Humble onion thoughts

Warning! I’m having another ‘Princess Fiona’ (Shrek) moment!

Apparently, I transgressed in my last post by not using a picture of the onion flower. I apologize to all of you with green fingers and/or a sense of curiosity.

Anyway, the gentle inquiries of readers and friends triggered another ‘wise’ moment of contemplation about the humble onion. You see, the onion is the ugly duckling of the vegetable world, the Jekyll and Hyde, a Princess Fiona and ogre all rolled into one tear-making round ball of tastiness.

Meet the onion as we know it in every day life:

The humble yellow onion, or its more exuberant red cousin:

When it flowers, it really comes into its own! Like an ugly duckling transforming itself into a swan.

And my, my! Aren’t those flowers beautiful!

Truly lovely!

But the onion is not just about taste and looks: it is perky and has a great sense of humour. It is the clown of the vegetable world… Sometimes, it can transform from this:

Into this:

Don’t know about you, folks, but I’ll never look at an onion in the same way again…