In checking the dates of things I need to do in the near future, it dawned on me that we only have seven more days from today in this month! July has gone by like a whirlwind as far as I’m concerned, and I’m quite sure a lot of teachers will agree with me! In some areas, school will be starting on August 1, for teachers
This past week I’ve attended two funerals; the first one was for a very dear friend. Most of you have heard about taking care of a friend’s dog when she was out of town. This week she succumbed to cancer to the sorrow of her family and her family of friends. May she rest in peace. The second funeral was a truly sweet lady from our church. She was always willing to help with any church work, pleasant to be around totally easy to work with at our church picnic. She had car trouble and while she was out of her car was critically injured by a hit and run driver. She did not survive her injuries and leaves behind a large family and a host of friends. May she rest in peace. However, I did have some fun this week; my daughter came by on her way home, after spending several days helping out her son and his family who welcomed a precious baby boy! We had a great time not only visiting and playing table games but squeezed in a shopping trip as well. She made it home fine this afternoon, to find the streets flooded and rain pouring down. We’re all thankful she had no problems.
This week, we’re going to talk about scallions. Did you say, “What is a scallion”? Well, recently, a friend of mine gave me a stack of the Cooking Network magazines and frequently a recipe called for scallions, and I kept trying to figure out just exactly what they were. Finally, one of the recipes had a picture that used some “scallions” cut into pieces that were an inch or two long, lo and behold, they looked to me like green onions. Finally, I decided to check online and find out what the difference, if any, actually was. Guess what? Scallions, green onions, spring onions, salad onions, long onions, baby onions and on and on, are all the exact same thing. The name seems to vary with the locale where you live.
Scallions, green onions, spring onion. etc., all have the flavor of a very mild onion and we mostly use them sliced up in salads or as the garnish on some type of dish. Many oriental recipes call for them, in fact, in my favorite egg roll recipe; they are one of the main ingredients. Also, they are used rather than yellow or white onions in the recipe I have for chicken enchiladas. Many folks like to eat them out of hand, rather than slicing them up. My dad always preferred his that way and ate them, sprinkled with a little salt, with a sandwich.
My Grandmother had some that she planted that she called “multiplying onions”, they were almost the same thing as the ones we’ve been talking about but had a larger bulb. She picked them and dried them just as you would regular onions and when she made pickles, she put several of them in the jar with the cucumbers.
When you are buying scallions/green onions, always make sure that the green part is a bright green with no yellowing or drying tops. When you pick out the bunch of onions, check to see if they are straight. If they are beginning to curve, they are not really fresh. If you want to make them look fancy for a garnish, trim off the roots, remove the thin skins and, using a sharp knife, cut lengthwise through the green part very close together so they are in shreds. Place them in water over night in the fridge and they will curl up, drain well, pat dry and use as a garnish. Another tip I have found over time is that you can use the tops in place of chives in some recipes; however, they are a little stronger in flavor.
Springtime Chicken Salad for a Crowd
6 cups chopped cooked chicken (You can use a rotisserie chicken for this to save time)
2 cups celery, thinly sliced
1½ cups pineapple tidbits or cut up pineapple chunks
6 green onions, thinly sliced, including some of the tops
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1½ cups mayonnaise
1½ cups sour cream
¼ cup lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons horseradish (optional)
1 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
1/ to 1 teaspoon salt
Mix together first five ingredients in a large bowl and chill thoroughly. Mix together remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and chill also. Pour dressing on salad just before serving and mix thoroughly. Makes 12 to 15 servings. With the mayo and sour cream in this dressing, be sure to keep this salad chilled, even while serving if possible.
Recently, a friend gave me a new recipe for brownies. They are called “Oatmeal Brownies” because they contain oatmeal as one of the main ingredients. They are an intensely chocolate brownie, as they have ¾ cup of cocoa in them. I have tried using different sized pans to make these. Using an 8-inch pan made them too thick to suit me, so I tried one of the disposable pans that you purchase cinnamon rolls in at the grocery store and they were really too thin and crispy, so I tried the 9-inch square pan and this made them just perfect to cut into twelve servings. Hope you enjoy them as much as my family has!
Oatmeal Brownies
½ cup butter
1¼ cups sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s® cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten lightly with fork
½ cup flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips, optional*
Heat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9-injch square pan or line with parchment paper, set aside. I would use the 9-inch pan and line it with the parchment paper or foil. Spray or grease the foil because they will stick if you don’t!
Mix together sugar, cocoa powder and salt, set aside.
Melt butter in medium pan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar mixture until lumps are removed.
Beat eggs and vanilla together, (temper eggs by stirring some of the hot mixture into them) and then add to sugar mixture and mix well.
Fold in flour just until combined, then stir in oats and nuts. Pour batter into pan and bake about 32 to 35 minutes, until brownies are just done. Do not over bake. Test by inserting toothpick near center; it should come out with just a few crumbs attached. Cool and cut into squares. *If desired sprinkle top with about 1/3 cup mini-chocolate chips before baking.