Salad onions -- any way to make them sweet but not soft?
A nice trick is to soak them in a mixture of balsamic/water/sugar for a few hours.  They take on the flavour of the balsamic, the sugar helps to lessen the sour and the water just makes the cost of it all a little less.  The onions should remain somewhat crisp but if you leave them in too long then the vinegar will start to do it's job and soften them up.  You'll have to find the best time for you.