FLOUR

     We went to New Orleans on our honeymoon many years ago.  That destination in itself is a memorable place, but I want to tell you about one of the things we had as part of our dinner one night....French Onion Soup.  We were both 23 at the time and it was the first experience for each of us to have this wonderful course.  I remember its presentation; two individual soup crocks draped with bubbly white cheese that dribbled over the sides.  At the bottom of each crock was a toasted slice of French bread that was, of course, saturated with the luscious beef and onion infused juices.  The bread itself held up the delicate onion slices that had been cooked down in butter before the broth was added. For several days afterward, I kept wondering if I could make that soup and capture a taste that would seem anything like we had enjoyed in New Orleans.
     I remember searching and finding a recipe I thought would be simple enough for a young cook.  It called for butter in which to saute the yellow onions and for adding canned beef consomme, not beef broth. Consomme is concentrated broth and is richer.  I also remember adding a tablespoon of flour to the onions and butter to help it thicken.  Then besides the consomme I included a small amount of water. salt and pepper.  The toasted French bread slices and the Swiss cheese I used were the final touches.  Now the down side to this is recently I had to tell my husband I lost my original recipe.  He had made a request for French Onion Soup after recalling it had been a long time since we had eaten it.  So I began the soup search again and this is the recipe I used.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

3 large onions, thinly sliced                                  1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter or margarine                                     1/8 tsp. pepper
1 can beef bouillon                                                6 slices French bread, toasted
4 soup cans water                                                 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Worcestershire

     Brown onions in butter until lightly browned.  In a large pot, combine all ingredients, except bread and cheese, and simmer for 2-3 hours, until onions are tender.  Sprinkle cheese in bottom of bowls and add soup.  Place French bread on top and sprinkle with additional cheese.  Serve immediately.  Good as an appetizer or full meal with a salad.  Freezes exceptionally well.  (Can be cooked in crock pot for 6-8 hours.)
                                                                              Jeanette Boyd, Gulf Coast Council  
     This recipe was taken from Bell's Best, Telephone Pioneers of America, Mississippi Chapter No. 36, copyright 1981. 

Individual soup serving

      I did make the following changes to the recipe for my husband and me.  First, I did not simmer the soup for 2-3 hours.  I let the onions caramelize, which takes about 30 minutes.  (The cook needs to stir occasionally to make sure they do not burn and there is enough oil or margarine/butter in the pan.)  Then I added the rest of the ingredients and simmered about an hour.  I only used a couple of tablespoons of margarine and the rest olive oil to cook the onions and keep the cholesterol level lower.  Before adding any liquid, I did add a couple heaping tablespoons of flour to stir into the onions. I let that cook for just a couple minutes, then added in the remaining ingredients.  I used two cans of beef consomme and three cans of water.  The next time I will only use two cans of water.  The flavor was not weak.  We just prefer a beefier taste.  The Worcestershire sauce does give the flavor of the soup a nice kick.  Make sure to taste to know if you have the right amount of seasoning.

     For those of you observing Lent or for those who follow a vegetarian diet, French Onion Soup can be made using vegetable broth.  The flavors will be enhanced if the onions are cooked until they are caramelized.
     By the way...my husband was happy with the results! 

& FLOWER 

     I live in the Ohio Valley region according to The Old Farmer's Almanac weather forecasts.  So far we seem to be following their prediction of having a warmer winter than normal and below normal precipitation.  Why we have had about a week of high 50s, 60s, and a few 70s; pretty warm weather for mid to late February.  See this Flowering Quince below?  This is since my last post when one could see a photo of it barely showing color.  Now I also have jonquils budding and slivers of green leaves showing on my hyacinths and a few other shrubs.  Yesterday I talked to a neighbor who was outside with her family enjoying the mild weather.  She jokingly said, "It will be snowing next week."  I hope she's wrong!

Flowering quince

      I did go ahead and separate my orchid that had five stems.  Now I have five individual orchid plants.  I chose to proceed since the weather has been mild.  I did not use anything special to repot these stems but regular potting soil.  There are some who would be against this idea, reporting that orchids should be grown in a looser material like wood chips and pieces of bark.  It would be more like their natural habitat, but I make sure not to pack the orchid stem tightly.  When I water them, which is seldom, I allow all the liquid to run out of the container so the orchid does not sit in water.  They do not like that.  When temperatures are definitely warm and stable, I put my orchids on the front porch where they spend the summer and early Fall.

Five new orchid plants

      Succulents seem to be very popular now.  I have been reading and learning about how to increase the number of succulents I own.  I thought I would try to do this and began to gingerly pull pieces off the main stems of my plants.  I read about being careful to get the whole piece pulled from the main stem.  You wouldn't want to leave anything behind still attached to the plant because your section would not root well and probably die.  After three to five days of the pieces drying out, you can go ahead and fill a planter with soil and lay your pieces on top of the soil.  This step makes me think of what you do to plant an iris rhizome, if anyone has ever done that.  This would be similar to a human being laying down on a couch to take a nap, with no cover.  However, one can break off longer succulent stems and stick them directly into your potting medium to root, as well.  Then you will need a spray bottle filled with water to lightly mist your succulents.  They do not  need to be watered like other house plants.  An occasional misting will be fine until you begin to see that the sections have rooted, showing smaller versions of the parent plants.  At this time you can judge the progress as to whether it is time to repot your newest succulents.

Succulent transplants

      So back to our mild winter...temperatures changed here over the weekend returning to the 40s and lower for a couple of nights.  I posted another photo on Facebook of my daffodils that have already begun blooming.  I commented that I could visualize overturned flower pots in my future because I knew I would go outside later and cover them up.  Hate to see the beauty lost so quickly!  All this made me think of the different names I have heard all my life of these pretty spring blooms.  The easiest way for me to remember is that daffodils are the larger blooms.  Jonquils have yellow blooms often with more than one flower to a stem and a nice fragrance.  Narcissus have clusters of smaller flowers that bloom earlier, BUT, all three are a type of Narcissus.

Daffodils

      
     By the way, it's warmer today.  The overturned flower pots are back in our garage.  These yellow friends are smiling again... hopefully for the entire week!