WEEKLY MENU 04.02.23
Embracing spring… onions during the Weekly Menu 04.02.23, because spring has sprung!
We’ve littered our dinner plans with spring… onions during the Weekly Menu 04.02.23. Onions, spring onions, to be exact. There are many, many variations of onions, but there are eight basic types.
- Red Onions
- Yellow Onions
- White Onions
- Sweet Onions
- Green Onions
- Shallots
- Pearl Onions
- Garlic
Did you know garlic was part of the onion family? That might have been one of those things that I knew and forgot. Although there are some pearl onions in Sunday dinner’s Beef Bourguignon, we’re concentrating on the Green Onions this week.
There are some slight variations between Green Onions, Spring Onions and Scallions, but the name is usually used interchangeably. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and have two distinct flavors in them; the white part is sharper and more oniony, but the green ends are milder and make an excellent garnish. I’ve seen recipes that use the two parts completely different ways.
DOLD loved a nice crisp green onion, so I almost always include them on a crudité plate. They are absolutely fabulous dipped in Dill Dip, and they make a plate of carrots and celery look high-end!
Green Onions are scattered throughout the Weekly Menu 04.02.23~
We’re starting out with a China based but Canadian adopted staple: Green Onion Cakes. They are by no means from Edmonton, but they have become a city-wide favorite, which makes me happy. The recipe we are using to start out Sunday dinner is from the mediocrechef.com. Green Onion Cakes are everywhere!
We’re not even joking. Almost every restaurant in good old YEG sells green onion cakes. Chinese restaurant? Green onion cakes. Vietnamese restaurant? Green onion cakes. Regular pub?! Green onion cakes. IRISH PUB?! Green onion cakes. We even have a green onion cake food truck. (What!?)
mediocrechef.com
Did you know you can grow more green onions from the ones you get at the grocery store? It’s true! You take the rooty (is that a word?) top that you would normally cut off and discard and put it in a glass of water, preferably on the window sill. The kitchenwhisperer.com tells you all about it here:
GROWING GREEN ONIONS IN WATER
Of course, thekitchenwhisperer is using mason jars, but Amazon has gotten into the fray with a best seller. (Affiliate links follow – see Disclaimer Page for details) I present the Green Onion Farm:
Kids might actually like spring onions if they’re watching them grow! I’m going with the old school mason jars, but I am going to give it a try. I’m in the midst of figuring out my next career and decided some gardening might be fun. I already have some Black Oil Pink Sunflower Seeds in the house to plant out back once it is time in our very late starting zone. We’ll see how it goes. Historically, planting things doesn’t work out that well for me.
Weekly Menu 04.02.23
We’re having Green Onion Cakes as an appetizer for Sunday night dinner then following up with a super-ritzy stew called Beef Bourguignon that we’ll make our own. Nobody but poor little me likes mushrooms, so I’m making the recipe as written, but I’m switching in baby potatoes for the ‘shrooms. I know, I know, it’s not even remotely the same, but I don’t need a complete revolt on my hands.
I thought of making Green Onion Ranch Dressing or Green Onion Vinaigrette to top the Mini-Wedge Salads, but I think that might be too much of a good thing with the appetizer, so we’ll go with standard blue cheese dressing.
Monday night is Asian night around here (at least this week) so Mongolian Meatballs are on offer. They rely heavily on, you guessed it, green onions, so they made the cut.
On Wednesday, I’m topping our burgers with a perfectly cooked fried egg (fingers crossed) for those that eat eggs. And I’m making a family favorite breakfast side to go with: Home Fries made with canned potatoes. I buy the whole spuds (we’ll need two cans for the four of us) and quarter them. I heat up a cast iron skillet on medium high heat until it’s screaming hot, add some vegetable oil and then the dried off potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika, some black pepper and a teeny, tiny bit of salt. Then I do the hardest part:
I DON’T TOUCH/STIR/SHAKE THEM
Until they have a chance to crisp up. It’s tough, but I think you can do it.
Bert doesn’t like many chain restaurants, but he does enjoy himself some Texas Road House eating. What does he get at the nationwide steakhouse? The Chicken Critters Salad. It’s on the Weekly Menu 04.02.23 in all it’s glory. I’ll make a batch of Pops Crispy Chicken and add that to some greens, along with a mix of cheeses, some crispy bacon and hardboiled eggs. I’ll make some Green Onion Ranch to go with this salad, but I’ll also make some Honey Mustard – which is much more likely to be used.
WEEKLY MENU 04.02.23
