combination of sodium and potassium bicarbonates. Usually have to special order. Small amount is usually effective, down to less than 1/20th of one tab placed under tongue or between cheek and gum. If using large amounts regularly need to be under doctors care with occasional monitoring of potassium levels. Signs and symptoms of high potassium are subtle and consequences serious.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 10:44am

Good morning soe et al. Thanks for the OT and onion lore.

I like onions a lot and use them a great deal, but don't really appreciate "carmelized onions", which a certain category of restaurants love to put on sandwiches and stuff - it is a texture thing, as I find them to generally be slimy. Perhaps that's only true when they are lukewarm to cold, but if they are on the menu I ask that I be given raw ones instead.

I've been regrowing green onion bottoms for ages now (and have produced some 3 foot plus regrown green onions by just letting them go.) I'll have to remember to try to do so with those bulb onions that get soft and funky because they sat in storage too long. Will also maybe try QMS' trick (out in the attached garage which is conveniently off of the kitchen). I've been thinking of keeping one or two green onions in s tall slim container of water or water and soil/peat moss to use when I only want a few tops.

Thanks for the video on refreshing potting soil. I'm only half way through (Saturday morning is full of interruptions around here), and probably won't finish it until after farmers' market for which we should depart rsn.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 2:39pm

texture still a problem even if use

@enhydra lutris butter/EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) combination. Best in soup and sauces. Grilled onions in most restaurants have the slime part of caramelized onion without the complex, addictive sweet flavor.

Thanks for stopping in today

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by Lookout on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 11:07am

Use lots of onions

in something every day. We grow some for ourselves but we're not onion self sufficient ...at least not yet.

Lots of types of onions...
https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/21-types-onions-and-how-use-them

How many types of onions can you name? How many types of onions are there? Four? Six? What about 21? That's right, the infographic below lists 21 different kinds of onions, and you'll be surprised just how many you never consider.

There are onions that are better for soups, like french onion soup, where as others which have a higher sugar content can be eaten raw and there's even an onion that doesn't make you cry.

You probably named red onions, yellow onions, Spanish onions, maybe even pearl onions in your list, but we're pretty sure there are some you missed. Part of the allium family, which also includes garlic and chives, onions are versatile and provide the backbone to thousands of different dishes, there are also many different kinds. Despite playing a significant role in many recipes across many different cuisines, they're still one of the most underrated ingredients on the shopping list, always there, often overlooked.

We generally grow Spanish Sweets (and they are really small at present). We also grow a couple of types of garlic.

I the south we talk about the trinity...onions, garlic, and celery. (and I normally add pepper).

Well thanks for the OT and the onion theme!

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 1:08pm

Mirepoix; onions, celery & carrot, finely chopped and

@Lookout
sauteed/sweated in EVOO, the heart of many Italion dishes, especially if one throws in minced or smashed garlic near the end of the process.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 2:48pm

Long way from onion self-sufficiency

@Lookout Need a real root-cellar for better long-term storage. All the spot in my building I have tried become too cold or warm. Until then continue buying bulbs at the market during winter. The companion planting onion bulbs in the flower and vegetable beds provides enough green tops and bulbs during the other seasons.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by Lookout on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 2:54pm

Our issue is timing plantings

@studentofearth

and as with all crops some years are bumpers, and some are duds. All a part of the joy of gardening.

Have a good one!

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 12:09pm

My favorite onion

is the 1015, developed at Texas A & M University.
It is rare that I put together a lunch or dinner that doesn't have onion in the recipe.
I typically use a sweet yellow variety when 1015's are not available.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 1:09pm

And here I thought that the 1015 was a train out of

@on the cusp

oklahoma city ....

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by studentofearth on Sat, 04/10/2021 - 3:33pm

Grow long day Walla Walla sweets here

@on the cusp for the best results. The Texas 1015 did not grow as well when tried in the past. Am acquainted with a number of Texans whom have transplanted well to the area.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Sun, 04/11/2021 - 4:47am