{the secret to perfect…}
Caramelized Onions
We are in a very “monsoon-y” rain pattern right now in Eastern North Carolina.
My grass. Loves it.
My garden. Adores it.
My allergies. Are thankful.
The cats. Hate it!
🙂
I guess 3 out of 4 ain’t so bad.
Speaking of our garden…it is going wild. I have tomatoes coming out of my ears
and if I eat any more okra I will turn into a little “podlette.”
But, I love it. I love this time of year when I can go right outside my back door
and “pick”our dinner.
We are pretty close to being vegetarians during the Summer months.
Dinner tonight will be sautéed squash and onions, sliced tomatoes with basil and feta, sliced cucumbers
in vinegar with green onion tops.
All from my garden.
(well…accept the feta.) 🙂
But, every now and then we get a hankering for a good steak.
A thick rib-eye.
Medium for The Hubbs and Medium-Rare for me.
I shared my secret to Cooking a Darned Good Steak on Your Stove
I also shared my recipe for a fabulous no-fail Beef Marinade.
But, around these parts – it’s almost sinful to eat a steak and not have
caramelized onions on the top.
You might be thinking…. “Barb, why are you sharing something so easy as caramelized onions?”
How hard can they be to cook?
That may be true for many of you, but believe it or not – I am asked all the time what my secret is.
{ start with a large pan on medium-low heat. Use half olive oil and half butter. }
I’ll just come right out and say it.
The secret is…
…wait for it.
Patience.
Yep, just simple, good ole’ fashioned patience.
Something my Mama tried to teach me every single year when we started the seedlings for our garden.
Growing up on one of Eastern North Carolina’s largest farms…
you can only imagine the size of a garden we had.
I am not talking about a mere garden plot.
I am talking acreage. As in 2-3 acres of garden.
I am talking enough tomato plants to keep Heinz in business.
🙂
Each year in early Spring, Mama would get out a variety of tin cans which could be planted with seeds.
She would poke little holes in the bottom and fill it with a soil mixture I would later learn was
nothing short of liquid gold.
We would plant a variety of seeds – both vegetables and flowers.
As a little girl, it never occurred to my naivety that a few tin cans of seedlings could not possibly fill a
huge plot of garden land. Because in my eye, the success of our entire garden and the vegetables we would
be eating the coming Winter were totally reliant on the outcome of the containers of these tin cans.
I am telling you right now – that was a lot of pressure on a little girl.
🙂
Once they were planted, we used popsicle sticks to write the names of the particular plant to mark the can.
Then, they were placed in the laundry room window seal where they would get the best sun.
Or, be out of Mama’s way.
I’m not quite sure which one. 🙂
Then, I was told to wait.
Wait?
As in…. wait?
As in…I can’t come back after an episode of Lassie and be able to enjoy a nice, red juicy mater?
So, I waited.
Every day after school I’d jump off the bus, throw my book bag on the floor and run back
to the laundry room.
(Isn’t it funny how typing this made me remember the sound of the back screen door
slamming when I came in from school.)
I’d round the corner at the kitchen and look on that little window seal only to find…Nothing.
Nothing tin cans of dirt – some with popsicle sticks with “toemato” scrawled on it.
Nothing.
Mama would look at me and shake her head and simply say… “you must wait.”
This went on for a few days.
I’d come home, run to the laundry room, feel the great weight of disappointment on my head,
look at my Mama…and say “I know, I know. Wait.”
Then one day, running into the room once again – I stopped dead in my tracks.
In those once forlorn-looking rusty tin cans filled with dirt and popsicle sticks,
were little green sprouts.
Tiny little leaves that had pushed through the soil, determined to keep its date with the sun.
The beginnings of our family garden.
Right there.
On the laundry room window seal.
As God as my witness, we would not go hungry this Winter.
😀
The prettiest little sprouts I’d ever seen – well, at least since last year.
I remember asking her one year how these seeds went from a little speck of nothing into
huge flowering plants that would eventually give us tomatoes and cucumbers and beans and corn.
I was kinda hoping she would say “Magic. These are magic seeds.”
But she didn’t, she said something better.
(although as a little girl I didn’t think so)
She said “there is a secret ingredient that we add to each of these cans, and that is
what makes them grow. It’s what makes our whole garden grow.
It’s patience.”
I’m pretty sure there was silence in the room.
My beautiful, sweet, farmer’s wife Mama had just revealed her secret ingredient.
And it was NOTHING like I thought it would be.
But, it was a life lesson not only for gardening but for cooking and life in general.
My secret to cooking perfect Caramelized Onions is….
patience.
Set the pan to a medium-low heat. Let the onions sit long enough to allow the edges to develop that
beautiful, slight char before stirring. Giving them enough time to let the natural sugars develop into
that delicious amber color that signifies a perfect caramelization.
You can’t rush this process. You can’t hurry it along in a microwave.
You can’t turn the heat of the pan up so they cook faster.
It simply takes…
patience.
Just like my Mama taught me.
I would love for you to follow me on Pinterest…
The Everyday Home Pinterest Board
And also pin this to your favorite Pinterest Boards…
Thank you for allowing me to share this recipe with you.
xxoo
Sharing With:
Confessions of a Plate Addict – The Scoop A Stroll Thru Life – Inspire Me Tuesday
Stories from A-Z – Tutorials and Tips Coastal Charm – Show and Share Party
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Inspire Me Monday French Country Cottage – Feathered Nest Friday
Craftberry Bush – Inspiration Gallery My Romantic Home – Show and Tell Rattlebridge Farm – Foodie Friday
Yum Eating – The Yuck Stops Here
sonny says
pullin up a chair to the table, grabbin 2 forks and in true country fashion:: my kinda fashion anyway:: I’m sayin my “thanks prayer” while I scoop some of everything into my plate, so as soon I say Amen I can start chowin down.. Barb could ya slide that bowl of sliced maters a lil closer to me , please mam.. thank ya
View CommentYvonne @ StoneGable says
What a sweet story, Barb! Your mama was so right about patience! And those caramelized onions look amazing!!!! I can almost smell them!
View CommentRattlebridge Farm--Foodie Friday says
What a treat to see your mouth-watering treats at Foodie Friday. I can almost smell the caramelized onions from here and taste that steak. Beautiful and delicious!
View CommentBarb says
Hi sweet friend – I’m trying to get back into the groove of blogging after a month-long hiatus. 🙂 I am blogging about whatever strikes my fancy and I guess this week it was food. haha Hope you are well! xxoo
View CommentPatty Lucas says
I loved this post. I planted a garden this year for the very first time. I had no idea what I was doing – still don’t but I have TOMATOES! I am so excited. I have no beans and no peppers but I planted late and I am hoping they still come up. I picked strawberries and made many, many jars of strawberry jam, first time and I also canned a lot of other things. I am already planning my next year garden – bigger and plants from seeds. Please keep writing about your gardens, past and present because I need all the help I can get. Thank you.
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