French onion soup is kind of a big deal in my family - it’s our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and it’s a huge comfort food for me. Over the years I’ve adjust and adapted my recipe, with the biggest change from classic French onion soup being the addition of lentils. While delicious, French onion soup is kind of lacking in the nutrition department, so I like to add lentils both for a little bit of heartiness and some extra good nutrients.

French Onion Soup (Serves 6) :

1/4 cup Butter
2 pounds yellow onions
2 Liters vegetable or chicken stock
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 can of lentils
5 bay leaves
Leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 thick slices of sourdough bread
6 large slices of Manchego cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Slice the onions into rounds, making sure to set aside and save the dry outer skin of the onion for later - this is what we’ll be using for dyeing.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes.
Add the stock, wine, apple cider vinegar, thyme, bay leaves, mustard and lentils and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to broil.
Put the bread on a baking sheet and top each slice with a slice of cheese. Toast in the oven until the cheese has melted and is slightly golden on top. Make sure to keep an eye on your oven as the cheese can go for golden to burnt quite quickly!
Add the vinegar to the soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the soup into bowls, plop a slice of cheesy bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme leaves.

Bundle Dyeing with Onion Skins:

Onion skins produce a beautiful colour ranging anywhere from bright yellow to deep golden, rusty orange.

First you will need to prep your fabric. Here’s a handy guide that will tell you just how to do that.

Using those leftover onion skins, we’re going to do a process called bundle dyeing. You can leave your onion skins in large sections, or crush them up into teeny tiny pieces - tiny pieces will spread dye around on the fabric more, while larger pieces will create a larger print with a more visible pattern.

How to:

Lay your fabric or garment out on a flat surface.
Sprinkle your fabric with the onion skins. Anywhere that you place your dye stuff, colour will appear. You can create patterns by placing more dye stuff in specific areas. Have fun and be creative, there is no wrong way to do this.
Starting from one end, start to roll up your fabric evenly, doing your best to keep all of the dye materials inside the little bundle that you’re making. Try to keep the fabric as tight as possible, as that will help the dye bleed through the layers of fabric.
After you’ve tightly rolled up your fabric, you can tie it up using string or rubber bands to hold everything in place. If the bundle is quite large, you can fold it in half before tying it up.
Fill a bowl with white vinegar. While wearing gloves, dip your fabric roll gently into the bowl to thoroughly wet the bundle. Leave your bundle in the bowl of vinegar for 10 minutes.
Set up a pot of steaming water with a colander or steamer basket on top. Place your bundle in the steamer basket so that it is fully immersed in the steam, then cover it with the pot lid. Let your dye bundle steam for 45 minutes - 1 hour. You can also leave it longer than this if you have the time.
Once your bundle has finished steaming, pick up the bundle with tongs and rinse it under cold water. Unravel your bundle over a compost heap or bowl. Shake off all of the excess plant matter, and give your fabric a rinse under cold water.
Hang the fabric to dry overnight, and once it’s dry iron it with a hot iron to set the colour. Hand wash your fabric gently with ph neutral soap and cold water before wearing/using.

Important Health and Safety Notes:

Always work in a well ventilated area.
Once you use a pot for dyeing, it should only be used for dyeing. Keep it separate from your cooking pots.
Wear gloves.
Keep all chemicals used in the fabric prep process away from children and pets.

French Onion Soup + Onion Dye Recipes