DAD’S AUNT TORA was an ancient lady who had become somewhat bow-legged, and had a problem walking.  But she was very kind.  Every time she came for a visit, she would hobble to our room and toss a couple of handfuls of coins onto the floor.  We would scramble to see who could collect the most, an activity all four of us enjoyed immensely.  I say four because Kjell and I shared a room with our older brother, Mortitz. When Aunt Tora appeared in our doorway, Kjell and I were galvanized into action: one of us would tackle the unsuspecting Moritz, while the other one would quickly gather up as many coins as possible before the bigger, stronger Moritz managed to scramble free.

We always knew when Aunt Tora was approaching, thanks to her fantastic ability to blow tiny little farts with every step she took.  This impressed Kjell and me to no end – we spent great swaths of our apparently never-ending free time trying to replicate Aunt Tora’s astonishing ambulatory farting technique, to no end. While our parents constantly reminded us we were, in fact, full of all sorts of things, gas was sadly not one of them.

FRANSK LOK SUPPE

FRENCH ONION SOUP                                                                             Serves 4-6

4 large onions

2 tbs. Butter or margarine

3 tbs. Flour

6 Cups of beef bouillon (Knorr Oxo)

1 Cup of dry Red Wine (or 2 cups with 1 to the chef)

1 Bay leaf

4 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. White pepper

1 tsp. Black ground pepper

1 tsp. Dry mustard

4 – 6 Slices White Bread

2 Cups (or thereabouts) of shredded white cheese (Jarlsberg, Gouda, etc.)

Peel the onions and slice them into thin rings.  Sauté the onions in the butter until golden brown, sprinkle the flour over the onions and let the flour be golden brown as well.  Add the bullion and spices and boil for about 30 minutes on medium heat.

Pour the soup into special French Onion Soup Bowls, lightly toast the bread, cut to size and put on top of the soup. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake in 525 degree preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve the soup immediately.