Recipes from a Sister

The recipes below are from my sister Erika. There were some technical difficulties in posting them, so they're coming from me (Hillary), but they're actually from her.

"This first one is a recipe a good friend and I found years ago. At first it sounded strange, but one night we decided to try it and it became a favorite snack while we cooked together or as an appetizer with company.

Roasted Red Onion with Thyme and Butter

Get 6 equal sized medium red onions. Remove the first layer of skin. Then cut off the core end of the onions to give them a flat base and make two deep cuts nearly but not all the way through the onions in the shape of a cross, so that the onions are nearly quartered. Push chopped and freshly grounded fresh thyme in between the layers of the onions, followed by generous amounts of butter. I usually get quite a bit in there so that the onions look like little flowers with the layers separated with butter. When I've patted butter into a couple layers I sprinkle with coarse salt, then squeeze the whole thing as close back together as possible. Then individually wrap the whole onions in tin foil and place in an earthenware dish. The dish will catch the dripping butter, but individually wrapping not only holds the onions together but also heightens the flavor because it keeps most of the butter sizzling in the onions instead of immediately dripping off. Place in oven at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Onions are ready to come out when they are tender and literally begin to melt in your mouth. Sprinkle with Parmesan, pepper and perhaps a little more salt to taste. The petals can be eaten by themselves, or on fresh baguette. Yummy!

When my father was stationed as a medic during Vietnam he got a lot of recipes from the locals. this one is for Joak, a thick rice soup. It has meat in it, but I could see substituting veggie broth for the chicken stock and tofu for the pork.

Joak

1 cup rice

1 tsp salt

5 quarts chicken stock

1 pound ground cooked pork

2 stalks green onion

12 water chestnuts

1 tbs dark soy sauce

Rinse rice and soak over night. Mince onions and chestnuts then mix with soy sauce, salt, and cooked pork. Bring stock and rice to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 2-3 hours until thick and creamy. Then heat up and add the pork mixture in teaspoon sized balls for about 5 minutes or until the balls are cooked through. Adjust seasoning to your liking and serve."