YELLOW ONION
The onion is not often the star of the show. It’s usually the supporting character that helps makes the dish delicious but gets no credit. Let’s
Yellow onions are great sources of vitamin C and add lots of flavor to any dish. (foodsubs.com)
change that! Onions have more nutritional value than you might think and add a ton of flavor to stir-fries, winter veggie roasts, and soups. One medium onion is a good source of vitamin C to help boost your immune system which always needs support year-round. They do make you cry, especially the older ones, but they are worth the tears! Try storing onions in the refrigerator—it will reduce some of the eye stinging.
GROW
There are all sorts of onion varieties: scallions, chives, red onions, shallots, and leeks! Today we’re talking about the yellow onion, which is a very common recipe ingredient. We plant onions from seedlings, which form bulbs beneath ground and shoot up a sort of stalk of tubular leaves above ground. We plant them in the early spring and harvest in the summer or early fall. It’s best to let the bulbs dry out a bit, and then they can be stored through winter.
EAT
Sweet caramelized onions are great pizza toppers!
We add onions to many of our dishes to a boost of flavor and vitamin C. We’ve found that kids give thumbs up to caramelized onions! Sauté one sliced onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil on medium heat, and let them cook down: the longer, the better! After 20 or 30 minutes, the onions will be dark, soft, and very sweet. These caramelized onions are great as pizza or salad toppings…or just by the forkful!
We also like to simply take a medium onion (papery skin peeled, and top and bottom sliced off), wrap it tightly in aluminum foil, and bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 1 hour until tender (it cooks in its own juices). Then, carefully open the foil and eat it instead of a baked potato, WOW, is it sweet and juicy. Try it!
What’s your favorite way of cooking with onions?
