Potato/Wild Onion Soup (makes about 7 cups)
This is a derivation of Potato/Leek soup (a European favorite). Either will raise your temperature and knock a cold out of you in a few hours. It's easy to make, has a great texture and is absolutely delicious. Especially good in cold weather.

5 medium potatoes, peeled
1 bunch green onions (wild or domestic), or 2 leeks, or an equivalent of shallots, chopped in pieces not to finely.
6 cups water
1 tsp. salt, or to taste.
Simmer all together until the potatoes crumble under pressure. Run the mixture through a food mill. Throw away the pulp (or put it on the compost).
Add 1/8 tsp. pepper, or to taste. Reheat and serve. Freezes well, so make a bunch. Some people like to add milk, cream or butter. You can also add cooked clams, carrots & corn to make a chowder. Yummy! Once the base soup is made, it becomes infinitely variable.

Other Uses : Use wild onions just as you would use domestic green onions, only use less because the taste is stronger than chives, shallots or domestic varieties. You can pickle the bulbs or eat them raw. Cook with the leaves, put them on a sandwich, in Thai quisine. Very versatile. My favorite is to sprinkle them on baked potatoes, over cooked brown rice, toss in with pasta salads, add to soups, stews. Anything. Very versatile.

Food Mill: If you don't have a food mill and you intend to cook, you really should get one. Running the above soup through a blender or a food processor is not possible because it only chops up the woody stems and makes the soup inedible. A food mill smashes and separates the hard and soft material. Julia Child agrees, you simply can't make some things without a food mill. You can get them on the internet from several sources. To the left is a picture of one type of food mill. Prices range from $19.95 to $300. I recommend getting one with a mid-size bowl, made of stainless steel, with a variety of grater attachments. There's a wide choice of food mills in every price range, all pictured at: http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buyer/outpdir.jsp?dosearch=y&node=2700400&doSearch=y&search=food%20mill

Wild Green Onion Links (not many available)
Follow these links for lots more info--botanical, identification, history, cultivation, medicinal uses. Your education will not be complete without this information, which is not included in my newsletter as I see no need to repeat what other experts have said.

BOTANICAL, HISTORY AND PHOTOS:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/wildflwr/species/allitext.htm
http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/vex/toxic/wonion/wonion0.htm

PROPAGATION, GROWTH HABITS

VARIETIES, CULTIVATION:

NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF ONIONS AND GARLIC
http://www.bawarchi.com/health/onion.html
http://herbsforhealth.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.uvm.edu/%7Erouellet/refer.html