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838 - Wednesday, October 28, 1992 ~ North Shore News

Valued vegetable:

i WAS at a very classy luncheon party a weck ago, at one
of Vancouver’s money-tree hotels. It was a real pleasure

because 1 was seated next to
months.

Across the table one of the
other guests chattered loudly and
inanely, forcing heads to turn in
her direction — no matter what
else they’d rather be doing. In ex-
asperation, my friend whispered,
‘*Migawd, Barbara, she’s got all
the class of an onion sandwich.””

1 chuckled at the time, knowing
exactly what he meant.

Later, I got to thinking. What a
shame to relate a trying individual
to a vegetable we could hardly live
without. .

There are some, rare, people
who dislike onions. For the rest of
us, the smell of frying onions at
the PNE is mouth-watering.
Onion soup is a restaurant classic.
We pile them on burgers, team
them with liver, slice them in
salads, chop them into stuffings
and meat loaves and, yes, make
sandwickes out of them.

Almost every casserole 1 make
contains onions. Creamed onions
are one of Brian’s favorite
vegetables. He’s hooked on deep
fried onion rings, too.

Folk medicine, now getting a
respectful look from scientists, has
always praised the curative powers
of the simple onion. Maybe
they’ve been helping us fight in-
fections and all the time we were
eating them for flavor.

I remember a young man who
was fatally attracted to his wife
because she made the best onion
sandwiches he’s ever eaten — and
ate them he did. Such simple
chemistry.

} read somewhere that Queen
Mother Elizabeth slices the onions
at informal family cook-outs.
Furthermore, it was noted that she
doesn’t weep during the chore.
Now, let’s explore a few facts
about onions:

@ You'll cry less when you cut people)
onions if you keep them cold. it’s % cup butter
the volatile oil that irritates your % cup flour ends

tear ducts and it doesn’t rise as
readily when it’s cold;

@ Shallots are not green onions
they’re small

brown ones.

120 Philip Avenue
North Vancouver (¢) 984-3111

an old friend I hadn’t seen in

arbara
McCreadie

BUDGET BEATERS

However, the- two are inter-
changeable in most recipes and in
many cases the author doesn’t
know the difference but uses the
term “‘shallot’’ for elegance;
® Scallions are the immature
shoots of white onions. The only
way the average cook will find
these is in your own garden;
@ Dried onion flakes are quite
acceptable as an emergency
substitute in casseroles and meat
loaves. They store almost forever;
e@ You can purchase packages of
frozen, chopped onions bui they
are terribly expensive. Try doing
your own but not a bushel at a
time. Just chop double when
you're cooking and double-bag
the other half. It’s a godsend to
have bags of chepped onion and
green pepper when you're feeling
lazy.

Here are a few of my all-time
favorite onion recipes.

Creamed Onions

Two baseball-sized onions (for 6

salt and pepper
1% cups milk, heated
pinch nutmeg

Cut the onions in ‘%° scrips

from pole to pole — not in rings.
Melt butter in a saucepan over
low heat, add the onions and cook
gently, stirring occasionally, until
transparent. Stir in flour and toss
until onions are well coated — do
not brown. Add seasonings and
hot milk and stir until thickened.

The nutmeg is optio::al but it
does complement the flavor. Use
very little! I also garnish the top
ef creamed onions with a sprinkle
of paprika and snipped parsley.
These are especially good with
poached salmon or salmon loaf.
Try them with any grilled meat
when there’s no gravy or other
sauce.

Onions are a great budget
beater. They’re inexpensive and
store for months, refrigerated.
Never store onions in a plastic bag
as the moisture collects inside and
the onions rot. If you must store
them at room temperature, use
them quickly. Discard sprouted
onions.

Tomate and Onios Salad
2 large onions, sliced in rings -
yy’?
2-3 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced in
thicker rings - /2”"
% cup olive oti
¥2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons mixed dried Italian
herbs
% cup snipped fresh parsley
cracked pepper

The onions are best if
marinated in the dressing for sev-
eral hours. I combine with ‘the
tomatces at the last minute. For
the dressing, gently warm the oil,
vinegar, sugar and dried herbs.

Cool before tossing

LAST
CHANCE

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DISHWASHERS
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SEE RSE ETE
e@es

favorite onion recipes

with ©

PRICED TO CLEAR NOW!

é&é We pile them on burgers, team
them with: liver, slice them in salads,
chop them into stuffings. 9¥

onions. Refrigerate. Layer half the
tomatoes in a shallow glass bowl.
Top with half the onions and
dressing. Sprinkle with half the
parsley. Repeat. Grind pepper
over. This wil! serve about 5 but
you can add extra tomatoes
without increasing the amount of
dressing. Great with steak!
Onion Soup

1 used to make onion soup and
thought it was quite good — until
1 found this recipe. One of my
daughters makes this a lot but she
adds a few drops of Crosse and
Blackwell gravy darkening. | like
it just as is. .

This serves two but is easily in-
creased. Use Austrian Gruyere
cheese if you can — it doesn’t
string.
large onion, chopped
ltablespcon butter
liablespoon flour
% cup dry white wine
1 din consonmne
freshly ground pepper
¥% cup port, sherry or Marsala
wine (2 tablespoons} .
1 egg yolk

A cup grated Gruyere cheese

2 - %” slices French bread, wide
enough to cover ihe tops of your
soup bowls :

Cook the chopped onion gently
in the butter until soft. Stir in
flour, add wine and cconsomme.
Cook, stirring occasionally, about
15 minutes. Grind in pepper.
Whip the port (or?) with the egg
yolk. Whip. in a bit of the hot
broth and then add the egg mix-
ture to the simmering soup. Stir
and cook gently for about one
minute.

Tum into oven-safe onion soup
bowls. Top with toasted French
bread (run it under the broiler but

.watch like a hawk — it buras in a

blink). Cover with cheese and run
the bowls under the broiler wntil
cheese melts. If you have big ap-
petites you could follow this with
steak or roast beef. ~ .

We make it the main event — I
make big shellfish salads with
hard-cooked egg to start, along
with some of the French bread. A
bow! of soup after that is quite
enough for us.

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eee

dozen + GAS & ELECTRIC RANGES
Reg. $1.35 «© SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL ;
IN-STOCK MODELS! :

At your authorized Ge & Maytag Sales, Service and Parts store,

Limi 3 dozen per customer with this ad
Offer expires tuesday, Novernber 9, 1992

co