Happy feet!



I finished the Cape Cod socks.

I also blocked the front and back of the Zelda sweater, because the logical way to put it together is to sew one shoulder seam, do the collar, and then sew the other shoulder seam and put the sleeves in:




The sleeves are taking longer than I anticipated (isn't that always the way?) - I'm on row 65. There are 100 full rows, and then about 10 or 12 more of cap decreases.


I'm also going to share what's become one of my favorite recipes. It's good, it's not too involved, it freezes well, and you can make it with kitchen staples.

This Is How I Do Onion Soup.
(Based on the Onion Soup recipe in "Going Solo in the Kitchen" by Jane Doerfer)

What you do is, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a deep heavy saucepan. Add a "glug" (about 1 T) of extra virgin olive oil.

While those are heating up, chop up four medium sized onions. Cut them fairly small - into dice or into narrow short strips. I usually use just the ordinary white or yellow cooking onions you can buy in bulk, but I've also used some of the "sweet" onions with good success in this recipe as well.

Add the onions to the hot oil. Toss with a wooden spoon and cover the pot. Simmer it on low heat for about 20 minutes. Then, take the cover off the pot and cook for 30 minutes more, stirring the onions as you think of it. (You can cook it for even longer but I don't think the onions get much softer).

Take the pot off the heat and add 2-3 T of flour so it makes a roux. Return to heat and stir for a couple of minutes. Then, gradually add four (15 ounce) cans of Swanson's low-fat low-sodium (and no MSG) chicken broth (there's a special name for it - it's called "Natural Goodness" on the label. It is THE BEST chicken broth I've found in a can, and it doesn't have MSG, which sometimes gives me headaches). Stir, cover, and let simmer for at least a half hour more. It makes between eight and twelve servings depending on how big your portions are.

You can add salt and pepper to taste, or you can season it at table. I usually prefer the latter; I think the soup keeps better without seasoning and how much salt I like in things tends to vary from day to day.

You can serve this the traditional way, with a toasted piece of bread and melted cheese on top. I like it that way, but I also like just a small cup of it in place of a salad with dinner, or as an abat-faim if it's still a couple hours until mealtime and I'm hungry.

And it freezes well! I like to freeze single-serving portions, because then when I get home late after class/meetings/everything else I do, I can just pop a serving into a pan or the microwave and have a nearly instant but good and healthy dinner.

I like this even better than the more traditional beef-based onion soup; it's a less bludgeoning (and less salty) dish. And vegetarians can certainly substitute veggie stock; I think that would taste good as well.

I like this even better than regular chicken soup when I have a cold.