Hold the Phone! Make Your Own Onion Rings

I know, I'm always going on about healthy eating and using leafy green vegetables and onion rings don't quite fit the bill. On the other hand, did you eat something you shouldn't have on the Memorial Day weekend? In Canada, the Victoria Day weekend in May is recognized as the beginning of gardening season, garage sale season, market season, cottage season and the promise of summer. Canadians go a little nuts every year on this weekend and there is lots of partying and over indulgence. Held on the Monday closest to May 24 in celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday, the holiday is affectionately known as May 2-4, derived from the number of beers in a case, all of which you are supposed to drink.

So this year, with my husband out of town on a business trip, my daughter invited her best friend Julia over and we had a girl's night of beer and onion rings. It's not all we had to eat, but it's the important part. I love onion rings, but have long since stopped buying them as they are just too unhealthy to eat. However, the great thing about making them yourself, like all of the Hold the Phone! series is that you know exactly what is in them, and you can make a healthier version of it for yourself. I know what the coating is and I also know what kind of oil I'm frying them in and that it hasn't been in use for a week or two already.

This obviously isn't something that you would make on a regular basis, but holidays are for celebrating, and sometimes a normally forbidden food becomes a great treat. They were delicious and we savoured each one carefully. We had a delightful dinner and enjoyed each other's company, and that is what eating together is about.

Onion Rings

2 Spanish or Videlia onions
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp chili powder
pinch cayenne
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Slice onion into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Separate into rings. Place buttermilk in dish and add chili and cayenne. Add onion rings and soak for 15 minutes.

2. Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Place flour, salt and pepper in plastic bag. Add rings and sake well.

3. When a cube of bread turns brown in 15 seconds, add rings to oil a few at a time, without crowding the pan and fry until golden and crisp, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Drain on paper towels, salt and serve immediately. If you are cooking them in batches, keep them warm in the oven at 200F until they are all cooked.

Serves 4

Difficulty Level: Easy

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