Wednesday 31 October 2007

ABC WEDNESDAY - O

I've had terrible problems connecting t the Internet and my phone has gone haywire too....I think I'll be phoning BT this afternoon. Thank goodness this post was in draft or my O post would have been 0 (zero).

abc wednesday
O IS FOR ONION

The common garden onion or Allium Cepa is, like garlic (another member of the Allium family), thought to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. Of course peeling onions can make you cry. As onions are sliced, cells are broken, allowing the realease of sulphenic acids; these decompose into a gas which diffuses through the air and eventually reaches the eye, where it reacts with the water to form a diluted solution of sulfuric acid. This acid irritates the nerve endings in the eye, making them sting. Then the tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush it out.

I love pickled onions and usually make my own. There are many recipes and everyone has their favourites but this one seems to work for me.......

4lb Pickling onions (or shallots if you prefer them)
8oz salt
2 pints Pickling Malt Vinegar


Peel the onions and place in a large bowl (to make peeling easier soak them in warm water to soften the skin). Dissolve the salt in about 4 pints water and pour over the onions to completely cover them (a plate over the op helps to keep the onions under the surface) and leave for 24 hours. Drain and rinse under cold water and then pat dry. Pack into sterilised jars and cover with cold vinegar. Seal, label and store for 2-3 months (if you can wait that long!)

You can tailor the recipe by adding mustard seeds, black pepper corns or a couple of chillis. A clove of garlic or herbs like rosemary, bay and thyme will all give their unique flavour.

And of course if you remembered to collect the seed heads of your decorative garden Alliums

now's the time to spray them gold or silver to use for Christmas displays.



If any fellow ABCers are not on my blogroll please let me know in my comment box.


JUST ONE MORE THING
BOO!

Whether you agree with it or not there could well be a knock on your door from trick-or-treaters. If you do have children or grandchildren who are going treat-or-treating please follow these guidelines.
Trick-Or-Treat Safety Tips

Make sure young children are accompanied by some responsible teenagers or adults when they go trick-or-treating from door to door.

Ask your kids to go trick-or-treating in known neighbourhoods.

Tell them to use pavements, cross only at the corners and strictly instruct them never to run between parked cars.

They should not go inside anyone’s home unless it’s someone known.

If they go out in the dark, give them a flashlight and ask them to stick to well-lit streets.
NEWSFLASH
Moi - Not by a long shot has successfully defended her thesis and next month will be graduating. Well Done Moi!!!!!

32 comments:

hpy said...

I thought about onions too for my first participation, but didn't find any!

mrsnesbitt said...

I very nearly did onions!
LOL!

Akelamalu said...

I love pickled onions - I want some NOW!

Re trick or treating, I personally wouldn't let kids out on their own - parents can go along but keep a distance to keep an eye on their charges.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, onions! Thk goodness we dont have trick or treating over here in Singapore. halloween is not a big thing (yet!)

Gledwood said...

Oi Outh!
Oi oouldn't oait oor oour Oednesday oost, oo Oi oould out O's overywhere!
Oan oou onderstand oe ot oll oell?
Oake oare, Outh!

Oedwood!!
oo

Gledwood said...

O oy ohe oay, ohat oappened oo "Oisley?"

Gledwood said...

Ohit! Oi opelled oy own oame orong!
Oledwood! - oh!

oo

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Hi Ruth,

Alliums are getting quite popular over here as ornamentals. I have a patch that has been multiplying on its own and the odour is unmistakable .

have a nice Halloween.

dot said...

Nice "O" post! For some reason onions have quit making me cry. I wonder why.

kml said...

As much as I love them, I never thought about them for my "O". Well done!!

Jean M Fogle said...

I must say I didn't almost do onions, I really find it fun to try to come up with words that will work in both of my blogs since they both have a theme.
I did fudge a little today and add a few pictures to salty dogs that dont include dogs!
Oh Ruth, could you please add my toehr blog, Mollitudes to your blog roll?
Also I got the avatar from the site you recommended, it is on the front page of my website, thanks for the help!

Annie said...

Onions, perfect! And I've not ever tasted pickled onions - perhaps I shall have to try putting some by. I do love to putter around in the kitchen. My label - Annie's Appeteasers.

Best to you, Annie

Silly Goose said...

What a good idea to spray paint dried onion flowers for the holidays!

I didn't know Halloween was celebrated in the UK. Hmmmm. Learn something new every day!

Anonymous said...

Another O that never entered my mind even though I handle them nearly everyday. Well done.

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

pickled onions - I'll never forget the look on my son's face aged about seven when he had his first pickled onion - only a small silverskin one but he out it in his mouth and then swallowed it whole! We couldn't help but laugh!

Gledwood said...

Oed onions ore oetter oor oooking ohan ohite ones, oon't oou ogree?

(Red onions are better for cooking than white ones, don't you agree?)

(Oi oon't onow obout oickling.)

(I don't know about pickling.)

Neva said...

Onions...someting else I did not think about!!! very good!!

CG said...

I love onions!! yum yum.
I have planted alliums so hopefull next year I'll have seed heads to spray silver :)

Sylvia said...

As usual, good post and photos. I just assumed everyone celebrated Halloween but have found that not to be true (from other bloggers).

photowannabe said...

Nice "O" post. I didn't think of onions either but perhaps that's because I had no pictures of them. Pickled onions sound really good. I'd like to try them sometime.
You can add me to your ABC Wednesday list too.

Max-e said...

Nice post Ruth. Now I know why my eyes burn - and also why running water over them prevents the eyes from burning. I like the facts you include with your posts

Sheila said...

I'll say this for you Ruth, you do know your onions..!
LOL
Well done you with college. Excellent..!
I'm so proud of you..!
Happy Halloween BTW..!

lilymarlene said...

We had a lot of trouble with BT this afternoon too. I think they were down for a while.

Congrats on your college success. Will you be going on to do more?

Mary said...

Loved the pickled onion recipe. Appreciate that you would share. Mom and Grandma used to make them, but I never have. Now I think I will.

Mike said...

I always used to have a picked onion with my fish and chips but I haven't had one in ages. Guess what I'm going to be doing!

JK said...

No tricks or treats in Malaysia or maybe I didn't know of any. Anyway, I hope my kids get the chance to do this.

Congrats on your graduation.

I have a tag for you over at my blog. Free to do it? No obligation, ok?

RUTH said...

I must point out it's not me who has graduated. It is one of my blogpals :o)

WalksFarWoman said...

I adore onions but not pickled ones, I don't know why for I'm crazy about vinegar and eat raw onions in cheese sandwiches - it's a mystery.

You've put me in the mood to make a cheese and onion flan today. :)

Pete M said...

Hi Ruth you certainly know your onions, I too am a lover of the onion and garlic and leaks and thats shallot

Oswegan said...

You're making me cry.

~Oswegan

AVCr8teur said...

I love red raw onions. I can almost taste them now. Good idea for O photos. It never even occured to me.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

thnaks for mentioning it here Ruth ..that was incredibly sweet :)

My mom makes pickled onions almost like yours ..only she adds tons of green chillies to it ..you know how we Indians will gobble up anything as long as its "hot and spicy"....:D

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