It's February and Time for Thing-A-Day! Day One Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Yes, that is right, I am attempting Thing-A-Day for the second year in a row. I did awesome last year and since I do several creative things each day it should be no sweat this year. Thing-A-Day has moved over to Posterous, and I have got to say, I LOVE IT! They have it set up so you email in your posts, along with attachments, and it instantly goes to my personal Posterous blog (set up for Thing-A-Day), to the Thing-A-Day Group blog, AND I can have it post to this blog. I am blown away by how the internet can link everything. Such a time saver. And for those who don't know, Thing-A-Day requires you to work on a creative project for as little as 20 minutes a day and then post about it. It can be music, writing, art, cooking... the sky is the limit. Registration to participate is now closed, but if you want to grab some inspiration, check it out...

So yesterday was day one. I had a GREAT day! I met up with someone I have been wanting to meet for a long time, and it turns out, we are kindred souls. I am really excited to start collaborating on some projects with this amazing woman. Yippee!! In addition to that, I got to spend a little time, a creative hour, with my good friend, Kim. All this while Quin was happily taking part in her ski lesson. Then, in the evening, I made vegetarian French onion soup. I got the recipe from Craft Daily, by far my most favorite e-newsletter. It is by Shawn Connally and you can get a PDF of the recipe here. I have also written it below, along with my changes... My husband used to serve French onion soup in a crepe restaurant he worked in. He loved this soup and so did our 3 1/2 year old, who ate it two days in a row, but with cheddar instead of Gruyere melted on top.


Vegetarian French onion soup
Makes 5-6 bowls

Ingredients (I used organic where possible)
- 6 yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 c (one stick of butter)
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1/3 cup cooking sherry
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2" thick French bread slices
- Gruyere cheese for melting on top. You could also use provolone, Swiss, or mozzarella.

- Melt the butter in a heavy soup pot. Add the onions and saute until the onions are translucent and soft, about 15 minutes (stir occasionally).
- Once the onions have cooked down, add the broth and sherry. Simmer for half an hour, then season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. While the soup cooks, toast the slices of bread, and grate or slice the cheese. (I grated and I didn't preheat my oven, see my note below*)
- Ladle soup into oven safe bowls, leaving about half an inch of space at the top. (i don't have soup crocks but do have small square casserole dishes which work. And I put my daughters in a ramekin).
- Place toasted bread on top of soup, then cover generously with cheese, either slices or grated.
- Put the bowls into a preheated oven and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. You may want to turn the oven to Broil if the top isn’t brown enough for your tastes. Watch the process closely. (*I didn't bake the whole thing for 5 minutes, I just broiled on low for 2 - 3 minutes).
- Eat up! We had this with a salad and a glass of wine.