AN ODE TO ONIONS

There have been some "old wives tales" circulating on the Holistic Nutrition yahoo group I belong to for school about the curative powers of onions.  Hard to tell what is fact or fiction sometimes so I decided to look it up a bit more on the WWWeb and came across similar information from this chiropractor/naturopath who discusses how onions  can be used as a flu remedy, so who knows, maybe it is true.  Nonetheless, onions seem really potent and capable of killing nastiness.  A while back I mentioned that I was cooking up a huge batch of beef broth.  All this talk of onions got me hankering for some good old fashioned onion soup.  I finally scored some onion soup bowls at the local thrift store so I decided to give it a go tonight for supper.

BEEF BROTH

(makes about 3 quarts)

6 pounds organic/grass fed beef bones

2 Tbsp organic oil

6 organic carrots, coarsely chopped

2 large organic onions, coarsely chopped

2 organic celery stalks

1 tsp dried organic thyme

handful organic fresh parsley

1 large organic bay leaf

Method:  Preheat oven to 450*.  Place the beef bones in a large enamled cast iron pot and sprinkle them with oil.  Place the bones in the oven and roast, turning them occasionally, until they are browned, about 30 minutes.

     Remove from oven and add water to cover them bones by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat until the water simmers.  Remove scum as it appears.  Continue to skim away scum until it no longer rises to surface.

     Add the vegetables and herbs and bring to a boil once again over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover partially, cooking for 12 hours .  Remove from heat and skim fat from surface.  Strain the broth.  I like to freeze the broth in stainless steel bowls in the freezer.

ONION SOUP

(makes 4 servings)

1 Tbsp organic butter or oil

3 large organic yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced

4 cups organic beef broth

sea salt and pepper

4 slices whole grain organic baguette

1 cup grated organic swiss cheese

Method:  Heat the butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring until onions are very soft, brown, and caramelized.  Add the stock and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

     Heat broiler with the rack in the top level of your oven.  Scoop the soup into 4 onion soup bowls.  Top with a slice of baguette and some grated cheese.  Broil in the oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese starts to brown.  Serve immediately.