Girls Don't Cry: Chop An Onion Safely

So I made French onion soup recently. Nothing amazing. But, in the process I thinly sliced two large onions without dissolving into searing, crying eyes. Not a tear in sight. My new solution to the eternal eye-onion conflict: Press your tongue to the roof of you mouth while chopping. I saw it online somewhere.The wonders of the Internet.

Other tricks include opening a window, lighting a candle or incense near your cutting board (who wants their food flavored with a hint of patchouli?), and wearing goggles (no thanks). Or, since the reaction is supposedly more pronounced in fresh onions, you could use old vegetables. I'd rather not.

My onion allergy typically causes frequent mid-chop pauses, interrupts my chefly rhythm, and risks my fingertips with blurred vision. Let's hope this new trick proves successful.

Caramel Corn

If I trust anyone to turn a fairly healthy food into a sugary, buttery bowl of snacktime happiness, it's Paula Deen. For our Oscar party, I followed her simple instructions for Caramel Corn. (Can't you just hear Savannah grandma drawl wooing you with care-a-mel?)

This takes about 5 minutes of work (10 if you include the stirring later), plus very little skill beyond not burning your fingers on hot sugar. The baking soda makes the caramel puff up and become more mixable. One very important tip: filter out all unpopped kernels before mixing the popcorn and hot caramel, or you'll find them later glued unpleasantly into the popcorn.

Paula Deen's Caramel Corn

Ingredients

• 1 C butter
• 2 C packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 C light corn syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 8 quarts popped corn

Directions

Melt first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda.

Pour hot caramel over popcorn. Stir to coat -- you'll stir more as it bakes, so it doesn't need to be 100% perfect.

Bake in large roasting pan (something with sides at lest a few inches high) at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly before eating.

Your Cup of Tea

I'm not really a huge fan of tea -- the taste anyway. While I love the idea of fresh herbs and spices seeping in a steamy mug, I'm always a bit underwhelmed, finding the overall taste bitter, watered down and not very fulfilling. Guess I'll always be a coffee over tea kind-o-gal.

That said, when I'm sick, I drink tea by the bucket load as I'm a firm believer in the power of herbal remedies. I think 6 cups of tea was my max last week. Pretty impressive right?

Traditional Medicinals have always been my go-to when I'm sick. I can't recommend them enough. All of the blends are caffeine free and organic. While the taste might not always leave you ready for a refill, I really truly believe they work. Give em' a try next time you're under the weather. And, if those fail, you can always try my salad bowl spa ;)

My New Motto for Spring

I like this poster. It makes me want to pull up all the grass in our front yard and start a veggie garden (hopefully my husband is not reading this).


I started some of Renee's Garden "Rainbow Blend" heirloom tomato seeds indoors about 2 weeks ago which I will hopefully find time to blog about soon. Some might be an understatement. I planted over 50 seeds. 52 to be exact. Oops. I may very well be able to quit my job and become a full-time tomato farmer. The little seedlings have already begun to sprout, and I need to start moving them out of their tiny seed starter trays and into some larger containers. That's my project this weekend. I can't bring myself to abort them, so I will be looking for homes for the little seedlings soon. If you know of anyone that wants a beautiful, healthy tomato plant, let me know. I just want to make sure they find good homes.

Should You Eat Like an Icelander?

photos via flickr

According to Jen Murphy in Food & Wine magazine, the answer is a definite yes. I've already informed you of the amazing benefits and nutritional value of eating skyr. But now I can add Icelandic raised lamb and seafood to the list.

Read the full article here.

Let's hope Whole Foods continues to import more of these Icelandic ingredients. Though, you can leave the raw shark meat in Iceland.