Garden Potage & Caramelized Onion Quiche

I actually had a 2-day weekend this week and it was amazing the difference in how much time I felt like I had off! I'd better not get used to that feeling, but it was lovely for a change of pace. I spent most of the time enjoying Jeannene, some of that time while cooking. Our lunches over the weekend have been simple soup and bread lunches. Tonight, I'm getting a little fancier, with a caramelized onion, cheddar & caraway quiche accompanied by mixed baby greens with Maple Grove Farms strawberry balsamic dressing (available at my local Kroger, but also through their website: http://www.maplegrove.com/product_detail.asp?pid=30 ...it is truly fabulous) and a baguette from La Chatelaine in Dublin (really lovely French baked goods & bistro fare: http://www.lachatelainebakery.com/). Dessert will be honeyed boozy fruit & camembert.

The soup I made, which we ate accompanied by peasant bread from La Chatelaine, was a wonderfully cozy garden vegetable soup, my adaptation of a soup from the delightful Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, which cookbook I strongly recommend you pick up.

Garden Potage

32 oz. chicken broth

1 onion, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

1 celery stalk, julienned

3 rainbow chard leaves, stemmed & torn into bite-size pieces

1/2 c. acini di pepe pasta (stellini would be nice, too)

Salt & pepper, to taste

Grated Emmentaler cheese for garnish

Cook veggies in broth in stock pot about 45 minutes. Add pasta & seasonings & cook 10 minutes. Serve hot with cheese. Serves 4-6.

Caramelized Onion Quiche with Cheddar & Caraway

1/2 stick butter

8 onions, thinly sliced & salted

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. caraway seeds

2 c. half & half

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

9" pie shell

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pie shell into pie plate & scallop edges. Prick several times. Bake 10 minutes (use pie weights if you've got 'em) & set aside. Turn oven down to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet. Add onions & caramelize to a rich brown, 15-20 minutes. Mix eggs with next 6 ingredients. Add onions & pour into pie shell. Bake 35-45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serves 6-8.

Honeyed Boozy Fruit

3-4 cups mixed berries (I used strawberries...which I hulled & quartered....blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)

4 pears, diced

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. dry white wine

3 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. demerara sugar (regular, brown, powdered sugar fine, as is honey or agave instead)

Mix fruit with 2 tbsp lemon juice & 2 tsp. sugar and allow to macerate at least 1 hour in fridge. Mix rest of ingredients & gently stir into fruit. Return to fridge for another hour. Serve with camembert, brie or another double/triple creme cheese. Serves 6.