Finally I could stand it no longer - despite the meager kitchen set-up, I raided Safeway for some fresh produce. I was craving fresh food - but more specifically food that had only been touched/handled/prepared by ME (another control issue, but I prefer knowing everything that is in my food at times). This was the best I could do given the situation - the shallow & small dishes forced me to cook vegetables & chicken separately. I had to buy pre-crushed black pepper (GASP)! :) Thankfully the meal turned out great, and was exactly what I needed. Nothing too special, just a BUNCH of vegetables* sauteed in some olive oil, salt & pepper - the chicken I cooked in a little garlic-infused olive oil. Then I just piled everything together on a plate!
*I went visual with the vegetables - some bright peppers, a big carrot, some baby bok choy. But my favorite addition was the Walla Walla sweet onion. Where I grew up, we had Vidalia sweet onions. That's very typical in the east (they're brought in from the Vidalia region down south). But out west we have the Walla Walla sweet, from Walla Walla, Washington. Delicious! I would be hard pressed to say which is better, but I do love the Walla Walla!
That's just a really sad picture. I feel your pain brother.
ReplyDeleteHolly
I am really interested. I have never heard of sweet onions, let alone Walla Walla sweat onions, so could you please explain to me what it the difference between a sweet onion and a normal one? I have looked in our supper market over here in the UK and they do not know what it is?
ReplyDeleteGraham - how silly of me to assume everyone would know what I was talking about! Sweet onions can only be grown in very specific regions (I'm sure it has to do with climate and soil conditions, but I won't pretend to know the exact details). Vidalia sweet onions are from the vidalia region of Georgia - in fact Vidalia onions can only be grown here by law as well as by nature (similar to how champagne can only be made from grapes in the champagne region, etc.). Walla Walla sweet onions are from the area of Walla Walla, Washington for the same reason. Both of these sweet onions are yellow and grow fairly large. They are "sweet" in that there is a higher natural sugar content. So the onion flavor is still there, but it's much less pungent or powerful. They are a wonderful compliment to things even raw - I love a big slice of sweet onion on a hamburger or sandwich, for instance. I did a little research, and it seems that there are sweet onion regions around the world - and yes even in the UK! You should try some out if you can get your hands on them, here's a link: http://www.sweetonions.co.uk/history.php
ReplyDeleteIf you get some, let me know how the UK sweet onions are. I'd be interested in trying them myself!