Onions. Chances are good you've got them lying around in your pantry, or in your fridge, and if you are anything like me you chop some up and start them frying while you're deciding on the rest of your dinner.

What if the onions WERE dinner?

What if you just sliced a whole lot of them, threw them in a pot with some butter or oil, cooked them almost to nothing, added some stock and some wine and some thyme and topped it all with a melty, cheesy crouton?

Yeah. That would be French Onion soup.

And you won't believe how easy it is.

Or how delicious.

FRENCH ONION SOUP (serves 6)
3-4 lbs red onions, sliced THIN
2 TBS butter or olive oil
pinch salt
8 cups combination of 2 stocks - I do 1/4 beef stock and 3/4 chicken stock, but if you're vegan you could do mushroom stock and vegetable stock)
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add onions and salt, stirring to combine. Cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are super cooked down and dark brown. There will be a lovely goo on the bottom of the pan.
2. Stir in stocks and wine, scraping all the goo up off the bottom and making sure the onions are distributed well. Stir in the thyme.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the soup is well heated and the flavors have melted together - or until you have the croutons done!

Cheese-y croutons
Combination of cheeses - I like cheddar and parmesan, or swiss and mozzarella, but use what you have on hand! Mozzarella and swiss or gruyere will be more melty than some others.
Baguette, sliced about 3/4 inch thick on the bias.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grate the cheese together in a bowl. You'll need about 2 TBS of cheese per bread slice, so amounts are appetite-dependent.
3. Layer the baguette slices on a baking tray and top with cheese.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbling and the bread is toasty.

Float one or two croutons in each bowl of soup and MMMMMMMMMM!