Musings

I wish our weather would make up its mind. It has felt like fall intermittently during the past few weeks, and today -again- it looks like it should be cold, but no, it is humid as get out and gray. Inside my poorly insulated 1939 home (what were the architectural ideas then? no ceiling lights, miniature closets, negative insulation; truly, it's odd), it feels cold as our modern furnace/humidifier/heat pump thing tries to keep up with varying humidity levels and temperature changes. I am sick as can be, but nonetheless am bundled up in flannel PJ pants and snuggled in my bed. Let's give a shout-out to babysitters who come when you're sick and take your child to the park. Amen. Anyway, I did go out earlier and hightailed it back inside to change into shorts and flip-flops. Is it going to rain or isn't it? Can we get a consistent temp going for a little bit? I don't really care except that my ideas about what to cook and even what I'm hungry for fluctuate with the weather. I certainly don't want a steaming bowl of French onion soup for lunch in the midst of summer, for example, but I definitely do want just that a few months later. And by the way, I have the best-ever onion soup recipe that I will post soon. In the meantime, here's a link to the original article in which I found it. Created in 1907 by curmudgeonly Frenchman, Henri Babinski, aka Ali-Bab, it involves butter, Gruyère (my adaption; original recipe called for Emmental which is too Swissy for me), baguette, and 12 cups of onions. You cook it in a large stockpot until it resembles a soupy bread pudding. No, it's not healthy, but it is Wow-I-can't-speak-this-is-so-good fabulous.

In fact, according to legend, Babinski insisted that when guests came for dinner, they arrive on time and remain silent during the course of the meal. What fun! But perhaps he just had the same reaction as do T and I to this soup and wanted everyone to experience it purely. Food for thought. ;)