First Vidalias

 For the last few years, I have been searching for a friend. She and her husband were in craft shows with me in coliseums. She never did small shows or outdoor shows. I have searched obituaries. So, again today, I searched obituaries and found she had died in fall of 2020. I am not sure why her name did not show up before. It turns out she moved and had health problems for the few years before her death. Her house and acreage in the country appeared abandoned but well-kempt. This is not a close and tragic loss as some deaths have been, I really wanted to reminisce and catch up one last time. 

Today, we planned to stay home. Well, rain only came about 3:45 and the storm sped through. Tommy is washing the squash. If I leave a little bag of squash slices, he will put it in a salad. It is Vidalia onion season, so we bought those. He will love dices of Vidalia for his salad. He is a man who does not need to be encouraged to eat variety. 

Today, the right hip, the one that hit the concrete porch is so swollen. I doubt I will be able to ride 70 miles to a friend's memorial on Sunday and then get to church basement for a lunch and then ride back 70 miles. Plus, the right shoulder and elbow are in screaming pain in car. Too bad. 

The right hip waited a month to act up. Wonder what is up with that, especially since it is so swollen and hurts.

Today, I saw a cardinal land in the yard as I sat in my chair. Then, I thought I saw two more land. I went to door fast as I could. There were three female and two male cardinals. I wonder where they stay. 

We went to Publix after putting squash and eggs on the stove, turning both down. I wanted Vidalia onions. All the onions we had were going bad, so we tossed those. I cannot imagine what happened. The onions were mushy in the middle but looked fine otherwise. I bought fully cooked Jimmy Dean sausage patties, pecans, Vidalia onions. I will chop and freeze most of the onions. I will leave chopped onions in the refrigerator for Tommy to use in his salads and other concoctions. When we came back, he turned stove eyes back up for boiled eggs and squash. 

When we went to Publix, temperature was 61F with a slight breeze, so it was coolish. Thankfully, I wore a jacket. 

The eggs were boiled perfectly! The squash was delicious. Tomorrow, I will have tuna salad for lunch.

Not much happening, huh?

Wave Petunias, Vidalias, Meyer Lemon Tree

Wave Petunias

Wave Petunias are the only flowers I ever purchase. I like the pink ones best, but this is the only picture showing how they grow in a basket. I have one hanging basket just for the Wave Petunias. 

I see that there are Wave Petunia seeds at Park Seeds, so I may try to plant seeds this year or maybe next. 

Saturday, I will put the Wave Petunia I got today in the basket. If I am lucky, the seeds that drop will give me petunias for the next year. 

Friday was a day I hoped to get some yard stuff done. The guy who was coming to mow my yard is not coming since he said he would so many times and has not! I could barely get out of the bed on Friday, so maybe this will happen on Saturday.

Since I bought eggs on Thursday night and boiled half of them, I plan to make some proper tuna salad with eggs instead of my half-made stuff. I am excited. I had to have celery to make  tuna salad properly (way I prefer it). Celery is expensive!

Vidalia onions are in the stores, so I have to wash the dehydrator trays, buy onions, chop, and dehydrate. I am so excited. The last onions I had were given to me and were bitter white onions, perfect for cooking with meat, using for most things, just not raw.  But, they are not Vidalias. I just used the last I dehydrated last year, so I am happy to have more this year. I put them in jelly jars, 8 ounce Ball jars. At the minimum, I need 4 jars. More will be good. 

I know that Meyer lemon trees must be brought inside if grown in my area. I also know that they can live in their own little house of plastic outdoors. Well, is that right? lol

I saw a Meyer Lemon about 18 inches tall and wondered how old it is and how long will it be before it produces lemons. 

Friday
I have done nothing today beyond eat and sleep with chills and pain. 

Your Turn

Have you ever planted petunia seeds? Wave Petunia seeds? Have you ever grown a lemon tree? How old is the 18 inch lemon tree? How old must it be to bear lemons? I know what I read on the internet, but I want first-hand knowledge/experience/opinions. 

Vidalia Onions-Free

5 lbs of free Vidalia onions

Vidalia onions are only grown in an area defined by law in and around Vidalia, GA. Vidalias are a sweet onion. I will cook with any onion, but getting five pounds on Vidalia Onions is a real boon. At $1.99/lb, this is a  free $10 bargain. Since this is onion season, the price may be lower right now. Okay, May is Vidalia onion season, but I got these on June 11th, so these were probably harvested shortly before that. At any rate, these get rarer and more expensive as time goes by.

Today, my Excalibur dehydrator will make its maiden voyage. Okay, so it is pretty stationary--losing its virginity, perhaps? I will not be surprised if the odor of onion pervades my home, clean clothing, and my hair. People may avoid me!

It will be interesting to see how small the jar to hold all these will be. My guess would be a half pint jar will be sufficient--1 cup. We will see how close my prediction is to reality. I also predict these will last me until Vidalia season next year.  In my cooking of most meats and meat dishes, I add just a bit of onion to add flavor. In my efforts to make things last longer, I have frozen onion that otherwise would have just spoiled in the refrigerator if I did not use or put it up some way.


Look at the size of this onion. It weighs more than 1 pound, is almost 6 inches across, and is 15 inches in circumference and 3.5 inches thick. In the first picture, this onion is in the back. I put the two quarters on top of it to give you a frame of reference, then I found my tape that I had been search for! This is not just an overgrown onion or an anomaly. Many Vidalias are this size.


huge Vidalia onion



Yes, I am being frugal by adding only a bit for flavor. Rarely, do I get the urge to cook a hamburger with onions. Even then, I feel I am being frugal by eating not what I want but what I need. I look at it as being practical instead of trying to deny myself because of parsimony. I know I will get another onion.

I quit buying bags long ago because the "savings" to me is just a false economy. One bad onion discovered immediately raises the price per pound. Several onions gone bad later keep raising the price. I buy an onion, use a bit, dice and freeze the rest--until today.

Probably, the garlic on the counter should be dried, too. If I am going to smell onion-y, I might as well add a little garlic to the mix! Okay, here goes! Maybe some celery will accompany the onion and garlic.

While I am chopping, you can check out this article about the origin of the Vidalia.  Here is more information, including exactly where the Vidalia onion can be grown and be called Vidalia.

Hmmm, less sulfur in the soil means a sweeter onion?  I wonder if soil can be amended to make it have less sulfur? There is a project for research another day.

Your turn
Have you ever eaten Vidalias? If anyone has dried onions, how did they turn out?  Does the odor permeate your home while they are drying? The smell of bananas did when I dehydrated them in the winter. It was a lovely upon arising each day.