
Onions always seem to stump people the most. I use onions in almost everything I cook, but those familiar bulb onions are only in season for a few months of the year in late spring and summer. (It doesn't help matters that the majority of our onion crop rotted away in flooded fields this spring). Most years we have some sort of allium (onion-family plants) year-round, and all are generally interchangeable. I would not try to make a French onion soup with scallions, but I have done so with fabulous results using leeks. Hundreds of recipes start with a chopped, sauteed onion, but there's no reason you can't use scallions - just cook tender green onions for a shorter time, or throw them into your dish at the end. Get creative, and think outside your recipe box!