indeed... onions DO make you shed tears... man, that's strong stuff... they're so sweet after cooking them though... i should go buy some, as i'm out, but not until the end of the week if i'm not going to retreat; damn self should've reorganized my study habits a bit better...

as for now, i basically have 3 main ways of variating my chicken tender soup every night(of course, not counting changing the meat to trout):

-cabbage, celery(or zuchinni), garlic, black pepper(potatoes optional), green onions
-potatoes, carrots, onions(totatoes optional), garlic, green onions
-seaweed, tofu, cabbage/zuchinni, miso, green onions

#1's the most simplest, but most bland IMO; still easiest and fastest of the 3. it's not terrible tasting of course, but gets the job done. that's why the potatoes are a nice addition. #2 takes the most time, but it's well worth it, although i can never seem to know how to make small portions when i do. either i end up adding too little, or too much. #3; all i need to say is that i love miso and tofu; seaweed i don't actually like too much, but when the miso's added, man, it just makes it taste a hecka lot better; of the 3, i like using trout in this one the most.

there you have it; i just told you what i know how to cook so far... technically, i know how to cook beef stew, but that takes longer, so i don't wanna bother w/that each weeknight... it would be sweet doing that on a saturday night though... what you basically do is use the 2nd recipe, but make sure you add ginger and anise stars with the beef(i get this ability to cook IMO from mom), and slow cook it before adding the vegetables.