Minestrone Soup

[pricciar]

This week I made Minestrone Soup. I got the recipe from the Moose cooking book that I found in my kitchen. It's a pretty fun book, it's also were I got the recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that I made with my friend at some point last week. This time I was on my own for cooking, but that was ok. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have realized how much a garlic press would come in handy. SO, the next time I am at the store I will pick one up. Anyway, this recipe was pretty tough. The only difficult thing was having the patience to wait for the garbanzo beans to finish soaking in the water. Everything else was pretty easy. You had to cook the garlic and the onion together for a while to smell up the kitchen. (I cheated and opened the window. But, I still cried while cutting the onions. You would think it had something to do with the onion gases, but I was thinking of lost loves and that episode of the Love Boat were Captain Steubing had to sell his daughter to pirates.) Then you added lots of other things like salt and pepper and tomato puree (Which I didn't know was different than tomato paste until the last minute, so I had to improvise) and the cooked beans with all of it's beany water. Then you let that cook for a while, and added zucchini (which I like to call Zukes) and chopped up green peppers. THEN you let it cook for a while more and add tomatoes. And then when it was close to done you turn up to a massive boil and add noodles. Also, somewhere in there you add basil and red wine. It's too bad I have a lot of basil and red wine left over. I think both of those things go bad. Oh also celery was in there somewhere.

Well, the broth tasted excellent and all of the vegetables were excellent as well. But, I hated the beans. Hated them a lot. Next time I think I will add extra something else and skip the beans, because I did not enjoy them. In fact, as I was putting the soup into the tub to put in the refrigerator (Which I like to call the Fridge) I took each and every bean out and threw it into the trash can so I would never be bothered by them again. Even with the sadness of beans I think it was really good soup. And perfect for how cold it was here.

And here is what it looked like:

OH. The bread was fantastic. It was from the vegetable place over on Milpas, well they sold it. But, it was actually from Our Daily Bread. I had thought about going over there to pick up bread, but my day was getting long and I figured I would just use Trader Joe's Bread. But, I didn't have to because I found this stuff. So delicious!



Also. I thought parsley was a garnish. But, the recipe told me to put some of it on there. And I did. But, ew. Never again. It tasted like eating grass in the bad not a good salad way. Maybe my moose friend meant it as a garnish as well? Well, they should have made that clear.

Comments

[scout1222.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about the parsley. I love tabbouleh, and I believe a prime ingredient in it is parsley. But the one time I tried to make it from scratch, it tasted nasty, because of the parsley! I don't know what the deal was.

Is the moose cookbook the Moosewood cookbook? I've heard a lot of good things about that line of books.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Yeah it is. I assumed there was just one of them, but apparently there is a whole series. The one i have is the first one. And it is really cool and fun.

pat

[raspberrypie.livejournal.com]

what is the first one's title? i love the moosewood cookbooks... my mom has several of them. i just wouldn't mind a good minestrone recipe, really.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

It's called The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.
She also drew the really cute pictures that adorn all the recipes, and I think that is neat.

pat

[raspberrypie.livejournal.com]

yeah, i've seen that one before... i like that sort of thing. :-)

[raspberrypie.livejournal.com]

from using them for baking and cooking (my mom has several) i highly recommend them. the moosewood restaurant's low-fat favorites i adore, and the enchanted broccoli forest, as well as their dessert one--all helpful, really well laid-out, and just excellent recipes. never had a bad one yet.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

There are a few baking recipes in the one I have, I never thought of making them! I think I will. now, that you mentioned it. Thanks!

pat

[raspberrypie.livejournal.com]

their pound cake, if it's in that one, is insanely delicious. every time i make it, it gets great reviews.

[withbutterflies.livejournal.com]

What's with all the people on my friends list turning so domestic!?? You guys are some cooking fools. I shall be forced to do a Ami Foodapalooza 2007 and travel around and put you all to the test.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Way to go inviting yourself into people houses!
You'll take what I give you and like it.

pat

[withbutterflies.livejournal.com]

Then you will LOSE!!!!!! You will lose the LJ Cook Off and you will be sad and weepy. You'll be crying like you're cutting onions FOREVER. FOREVER, do you realize how long that is?!

Don't cook me anything with beans. They are gross.

Well, green beans are ok. Other than that, no beans.

Oh.. and no beets. That's disgusting.

[democritus.livejournal.com]

Yumm, that looks grubbin'. I wouldn't use kidney beans in minestrone. Next time try cannellini or butter beans. I don't like parsely either.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Kidney beans and garbanzo beans are the same? They are called chick peas, too? Damn. That's a lot of name. Thanks. I will try butter beans next time, thanks.

pat

[scout1222.livejournal.com]

No, kidney beans are something different. Garbanzo = chick pea

[democritus.livejournal.com]

I don't know why I said kidney beans.

[tpbrcombo.livejournal.com]

Is that ...a DOILIE?

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is. But, it's a manly doilie. That's not a doilie that a lady would use! Just look at it's manly orange hue.

pat

[tpbrcombo.livejournal.com]

There is no such thing as a manly doilie. That's like a manly miniskirt. Homo.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

I just call them kilts, racist.

pat

[tpbrcombo.livejournal.com]

Way to bring the Jews into this, you filthy anti-Semite.

[hairy-canary.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall taking a photo of a certain person in a manly miniskirt. And fishnets.

[tpbrcombo.livejournal.com]

That was for an art project.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Art?! Homo.

pat

[daedalsobriquet.livejournal.com]

you dont like chick peas? blasphemy!
where is this vegetable place you speak of? the one on milpas that has the ODB bread!?

how exciting. i love ODB bread. but i hate going downtown.

[pricciar.livejournal.com]

Yup. It's towards the end of milpas. Right when you walk in the store they have some french bread, both regular and sour dough. Not much selection, but still.

pat