Recipe: English Onion Soup

With the weather turning autumnal, I suddenly start craving warming foods that I wouldn't dream of touching during the summer months. Number one on that list is soup, one of my favourites being French Onion. There are a number of passable French Onion Soups that I've had at restaurants but none can compare to my Grandma's recipe. To properly prepare my Grandma's soup takes hours, of which I don't have the time or patience for. This has lead me to creating my yummy interpretation of this French classic - English Onion Soup.

The recipe is really simple and only requires a few ingredients, but most important to its success is a slow cooker!

Ingredients:

• 50 g (1.76oz) butter
• Approx. 4 large onions
• 4-6 garlic cloves (smoked garlic if you can get it)
• 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
• 750 ml (3.1 cups) sweet or medium English cider
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 100 g Cheddar cheese 
• 1 egg yolk

Method:

1. Cook the onions and garlic in the butter on low heat, stirring frequently until the onions become soft and nearly translucent (roughly 25 minutes).
2. Transfer to the slow cooker, add the stock and cider and cook on LOW heat for about 6-8 hours. If you don't have the time to let it cook, you can put the slow cooker on HIGH and heat for roughly 3 hours. 
3. When the soup is done, preheat the grill and toast the bread on one side until golden. Put the Cheddar slices on the untoasted side and grill the cheese until bubbling. 
4. Remove the soup for the heat and whisk in the egg yolk.
5. Serve with the cheese toasts on top and a cold glass of English cider!

I usually make the soup the night before and put the dish in the fridge to let it steep over night. Then in the morning before I go to work all I have to do is take it out and turn the slow cooker on! It's great coming home to a warm meal!

Erin x

Remembering 9/11

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It's hard to believe it has been 11 years since the 9/11 attacks, I remember them quite vividly as I'm sure many of you do.

I was just starting 8th grade and had the flu so was planning on staying home. My Mom was in her bathroom getting ready and I was sleeping in her bed when the phone rang.  

On the line was my Grandma calling to tell us to turn on CNN that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. At the time the second plane hadn't hit and many people thought it was just an accident. We had been viewing the footage for only a minute when the second plane hit and that's when everyone knew this was no accident.

I remember feeling confused, my Mom said it was a terrorist attack and I didn't really know what that meant. The footage was scary but I couldn't take my eyes away from it.

Instead of staying home alone, Grandma came and took me to her house so I wouldn't be left alone watching the news with no one to explain it to me. In fact my grandmother was given specific instructions from my mother to not allow me to watch the news all day. I of course wanted to watch the news and my Grandma gave in and let me sit with her all day watching.

My Grandma was worried about her friend, Phyllis, who was in New York at the time and according to her itinerary was supposed to visit the Twin Towers that very morning. Of course with so many people having loved ones in the city the phone lines were busy and it was a long time for us to get confirmation that she was okay. Thankfully we were one of the lucky ones, Phyllis had awoken with a migraine that morning and had decided against visiting.

Of course it wasn't just the Twin Towers that were attacked that tragic day, there was also the Pentagon and United Flight 93 that went down in Philadelphia. So many senseless lives lost that day at the end of evil. So although 11 years have passed no one will ever forget.

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." - President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Q: Where were you when you found out about September 11th attacks?

Erin x

What Happens in Vegas

Whatever happened to 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?' This is a question I'm sure Prince Harry and his press team have been agonising over these past few days. The digital world has been buzzing over the news that Harry was caught partying in Vegas, wait for it - naked! Shock! Gasp! Horror!

I don't think I'm the only one who thinks it's completely ridiculous that this is even an issue. It's no big deal and people should just let it go. I realise I'm being completely hypocritical here in writing a blog post about this very subject but I felt compelled to defend my hometown and the Prince of my current country. Call this my 'Leave Britney Alone' moment, but without the awkward crying.

Is Vegas the city of Sin? I'm going to let you all in on a little secret, it's called marketing! And very clever marketing at that. This whole do anything you want philosophy makes people feel secure, like they can let lose and not get into any trouble. When really, you can get into the same amount of mischief in Vegas as you can in any other city. But remember it was Vegas where OJ Simpson was put behind bars, when he got away with murder in California. I say this to remind you, we have a police force and trust me when I say they don't always have the best sense of humour.

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Does being royal mean you can't have a life? I'm sorry, I didn't realise being part of the royal family meant you had to be a saint. They're human and as such make mistakes. I would also hasten to add I don't believe this to be one.

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I personally haven't seen the photo(s) of Prince Harry in his birthday suit, and if I can help it I'm not going to. I think the boy has a right to privacy and shame on whatever American website posted the photo(s). I am however very proud of the British press for not breaking the code of conduct and publishing them. I must say even with the rules in place, I expected some tabloid rag to pick up the photos. It must be absolutely killing them that they can't.

The moral of the story? Everyone has a right to party, even a Prince, but perhaps choose your fellow revellers more carefully. Now can we all get back to the real news!

Erin x

Quintessentially English's August entry for Post of the Month Club