M. Suzanne Terry

We had a church potluck on Sunday to welcome back the college students who go away for the summer and to welcome the new school year.

It came at a good time. I have been eating terribly for the last few weeks. Work is busy, and I’m trying to finish a manuscript (about meal planning, oddly enough), so home has been easy food (sandwiches, cereal, the occasional drive-through) and comfort ice cream. I needed to get back in the kitchen and make something again.

I am going to the farm this coming weekend, so I decided to use up some of the veggies in my fridge and on my counter while they were still at their peak. I chopped everything Saturday night so that I could just load up the slow cooker in the morning to create a little ratatouille/caponata hybrid.

Then I went about my evening. It didn’t go as planned. I planned my usual evening of late – sitting in front of the television or reading until I was tired.

But there’s something about onions.

The smell of onions in the air changes my mood. It reminds me of MeMaw’s garden and kitchen. It makes me want to read cookbooks and dream of future dishes. It got me off the couch and into the office to write another 1,100 words on meal planning.

Onions might be my favorite vegetable.

I mean, I’m not going to sit and eat a raw onion like an apple, but I put them in almost everything I cook. I like raw onions just fine but if a dish contains them, they are so overpowering that they’re all I can taste. Then my mouth gets confused, because why is this onion creamy?!?! Oh, wait. Because it’s actually guacamole. My taste buds register it as an oddly green onion dip.

When I make guacamole, I mince the onions (and the peppers, because ditto on the strong taste of peppers) and soften them for a few minutes in a little olive oil. Then I drain the oil and reserve it for a future stir fry or scrambled eggs and let the onions and peppers cool while I prepare the avocado, tomatoes, and celery (yes, celery. Do it! You know, if you like celery). Then I mix it all together, sprinkle in some fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper, and enjoy, usually straight from the mixing bowl.

What’s your favorite veggie? What’s your favorite way to eat it?