French onion soup

I love french onion soup. The problem is that traditionally it is made using beef stock, which makes it not as appealing for vegetarians. I use red wine and good veggie stock in my version to still get the same richness you'd expect from french onion soup without any of the beef flavor. This does take some time to make (and a lot of stirring) but you can make it really quickly if you already have caramelized onions on hand.

Ingredients:

3 yellow onions, sliced in half moons
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup red wine
3-4 cracks black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 cups veggie stock
1 bay leaf
mozzarella, swiss, or provolone cheese
baguette slices, toasted and buttered

Directions:

Over medium heat, melt butter then add onions. Cook for 20 minutes stirring every few minutes, then cook about 10 more minutes stirring every minute or less until onions are caramelized but not burned. Add wine and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add black pepper and garlic powder and allow the wine to reduce by about half. Add stock until you have the thickness you'd like for your soup. Add bay leaf and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat. Place a few ladles of soup in a bowl, add toasted and buttered baguette slices, top with cheese. Place bowl under the broiler and broil for about 1 minute or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.