Walk like an Egyptian - Egyptian Onion, that is

As a prelude to our annual Summer dinner and meeting at Veronica's, I thought I would recognize the Walking Egyptian Onions that I received from her a few years ago.  Veronica gave me one set that I planted 3 years ago and now I have a nice little stand of onions.  They aren't the most attractive plant, although I do like their "crowns".   The entire plant is edible and I have tried them on kabobs on the grill and also sauteed.  I read somewhere that the taste is a cross between an onion and a shallot, and I have to say that I agree with that.  The entire plant is edible.  The topsets can be eaten, the onions at the base can be eaten, and the stalks can be cut and eaten.  The "walk" occurs when the topsets becomes heavy and drops to the ground, planting another set of onions for future harvests.   According to Dave's Garden.com, Egyptian Onions are an heirloom plant, going back to the 1850's.  They are a little tedious to peel, but I saw a response in GardenWeb.com to blanch briefly for peeling, so I am going to try that.  Use Egyptian Walking Onions fresh or cured, raw or cooked (I just tried a raw one - they are quite spicy - garlic lovers will love them).  To cure, put in a dry place with good circulation for about 2 weeks. Btw, I saw them being sold online for $17.95 for 1 oz.  Enjoy!

Another Fine Day for the MN Garlic Festival

The garlic bulbs were big and pungent as 9th Annual MN Garlic Festival kicked off on August 9th.  Great Chef Demos with Birchwood Cage. The Bachelor Farmer, and more.  We enjoyed The Narren of New Ulm, a dance with German Village characters; Antoine, the whistle maker and Bertram the Broommaker.  I especially loved the graphic on the Garlic CD, full of kitchy garlic songs.  But of course, the most important thing was the garlic.  Even though I grow plenty of garlic, after a couple of years ago when the Aster Yellow Disease hit MN due to ask unseasonably early spring, I buy my garlic to plant and eat the garlic I grow.  I did learn one thing in talking to a garlic vendor this year; when curing garlic, it's best to leave the stalks on until they brown and completely wither.  He said he felt the flavor retention in the garlic was better and they bulbs stored longer.  Hmm, after my dear hubby knocked over my curing screen in the garage a few years ago, sending my garlic flying and mixing up all the varieties I grew that year, I decided to cut off the stalks this year to prevent another disastrous accidental garlic spill.  Oh well, I can't fault my hubby, as he puts up with his garage domain smelling if garlic a few weeks each summer.  Live and learn - next year, I'll leave the stalks on.  Carry on all you Herbie Garlic Growers with your Random Acts of Stinkiness.

A Summer Morning for the Birds; Wet Felted Birdhouses, that is

These are pics from our 2nd HIG on making felted birdhouses.  For those of you that don't know, we're planning on using the theme of Birds for the MN Landscape Arboretum holiday tree this year.  We will be creating various birds and bird related items to decorate the tree.  Normally we don't start our work till October, but I thought we'd get a jump and get some bird houses going.  It's fun to see the creations that our members make.  Different people, different ideas. But they always turn out cool.  That's what's great about these natural, creative, & herbal people.  Carry on.  Looking forward to seeing the finished creations at our August meeting.

Oh yeah, and check out Jan's mother.  She makes her own Kombucha.  I think we need a HIG on that sometime soon.