Çoban Salatası (Turkish Shepard Salad Recipe)

One of our favorite cheap dishes we learned how to make when we lived in Turkey is the Çoban Salatası (Turkish Shepard Salad Recipe)

I bought the following ingredients for less than $1 {not counting the lemon – paid full price for that}.

1 pound of red onion $.50 instead of $.84
1.27 pounds of Roma tomatoes for $.25 instead of $1.27
1 cucumber for $.17 each instead of $.58 each

Here are some fun facts about onion from Onions USA and a few from my personal food knowledge:

Q: How many pounds of fresh and storage type onions does the average American eat per year?
A: 20 pounds.

WOW, so if you pay normal prices throughout the year without price matching, using the average price of $.68 a pound you will pay $13.60 a year in onion. Now, if you price match them {prices range from $.10 to $.50 a pound} using the average of $.33 a pound, you will pay $6.60 and save $7! This is for ONE item you use a year. Are you seeing how price matching everyday items can save you money?

Q: What should you eat to get rid of onion breath?
A: Parsley.

When we lived in Turkey they would use mint and parsley after meals. As I care for neither raw {I like my mint in a mojito please!} I just carried a breath mint! LOL

Now that we got rid of that stinky breath… how about the odor on your hand? Here are a few ways to do just that:

Ever seen those stainless steel odor removers they sell in the stores? Gimmick? Well, not really but you can do the same with a large spoon under running water!
Use table salt to make a paste and rub into your hands.
Lemons or vinegar will do the trick too – I personally prefer the smell of lemons. {and I toss it down my garbage disposal when done for a little lemony boost}

The following is from The Kitchn

Yellow Onions – We consider this the all-purpose onion, and personally, it’s the one we use most often. Yellow onions have a nice balance of astringency and sweet in their flavor, becoming sweeter the longer they cook. They are usually fist-sized with fairly a fairly tough outer skin and meaty layers. Spanish onions are a particular kind of yellow onion and we find them to be slightly sweeter and more delicate in flavor.
White Onions – These onions tend to have a sharper and more pungent flavor than yellow onions. They also tend to be more tender and have a thinner, more papery skin. They can be cooked just like yellow onions, but we also like them minced and added to raw salsas and chutneys.
Sweet Onions – Walla Walla and Vidalia are the most common kinds of sweet onions. These onions lack the sharp, astringent taste of other onions and really do taste sweet. They are fantastic thinly sliced and served in salads or on top of sandwiches. They can range in color from white to yellow and often have a flattened or squashed appearance. Sweet onions tend to be more perishable and should be store in the refrigerator.
Red Onions – With their deep purple outer skin and reddish flesh, these are really the odd-guys out in the onion family. They are fairly similar to yellow onions in flavor, though their layers are slightly less tender and meaty. Red onions are most often used in salads, salsas, and other raw preparations for their color and relatively mild flavor. The lovely red color becomes washed out during cooking. If you find their flavor to astringent for eating raw, try soaking them in water before serving.