Thursday, January 31, 2008

Forcing bulbs by accident

Do you ever notice that cheap onions tend to sprout quickly?

I'm beginning to think that buying onions in bulk is false economy, unless you chop and freeze at once.

My kids are fascinated by what I consider waste.

Here, put it in the bowl. Run get some sticks and rocks.

Still life, January.
Who needs paperwhites?

28 comments:

Milehimama @ Mama Says said...

That's because the fancier onions are doused with anti-sprouting chemicals (unless they are organic).

Cheap might actually be healthier!

Anonymous said...

I do chop the onions and freeze them when I buy them most of the time. I sometimes slice them and freeze them for use in a roast beef crock pot cooking...I will leave 1 or 2 not chopped or sliced and frozen to us fresh on sandwiches (my husband, I do not care for the taste of raw onion) and in salads etc. Other wise they are chopped and frozen as soon as I get them home..almost always with bell peppers and celery...these are the basic starts for all of my soups etc. Even my bean pots start with a big bag of my bell pepper and onion mix. I am still using bell peppers from our garden last summer. We had a bumper crop of bell peppers last year, all colors, red, green, yellow, and purple...so good...Roxie

Anonymous said...

Forget the onions, look at that darling patchwork jumper! :)

Your pictures are so sweet!

Anonymous said...

I love her little outfit! So cute. Lynn Marie

Jeana said...

I chop and freeze sometimes. do you refrigerate them? That helps, too.

I'm with the others--your daughter stole the show. I can't believe how long her hair has gotten! She sure is growing up.

NicholeLNelson said...

I refrigerate my onions -- they go moldy before any sprouts! That said, I don't use onions often because DH isn't too fond of them.

Are the sprouts really that bad? Aren't they just scallions?

Amy said...

I have to say that Emily has that same exact dress. She had it in 0-3 months and then I found it again in 2T. It is so cute!

Elise is getting so big!

I know nothing about onions though because I don't buy or eat them. It is my one true food aversion :)

threelilmnms said...

I chop or slice and freeze (all but a couple) as soon as I buy.

Your daughter is ADORABLE!
Leinani

Anonymous said...

Your daughter is just doing what she has seen her mother do -- create beauty from the ordinary. Great photos as always.
Rita in Oly

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said...

#1-she is totally adorable! And I'm jealous that it's warm enough to play outside without a coat.

#2-you can just chop up the green part and use them. True, not as good as being able to use the whole onion. . . but better than throwing it out :)

Anonymous said...

Was that picture of darling Elise taken today? I thought it was in the 30's in Nashville today. Call me overprotective if you want to, but if it is that chilly, put a sweater and hat on that child! (Aren't you glad I'm not your MIL! lol) I think I would want a sweater if I were out in that temperature.

Jamie - Family Focused Fun said...

I am with you on the onions! I always "intend" to chop and freeze the onions but usually I find them sprouted or molding away before I get to it! I need to be a little more disciplined with that one! :-) I've been reading your blog for awhile...love it but haven't commented much before! Just wanted to say hi and thanks for all the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

As a fellow southerner, let me "defend" your daughter's coatless state! : ) We in the south often go coatless just because we're used to it and sometimes it feels good when there' s nip in the air.

Love the pictures!

Anonymous said...

Is that a potatoe I see next to your onions?? Just in case you didn't know. Potatoes release a gas that couse other fruits and veggies to "ripen" faster.
I used to have the same problem you are dealing with until I seperated my potatoes from all other fruits and veggies. I have now had the same 5lb. bag of onions for almost 4 months...and they are still good!...No sprouting yet.

God Bless,
Katie

Anonymous said...

um, I just use the sprouted onion as always, chopping everything up. Is there some reason I should not do this?? The only time I discard part of an onion is if there is brown mush that is clearly rot. I treat garlic the same way as onions.
I also keep my onions mostly in the fridge - I read somewhere that cold onions don't make you "cry" so much when you chop them. It's been true for me!

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Instead of calling them "onions in bulk", call them alliums so you can say you forced the bulbs on purpose!

It's all in how you look at it, I suppose!

Have a great day...and thanks for the reminder to go and check MY "alliums"!

Shannon said...

Elise is so darlin' with her litt;e arrangement:)

Owlhaven said...

Every October I get several bushels of 'seconds' onions from a local onion processing plant that puts them out for people to take for free. I save them all winter by wrapping them in newspaper and storing them in our cool garage. Now in January some of mine are starting to sprout, and I will lose a few to rot. But I almost always have good onions at least til March by wrapping them so that they stay dry and don't touch each other.

Mary, mom to many

Unknown said...

I have noticed the sprouting onions as well. Your daughter had a cute idea of what to do with them however. Kids do the most awesome things.

Kelly @ The Barefoot Mama said...

Your daughter with your little sprouts is just too priceless, Meredith. :o) I absolutely cannot tear my eyes away from the lovely photography at your blog...and you have such a gift at delivering God's message to boot.

Hope that you're having a blessed evening!

(And now you have me craving the onion relish in the fridge, LOL!)

Anonymous said...

Good ideas to chop and freeze the onions-so glad I read your comments. Always learn something useful!
Love, love, love Elise's dress and that red hair. I think I am going to have to dye one of my children's hair to get a redhead child. Love it!
Elise

Anonymous said...

Your daughter's pictures never fail to bring a smile to my face and you just want to squeeze her! Please continue the bows, they are the frosting on the cake. Love, love, love your blog.

Judy

Lotus (Sarcastic Mom) said...

Argh! I have the same problem with my onions!

The picture of her creating the masterpiece is gorgeous. :-)

Patience said...

Waste that whole onion???? Never!!! I've always happily chopped gently sprouted onions as well -- typically there may be an internal 'ring' or two within the onion that will have softened/browned and need to be discarded (usually near the very center) --otherwise usually the rest of the onion (including the green) is typically still very much quite usable...

Carrien Blue said...

There is no reason why you can't use onions that are sprouting. I do it all the time, the flavor is the same and you get a bit of green as well.

Seeds and nuts and beans and grains can be soaked and sprouted on purpose which increases the nutrient content, changes carbohydrate to protein, removes enzyme inhibitors that keep them from sprouting until conditions are ideal and makes them easier to digest.

A sprouted onion is a live food, go ahead and eat it. You eat green onions don't you? Where do you think they come from?

Julie said...

We love growing onions and potatoes by accident around here.

Mimi said...

Your daughter's so cute!

I don't buy onions in bulk, especially now that I'm cooking for two in our empty nest and especially since DH is not as big a fan of onions as I am. I'm not so concerned about sprouting as having them spoil before I get to them.

I do sometimes buy bunches of green onions, and, in the summer -- don't laugh -- I store the ones I don't use immediately by just "planting" them in our garden. They never grow to full size onions, but they just keep on thriving and growing a little bit until I'm ready to pull them and use them.

I'm intrigued by Owlhaven's idea of storing onions in newspaper and keeping them in the garage.