Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Back in the day, I used to walk to a little French place called Cafe Marley that was around the corner from my high school. The food wasn't amazing, but their French onion soup was so so good. I'd never had it before Cafe Marley so I was delighted to see my bowl covered in melty-crunchy gruyere cheese! I stopped eating red meat after my freshman year of high school so my year long love affair with French onion soup (traditionally made with beef stock) came to a bitter end. Last March (2010) I stopped eating all meat except for fish so my recent craving for French onion soup could not be made with chicken stock either. I searched foodgawker for a vegetarian French onion soup recipe and I found this little gem...

mmm mmm mmm

A note on stock vs. broth: Usually with meat versions, there is more meat and bones used in a stock than in a broth so it has a richer, deeper flavor. With broth, there is less meat and bones used so the broth could be eaten on its own without being over powering. When we're talking about vegetable stock vs vegetable broth, there isn't a huge difference but I have noticed that the veggie stocks I've found at the market are a little more flavorful. The one I used in this recipe (sorry, forgot to write down the name of it) was an organic one in a white and green carton and I think it had a lot of mushroom infused in it because it tasted really meaty. It was good, and perfect for French Onion Soup.


Yes, chopping the onions is a bitch of a task but it's so worth it. And this soup only took about two hours from start to finish whereas most French onion soups take hours (cooked low and slow). If you're eyes are sensitive to onion, you might want to invest in a pair of onion goggles (no really). My eyes are shielded by the brilliant suctioning action of contact lenses so I always offer to do the onion chopping because I don't like to see my friends cry :). I've also heard that touching cold stainless steel helps. What do you do to block out the onion tears?

So many onions!

The recipe calls for white wine but I'm 19 and I didn't want to go bug my neighbor to buy me a bottle. Their suggestion was to use no sugar added white grape juice in place of the wine but I didn't want to buy that either because I wouldn't drink the rest and they only had huge bottles. So I googled "white wine substitutes" and the best one I found was for a 1/2 cup) to do 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tabelspoon lemon juice, and the rest water. It worked out great, it didn't seem to be missing anything at all.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

(Makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 large onions- peeled and thinly sliced (I used yellow onions)

2 tablespoons of water

Salt + pepper

½ cup nsa white wine, white grape juice, or replacement

3 sprigs fresh thyme

6 cups vegetable stock

1-1inch slice of crusty bread, cubed, per bowl

¼ cup freshly grated gruyere cheese per bowl

Directions

1. Put butter, olive oil, sliced onions, water, and a few pinches of salt into a heavy bottomed soup/ stock pot. Put a lid on the pot and let onions sweat over medium heat for about 10 minutes. They should be beginning to look translucent.

2. When the water has evaporated, remove the lid and turn heat on low, stirring often. The onions will begin to caramelize, it will take about an hour.

3. When the onions are an amber color, add the grape juice, thyme, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Let this simmer with the lid off for 15 minutes.

4. In the last five minutes of the simmering, preheat your oven’s broiler. Ladle soup into oven proof bowls. Top with cubed bread, then grated cheese. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and place on top rack of oven under broiler for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it – there’s a fine line between crisp and burned!

Mich's Maccs

Dear world, 

I have a confession to make. I’m in love. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I now have something to come home to everyday, something to console me when I’m upset, and something to calm me down when I’m stressed. Yes, it’s true: RISH LOVES MICH… Mich’s Maccs that is. Michelle Goldberg’s gorgeous macaroons are pure, delightful love.

Milk Chocolate

If you’re a fan of traditional coconut macaroons you need to order yourself some of these. I’ve never had one so perfectly crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. My method of choice for eating a macc is quartered straight from the fridge. Michelle recommends eating them room temp, chilled, halved quartered, whatever you like as long as you share always. I may need to go back to kindergarten because I’m having a tough time with the sharing part. There are only 6 in a bag (and yes you might think I’m crazy for using the modifier “only” before the number 6 when you see the size of these, but once you taste one you’ll understand why) and I don’t want to share! But I’m a nice gal, so I did it, I shared. I offered each of my housemates a few bites which is almost worse than not sharing at all because it’s not nice to tease.

I admire Michelle’s company for its luscious simplicity. Coconut and chocolate mixed with a community support and passion. Michelle has mastered the macc and she’s spreading the love all around New York. Mich has been maccing since 2008 when she started selling the maccs at local stores around her home in East Hampton. Eating one of these maccs is like feeding your soul. Having my first macc not only satisfied my sweet tooth, but it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Anyway, the need for maccs is spreading to the city where they will be sold at Macy's starting in April! Just in time for passover, or a perfect gift for your Easter Dinner host. I hope the maccs make it out to California and everywhere in between because it is imperative that everyone has the chance to try a macc. For the time being, you can (and should!) buy your maccs online at michsmaccs.com. I wouldn’t recommend buying only one bag because you’ll regret it. You’re going to want two bags minimum.

White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate.

Another thing I love about Mich’s Maccs is that they are gluten free. Celiac disease is a serious problem in today’s world where seemingly everything is made with various types refined flours. There are many gluten free alternatives to flour and while many are just as delicious as wheat flour, others can turn out to be heavy, stodgy, or just wrong in flavor. But you know what, Celiacs deserve a delicious treat, too! Mich’s Maccs are the proof to all the nonbeliever that every delicious baked good doesn’t need flour at all!

"Crunchy, Chewy, Chocolate, Coconut Heaven."

Mich's Maccs donates 10% of proceeds to a program called i-tri that "is an inclusive, community based intervention program that fosters self-respect, personal empowerment, self confidence, positive body image and healthy lifestyle choices for at-risk adolescent girls." How great is that?? Just another reason to support Mich's Maccs. At only  $11 for a bag of 6, or $16 for a pound (about 10 maccs), you really can't go wrong. I get the impression that Mich's Maccs is all about positivity, passion, and community love. It's so wonderful to see this kind of business in the hustle and bustle of our modern society.

My favorite so far is the dark chocolate – after all that’s my favorite kind of chocolate – because the bittersweet taste of the Belgian dark chocolate balances out the sweetness of the coconut. That moment when you bite into one and the chocolate cracks and then your teeth sink into the heavenly fluffy coconut…wow. Have you ever heard of world peace cookies? Well, I think Mich’s Maccs just upped the ante.