Spring Onion Soup

When handed a bunch of spring onions, what would you do with them? Sure, they make a pretty garnish and add a nice fresh crunch when used as a topping, and they add a nice subtle onion flavor when sautéed. But how do you use up a whole bunch of spring onions in one fell swoop?

That's where the Internet comes in, as always, and saves the day! I found this recipe for spring onion soup - it did not take long to make, used few ingredients, and seemed to be an easy way to use my bunch of spring onions. And it was! The soup was savory and a bit oniony. Definitely not as strong as French onion soup. The only thing that would have made this soup a little better would have been some crusty, cheesy bread to dip in it.

Summer Veggie Tart

Considering fall is about to start, it only seemed appropriate to finally post this summer veggie tart...that was made almost a MONTH ago. Have I mentioned that I've been busy this summer? Anyway, this tart was made with 100% vegetables from the CSA - remember those six ears of corn? Well, I didn't eat them. Instead, I froze the kernels and then defrosted them so that they could be a part of this delicious meal. The tart was based on Smitten Kitchen's Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini. I used frozen pastry crust, as a shortcut, since it takes a while to make fresh dough. While Deb @ Smitten Kitchen molded the dough into a circle, pleated the edges, and overlapped the filling, I just left the dough in a rectangle and folded up the corners to make a crust. I don't think my changes made much of a difference (although, fresh dough is always better than frozen), but it was just a bit easier and faster this way. I can't seem to remember if this was served with a salad, but if it wasn't it should be in the future! This was a healthy, quick, and easy dinner - it was light yet filling. Perfect for a summer evening.

They Weren't Leeks

Remember those tall green things with a white bulb at the end? Those things I said were leeks? Well...they weren't leeks. They were onions! Who knew onions had tall green stalks?! They definitely don't look like that at the grocery store. Anyway, I didn't realize they were actually onions until after I found and made Mark Bittman's recipe for Pasta with Leeks and Parsley. Luckily, leeks and onions have similar flavors, and since these onions were rather young, they didn't have too much of an oniony taste. So basically, it didn't make much difference in the dish.

Not leeks.

This pasta dish was really easy to make - the onions and parsley gave it a fresh flavor. It was a nice alternative to tomato sauce, which can be very heavy. This is definitely a dish I would make again, and Mark Bittman is one of my favorite food critics. He has a really interesting philosophy on eating healthy and enjoying all food in moderation - you should be a vegan for breakfast and lunch, and at dinner, you can eat whatever you want. His reasons are for both environmental and physical health benefits. I want to read his book to learn more about this lifestyle and see how easy it might be to make some of his suggested changes. Maybe it will be my first book review on this blog?