Onion Soup Gratinee

'Gratinee' refers to any dish with breadcrumbs or grated cheese on top - in this recipe it's baguette slices and vegan mozzarella from Galaxy Foods in place of Gruyere.

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add one cup coarsely chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped carrot and 4 ounces sliced mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 a cup dry red wine of your choice, scraping the pan to remove any browned bits.

Add 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups water, 2 parsley sprigs and 1 thyme sprig. Return to the burner and bring to a simmer over medium heat (which takes a bit of patience), then simmer for 30 minutes. (I think I accidentally set my timer to 20 minutes, but I couldn't remember, so to be safe I reset it with an extra ten minutes - whoops! A bit frazzled tonight.)

Strain the broth through a sieve over a bowl. Discard the solids.

Return the pan to the burner over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add 3 and 1/2 cups sliced onion and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the strained broth; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in another tablespoon and a half of the wine and a dash of black pepper.

Ladle 3/4 cups of soup into each of 4 oven-proof bowls. Arrange on a baking sheet. Place one (1/2-ounce) slice of bread on top of each bowl. Top each bread slice with a tablespoon and a half of the grated 'cheese'. Broil in the oven for one minute. Serve immediately.

Each bowl of soup is 150 calories. Garnish with thyme sprigs if you like. And serve with a glass of the leftover wine!

Note: For the red wine in this recipe I chose the red blend from Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie, from southern France. It is absolutely delicious and unfiltered.

Cost:
celery $2.50
carrot $0.22
mushrooms $0.60
red wine $18.41
vegetable broth $2.69
thyme $2.99
onions $0.98
French baguette $1.29
vegan cheese $3.39

Also, for any cat lovers out there who live in NYC, I began volunteering tonight at the Kitty Kind shelter, which is located in the Petco in Union Square. They need volunteers to clean the cages, feed the cats, and of course, play with them and give them some love! Most of the animals were rescued from the streets or abusive homes :( For anyone who loves our feline friends, I highly recommend signing up as a volunteer.