How to Chop Onions Without Bawling!

My new recipe for this winter is chicken stew with dumplings. It's packed with veg and satisfies some little part of my soul that I didn't know needed attention. I was prepping my stew, and after putting them off to the the last, I faced my nemesis-the onion! Onions make me cry harder than a Dolly Parton Christmas movie. It's so awful that I actually asked Mark for onion goggles for Christmas this year. He thought I was kidding. If you have never heard of them, they are real and I'm hoping they will change my life. I discovered that they carry them at Bed Bath and Beyond, I'll be swinging by later today to pick those up and I'll report back to you.

Here are some other suggestions for avoiding the stinging, swelling and weeping caused by slicing onion:

• Don't crush your onion with a dull blade, use a nice sharp knife to release fewer of the enzymes that make you miserable.
• Here's the wackiest one that I found, hold a piece of bread with your lips. Rumor is that the bread will absorb the sulphuric compounds.
• Put your onion in the freezer for 15 minutes or so before cutting it. My research says that this actually works. Don't let the onion freeze though.
• Sweet Vidalia onions produce fewer tears.
• You can buy pre-chopped onions at the grocery store!

Do you have any tricks to share? Comment on our Fan Page or tweet #meanonion

I'll give you a consumer report on the onion goggles. Until then, never rub your eyes after touching an onion, and try that freezer trick.

Celeste