The green onions I planted a few weeks ago are up and growing taller by the day. I peeked at them early this morning as I was feeding the chickens and letting them out of the coop.
As I admired the rows we planted I was reminded of a story Pap tells. I shared it back in the day here on the Blind Pig. I thought you might enjoying hearing it again.
A new preacher was elected to the local church. Once the preacher began the usual tradition of going home with members for Sunday dinner it became apparent this particular preacher had an insatiable appetite-to the point that folks began to dread having to play host to him for fear he would eat them out of house and home. Members of the church knew their turn to have the preacher home for Sunday dinner would come sooner or later.
Pap’s friend’s father-decided he knew exactly how to handle the situation when it came time for him and his wife to feed the preacher. As everyone sat down to the dinner table, the father said “Well preacher we don’t have much but we’re more than willing to share what we do have. We’re going to have some onions and salt for dinner.” The preacher said “Oh I don’t eat onions.” The father said “well help yourself to the salt.”
Tipper
Reminds me of our Grandad who loved to make sandwiches out of the first green onions each Spring. He’d butter a piece of bread liberally (no oleo for that guy), put a bit of salt on it, roll green onions up in the bread jelly-roll fashion, and he’d eat. Boy, how he loved those sandwiches!!!
My favorite is to saute chopped green onions in a bit of butter (no oleo for me either, thank you), then when they’re tender, scramble a couple of eggs in there with salt and pepper. Yum! I can’t eat those anymore though, cause about 2 years or so ago, I developed an allergy to onions, which makes cooking some dishes challenging. Luckily, I can still eat leeks, so that’s what I substitute when I REALLY need one.
God bless.
RB
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That brings back memories of my dad and how he ate his onions. He’s pour a little pile of salt on his plate or most times the table and dip his onion in it. I still eat’em like that myself.
Your story about the preacher reminds me of a wonderful short story by Estelle Rice called Chicken and Dumplings which was published in Echoes Across the Blue Ridge.Her story was about the cleverness of the wife trying to please the preacher’s palatte.
Great Story filled with humor.
Love Pap’s story, too funny!
I like that story. I can’t imagine a preacher being that gluttonous. Maybe I’m reading too much into the story; I can’t picture someone eating more than anyone else in a group. Maybe that’s why it is a story for the little green onions.
That is just too funny. I’ve seen preachers like that. My Mom was a good cook and this particular one knew it so he would load up his family and come visiting right at supper time.She should have just set the salt on the table and said go at it!
I once knew this lady that owned a café near the town square. She said that when the weather permitted she would start frying onions and leave the windows open about half an hour before lunch. When the people smelled those onions frying they would come in droves. That smell made them so hungry. According to her, the other café owners never caught on. Try it; it works.
Isn’t it a treasure that a simple food like green onions can evoke such memories?
My thoughts went immediately to my sweet maternal grandfather,Papoo, whose favorite breakfast was scrambled eggs cooked with wild green onions that grew amongst their flowers.
A batch of the fluffiest cat head biscuits, his cousin’s sorghum molasses and his homemade sweet butter made a feast. Coffee strong enough to stand a spoon in to wash it down,too..heh..
Simple and yet a delight…I can close my eyes and almost smell the every thing on that table.
Thanks for the trip back in time, Tipper.
Green onions, all onions, make food better. When Mama was caring for her aging mother, we had no garden. My uncle would fill brown grocery bags with spring onions for us. Sara, a family friend, served her cleaned green onions in Mason jars of cold, cold water. She would have two or three jars down the center of her table. They looked so pretty in those jars, dressed up the meal, and best of all tasted wonderful. Make some wilted lettuce with them and bake a cake of cornbread. You’ll have a meal fit for a king.
Love it! some cornbread and buttermilk would have made those onions and salt a good meal…
Tipper,
A meal just ain’t the same unless
something is cooked with onions.
I’ve never had a Fall Garden. Thank
goodness onions have not found the
higher prices like most things at
the grocery store.
I watched a health article on TV
recently where if you buy one of
those netted small bags of onions,
set it on the table, germs
and viruses will be attracted and
colds won’t be as bad…Ken
Well, Tipper, in our early ministry, Grover and I would be invited into homes of our members for a meal. I hope no one ever dreaded our coming because we had “insatiable appetites.” I think we were rather ‘ordinary folks’ who appreciated whatever our host and hostess served us! I remember one time though, that if our hostess had heard our little boy, just old enough to talk well and notice things about him. He observed the floor on which was a well-worn linoleum, with dark spots where the finish had been worn off. He said, “Mamma, this floor is dirty!” Of course I quickly correcged him, and was grateful that our hostess did not hear him. I think if she had, however, she would have known it was just a little boy not knowing the difference between a worn spot and a dirty spot. But as for the sppring–or fall–green onions, both are delicious!
Onions by themselves aren’t that good, but with cornbread and pinto beans with a little chow-chow they make a delicious meal.
Onions are the near perfect condiment, if you don’t have Ramps. One of my favorite entrees is Branch (Bear) Lettuce with Ramps or Green Onions kilt with hot Bacon grease. Add a pone of Cornbread and cold Milk and that’s all you need for a fine meal. My Cardiologist doesn’t agree but who wants to live forever anyhow. If Branch Lettuce isn’t available Leaf Lettuce makes an acceptable substitute.
Do I detect a contender for the crown? I don’t recognize the name but the writing style is obvious. I welcome the competition.
That reminds me of the story my ex-husband told about one of his siblings asking his mom what was for supper. She said, “beans and taters.” He said, “again today? I don’t like beans and taters.” She said, “well, you are excused from the table.”
I go into a panic mode when I run out of onions. One of the local stores has the Honey Crisp Onion in early spring and I buy enough to last several months. They keep well when stored in an old fridge out in the garage.
Tipper,
Ewwwwwwww, I left off “onion milk”! Sorry Ed!
Funny
Tipper,
I am afraid that little trick wouldn’t work on us around here.
We all love us some onions…Like Bubba Gumps shrimp…we eatem’ fried, boiled, baked, broiled, stewed, roasted, and grilled. We loved’em stuffed, sliced, chopped, minced and whole, fresh from the garden and dipped in salt. I hope I didn’t miss one!
Why just this week I nearly cried (ha) as I finished off the last half of my great big flat fat Vidalia in a pan of left over round steak sliced in little pieces, with mixed peppers, onion and noodles…We eat noodles, “NO YOLK”….! Pun intended!
I bought a big bag of Vidalia’s the last of this past season, and did my best to hold them and they did! Our green onions are gone, we didn’t replant this year!
Remind me to tell you the story, if I haven’t already, about me trying to impress my new husband with a onion dish for supper, when we were out of everything! True story…Bless his heart, he tried to eat them! I just couldn’t make them like my Mom! She and Dad could cook grass and it would taste good! LOL
Thanks Tipper, Loved this post and Paps story!
PS…Think I will have an onion omelet for breakfast!
Back when I was a child I dreaded even the thought of milk from a cow that had been in a patch of wild onions. Nowdays when I eat crumbled cornbread and milk, guess what I like to put in it. You guessed it-cut up green onion.
Don’t you just love those little green onions, dipped in salt, and a bite of cornbread! Now that’s good food.