Soups

Ingredients:

2 cups lentils

1 cup barley

1 potato

1 can tomatoes

2 carrots

2 celery

1 onion

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup olive oil

15 cups water with tablespoon of broth mix

Instructions:

Put butter and oil in pan and fry onion. Then add all ingredients except potato. Then add water. Then add potato. Cook for several hours.

Start with olive oil onions little salt to make onions sweat. Cook about 5 min add two lrg tablespoon tomato paste in center stir and cook till toasted a bit. Add your hard veggi. Carrots celery if u like. No broccoli in soup gets bitter. Toss the hard veggies with oil etc. add some barley if u have about half cup. Toss than add broth to cover veggies bring to boil. Add herbs de prov and pepper. Let work down bit and get rest if veggies ready. Your zucchini kale etc. u can also add can white beans rinse well. Add more water after additional veggies simmer low two hours. Ck water freq. if u don't have barley u can add any pasta at end. Cook first and put on bottom of soup.

Ingredients:

[For the caramelized onions]

:

5 cups sliced yellow onions, (about 4 large onions)

2 shallots, peeled and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

[For the soup]

:

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 teaspoon dry thyme

Small sprig fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 thin slices baguette, toasted until golden and quite dry

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Instructions:

Coat a 4-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray. Add the onions, shallots, garlic and oil. Toss well, then season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low until the onions are richly colored and sweet, 8 to 10 hours. (The onions at this point can be removed and used for other recipes if not making the soup.)

Once the onions are ready, sprinkle them with the flour and stir until well-combined. Add the sherry, thyme, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, both broths and the water, then cover and cook for another 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. Once soup is done, stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning.

When ready to eat, set the broiler on high. Ladle the soup into broiler-safe serving crocks. Top each crock with a thin slice of the toasted baguette and a heaping tablespoon of Gruyere. Place the filled crocks on a rimmed baking sheet and broil just until cheese is golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not leave the crocks unattended as they will burn quickly.

Notes: Talk about a vegetable that's everywhere. The humble onion is one the most common aromatic vegetables, popping up in so many ways across so many cuisines.

And it's not just for taste. The onion also happens to be a terrifically healthy ingredient. If nothing else, it's a delicious way to add bulk to a dish without adding many calories or any fat. Thing is, Americans typically use onions in such small quantities that they serve more to highlight the other items in a dish, rather than strut their own stuff.

The exception? A warm and satisfying bowl of onion soup.

The genesis of onion soup is unclear, but some attribute the version we know today to a French king. Even in modern France, onion soup is slurped up by late-night revelers taking a break in the party to revitalize their bodies with warm oniony broth before continuing the fete into the morning hours.

While I tend to sip my onion soup at a more reasonable hour, I find it equally comforting. There is nothing as soothing as the luscious sweetness of a cooked onion, particularly one from which a caramel color and flavor have been coaxed unhurried over hours. Add a rich broth and a bit of cheese, and you have a delicious luxury.

The secret is in not rushing the caramelizing of the onions. And that's a fine way to put your slow cooker to work. It conveniently caramelizes the onions overnight with no effort from you. And my recipe for slow cooker onion soup walks you through the whole (very easy) thing.

And if you want, you can stop right there - with caramelized onions! Put them in a small jar in the refrigerator and use as a spread or topping for just about anything. Or continue on and make the whole soup, which is guaranteed to nourish both body and soul.

Nutrition information per serving: 240 calories; 60 calories from fat (25 percent of total calories); 6 g fat (2.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 15 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 10 g protein; 570 mg sodium.

• 1 ounce dried mushrooms (porcini, morels, or shitakes)

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 2 fresh sprigs of rosemary

• 4 fresh sprigs of sage

• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

• 1 pound white button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

• 1 pound shitake mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced

• 6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Prepare your dried mushrooms: Soak them in 1 cup of boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes, until plump. Remove them from the liquid and mince the mushrooms, setting them aside. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove grit and reserve this too.

Make the soup: Bundle your sage and rosemary together with kitchen twine. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the herb bundle and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown. Turn the flame to high and add the white mushrooms and shiitakes. Cook for 10 minutes, during which the mushrooms will give off their liquid (which should evaporate quickly due to the high heat) and deflate significantly. Stir occasionally.

Add the chicken stock and the dried mushrooms along with the soaking water. Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Remove the herbs, then add the cream and butter. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender (or, if you have an immersion blender, it makes this much easier; you can work right inside your pot) until your desired consistency, or fully smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.