Egyptian Walking Onions, 10 Healthy Foods Under $3 and the IS Foundation

Hi Everyone!!

Whew! What a week! Between the storms, rain, power outage and my classes—it has been a VERY busy week!

Last week I told you I would research and give you the "lowdown" on Egyptian Walking Onions. Apparently, the name is derived from these onions being brought to Europe from the Indian Subcontinent by the "Gypsies." Not sure about that info. Again, I will try to research more about the name and let you know what I come up with—if anything!

These onions are also called "tree onions" or "topset onions."  They are perennials and will grow in any soil. Also, you can eat the entire plant from the stalk to the bulb! I have to say these are one of the most interesting and low maintenance plants we have in the garden. They literally "walk" around your yard if you allow them to grow unchecked.

This is what happens...you plant the bulb in the ground in the fall. In the spring this will be one of your first plants to pop up. It will grow up to a stalk and at the top of each stem a small bulb will form. From this develops the onion for the next year. Ideally, it should get too heavy for the stalk and bend over to plant itself into the ground. It will then grow another stalk with another bulb forming at the end and bend over, planting itself etc...Thus the "walking."

After it has planted itself you can take the original onion and harvest it. They are small but, man, do they pack a punch.

My thinking was these will be great they will walk all in straight lines, right across the side of the house. THAT was pretty naive of me!! These plants go EVERYWHERE!! Literally! They "walk" anywhere they want to walk! It's the funniest thing!! However, you can control the walking by taking the small bulbs off the plant stems before they bend over, then plant them yourself to control the "walking path." We have taken the bulbs off and planted them. We have also taken them off and used them in dishes.

This week we also had an abundance of radishes!!!! I have so many radishes I'm not sure what to do with them all! Kinda like my cilantro!!! I did find a nice recipe for the radishes that included the onions, radish and cilantro! (Happy! Happy! Happy!).

Basically, cut the radishes up into to very thin slices. Cut the onions up into thin slices, as well. Sautee them in a couple tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a splash of Balsamic Vinegar.

About two minutes before serving, throw in about a cup of fresh cilantro and stir. Serve warm with a grilled breast of chicken, or steak or even a nice side of grilled vegetables. This is a very nice and very light side dish.

OK...Recently, I came across this interesting blog post on Yahoo!. It lists the Top 10 Healthy Foods for less than $3! I have included the link here.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/drmao/top-10-healthy-foods-under-3-dollars  

Lastly, on the "let's help the Earth" end of things, I have been keeping up with the IS Foundation. The IS FOUNDATION aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures.

This is a very new foundation and it was created by Ian Somerhalder and has the potential to accomplish really great things! Check out their website and see if there's anything you can do to help them. The website is fabulous and the purpose even more so!

http://www.isfoundation.com/ 

All right!!! That's it for this week. Next week I will be checking out grocery stores again to see what's up in the produce and meat area! Also, I will be talking about Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" and the state of food in our kids cafeterias. And, of course, spotlighting what's happening in my garden! Coming soon I will review local restaurants on how healthy and nutritious they are and get the REAL scoop on what's in their food!

Stay tuned! Thanks for reading! Eat well and enjoy your food!!!