Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Did you know that "normal" French Onion Soup is made with beef stock? Isn't that gross? Just think of all those people thinking they're ordering vegetarian when really they're getting murdered cow. Yeeeeuch!.....OK. Try to get that image out of your head (sorry - I really shouldn't have said anything), and now on with the recipe:

Stuff you will need:

10 small/medium onions, very thinly sliced

About 5 tablespoons olive oil (you can reduce this a bit if you're freaked out about the oil, but really try not to, as it really is a key ingredient. Also it lowers cholesterol. It's good for you. Stop complaining.

2-4 (depending on your sense of adventure) large cloves of garlic, chopped.

About 1 tablespoon of chopped hot chili pepper. Red is best because it looks nicest. Must be fresh. Use less if you're a little wimpy. But don't leave it out. It's important.

1 1/2 cups red wine (don't worry - the alcohol completely cooks out).

2 vegetable bullion cubes.

If you want to be fancy you can add bread and cheese to the top later.





Put the onions and olive oil in a pot, crank the heat to medium high, and stir as you cook it. Keep frying the onions until they are smooshy and everything starts to go a pale brownish color. At this point, add the garlic and the chili peppers and keep stirring it around. Also while you're doing this, be boiling water.

When slight bits of the onions start going darkish brown, pour in roughly 6-8 cups boiling water (depending on the size of your pot), add the red wine and boullion cubes, and when it comes back to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the whole thing simmer like this for an hour. Yeah, you heard me. And preferably, after the hour, it's good to take it off the heat, still covered and let it just sit there for another hour or so, then bring it to a boil real quick again when want to serve it.

The way to do the fancy bread and cheese thing is to put a chunk of bread in the top with shredded cheese on top of that, in a ceramic serving bowl, and put that under a grill until it gets all melty-crusty. Make sure to tell your guests not ot touch the bowl as it will be very hot. Of course if your guests are anything like me, the fact that you've just said not to touch the bowl will guarantee that they will. That's their problem. As long as there were witnesses who heard you give the warning, you're probably OK from a legal standpoint.

Enjoy!