French onion soup

What's not to like about a steaming bowl of french onion soup with a crusty roll? Spurred on by a recent burst of cold and windy weather, I found myself musing over the delicious french onion soup I was going to make that evening. You might not want to whip this one up all the time as it has a large hit of butter in it, but as an occasional soul-warming treat, it can't be beat. Like most soups, it's very easy to prepare and the aroma as it is cooking is bliss! Enjoy ...

Ingredients
50 g butter
4 large brown onions (although I used 6), halved and thinly sliced
3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine (this is not absolutely necessary - I left it out)
3 cups of water
1 litre (4 cups) of vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves

Method
1. Melt butter in large saucepan.
2. Add sliced onion and cook over medium heat for about 30 mins or until caramelised. Stir occasionally.

3. In a separate saucepan, bring the wine to the boil, and boil for one minute.
4. Stir in the water, stock and bay leaf and return to a boil. Remove from heat once boiling.
5. Stir flour into the onion mixture. Cook, stirring, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
6. Bit by bit, add the stock mixture, stirring until the mixture boil and thickens slightly. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove the bay leaf and add the thyme.

Chocolate caramel slice

This is an old favourite. After making it at home, you'll have trouble eating one bought from a cafe. I made this one for my Mum's birthday ...

Ingredients
Base
1 cup of plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter, melted

Filling
400g can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
60g butter

Topping
60g copha, chopped
125g cooking chocolate, chopped

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Line a 3 cm deep lamington pan (28 cm x 18 cm).
3. Mix all base ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Press into lamington tin.
4. Bake for 15 - 20 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.
5. For the filling, combine all filling ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.
6. Cook, whisking for 8 mins or until golden. Pour filling mixture over base.
7. Bake for 12 mins or until firm.
8. Cool completely, before chilling in the fridge for 3 - 4 hours.
9. To make the topping, place chopped copha and chopped chocolate into a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Pour over caramel.
10. Refrigerate to set it. Cut into squares to serve.