There are people like onions, with many layers. And onions like people, who make you cry without meaning to. And you can love an onion much more than you love some people... And an onion can do much better to your health than many people. So let's trust that it's a good idea to go to the supermarket for some onions!

Your Veggie Shopping today is for onions. You can click on the link to learn about this contest; there's plenty of time to participate 😁

Thank you so much, @plantpoweronhive for keeping this space open, @sirenahippie for kindly hosting it, and @sagarkothari88 for sponsoring the contest 🖤

I grew up listening to my mother say that onions were good for your heart, marveling at the tasty little "mini onions" (shallots) that I could only enjoy when we went on vacation and stayed at my grandparents' house (on my father's side). As a teenager, I learned from my sisters that onions could be made into delicious caramelized onion dip for toasts, which was a favorite treat when you were going through that vegetarian phase that always came with college; I was a few years away from that in those days. The little green onion rings in our mother's fried rice were never as delicious as in the Chinese restaurant; one of the childhood mysteries related to spring onions.

Onions, popular vegetable

Onions are very popular in my hometown (Cumaná, in eastern Venezuela)--and in the world--; most of the time, we can find good deals on yellow and white onions, but yes, somewhat small.

Red onions have become popular in the last six or seven years, and now we can buy them even in small stores; their price is only a little higher than that of "common onions."

Green onions are also quite affordable, unlike leeks. And although shallots are rare in my city, they can be easily found in the kitchens of many homes in other cities in eastern Venezuela; I really don't know why I hardly ever see them in the store; it's a shame, as I love their sweet flavor. As for ciboulette, it's nowhere to be found, unless, like me, you have some planted in your garden (you can see it below, next to photo-bomb star Paco, our parrot). I guess it's too delicate a vegetable for trade.

Let's say, in short, that the popular onions around here are the yellow, white and green kinds; because of their abundance, and durability, you can find them in all supermarkets at reasonable prices.

I went to "Los Gochos" today to find a good deal. It's four minutes from my house by motorcycle. 10 minutes when I ride my bike. But it was too hot today to ride my bike: 29°, heat sensation was 33° plus high humidity.

On a day like today, when payday was only 3 days ago, people have no money and the stores are empty. One doesn't know whether to feel comfortable or sad.

Gochos bring a lot of vegetables from the far west of the country--and often from Colombia--; in the GIF you can see the big truck they use to transport the goods. We call these people who live in the cold and mountainous states of the extreme western region "gochos." They are usually the ones who run this type of establishment, usually large and practically in the open air.

Here you can find fresh products at a better price than in other stores.

They won't give you an invoice for your purchase, which is common in Venezuela nowadays. It's too long to explain, but I can tell you that it has to do with taxes, corrupt police, parallel dollar, and some government. You can connect the dots to reveal the picture.

I bought 460 gr of yellow onions. They were small but still OK for me. If I press on the flower bud end, opposite to the root, and it feels firm, then that's it. I take them. These were good enough. My grandmother used to say small onions made a better broth, tastier. I think it's true, but I like big onions as well, to make my job easier in the kitchen.

I paid 33 cents.

Red onions are always good here, and of a good size. These must be my favorite onions for salad. I bought 3 red onions, 850 gr.

...So I paid $1.3 approx.

I spent less than $1.7 for a good deal of onions: 1.210kg. Enough onions for 3 or 4 days.

I had to go for more now, some bigger onions. I went to New Market, near my house. It was a little empty, too.

I found bigger onions, yellow ones.

I bought 0.868 kg and paid 60 cents. Good buy.

They must give me an invoice here. I took a picture when I got home.

Onions were 90 cents per kilo here.

And they had a decent size.

They also had spring onions ("Los Gochos" did as well), but I had some at home, so I didn't buy any.

Usually, Canela (one of my cats) is the one who checks that we've bought everything we need, but this time we went grocery shopping in the morning, which almost never happens. Mornings are Horacia's shift, while Canela takes a long nap.

Horacia rubs her bibrisas against the onions. This means she approves of this purchase. This onion is good:

So is this one.

And this one.

Once we know we've chosen the onions wisely, we're ready to organize them.

I leave vegetables and fruits out of the fridge as long as I don't need to refrigerate them yet, so I don't overwork our old fridge. This includes onions, which are quite durable. I organize them in trays and put them on the kitchen counter. The volume usually goes down fast, so it's not a problem. I try to shop for vegetables two or three times a week, to keep them from spoiling at home, but onions are one of the items I buy in significant quantity all at once.

In my city the weather is hot. When I have many more onions than we can use in a week and little space in the fridge, I simply take them to the dining room table, where it is cooler and there is less light, and cover them with a light clean cloth to help avoid humidity.

Always have onions at home. They are food, but they are also medicine.

When you get the flu in my town, grandmothers boil red onion in milk--I guess you could use any vegetable milk--and make a smoothie with it. They sweeten it a little and give it to you to drink on an empty stomach and in the evenings. They say it's a very effective spectorant. You can try it.

Also, onions are diuretic, which is good for the kidneys and for preventing diabetes.

"Onions are good for the heart." Yes, they are. Besides being diuretic, onions are high in potassium.

We also know, raw onions are high in sulfur, which is good for keeping cancer away.

So go get lots of onions! And treat yourself to a delicious dish; you'll feel happier and healthier 😁.

Thank you so much for your visit :)

All text and images are my own. I have taken the pictures with my Redmi 9T cell phone. And if any GIFs here, I've used GIPHY for all them.

Banner by @andresromero 🖤