Skip to main content

election day minestrone soup

 


I'm dying here, waiting for election results.  I made a pot of minestrone soup with Rancho Gordo Classic Cranberry Beans and lots of other good things, including fresh herbs from my garden.  I just found out that the hardest core Republican I know didn't vote for Trump, wow 🤩 left it blank.

I feel better and my kitchen is filled with the wonderful aroma of homemade minestrone soup.  Only a few hours to go before results start to come in from Georgia.  I'm sending positive thoughts to Georgia right this very moment, I hope they can feel them.

Ingredients and Recipe for Election Day Minestrone Soup
serves 8

8 ounces cranberry beans, picked over (I found a pebble), soaked over night and drained, set aside
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups mirepoix, yellow onion, celery and carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix
3-4 small fresh bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
1 quart vegetable broth, plus extra water as needed
Parmesan cheese rind, if you have one-it's great for extra flavor
1/2 cup elbow pasta
1 small zucchini, cut in half and sliced
1 cup finely chopped curly red kale, plus extra for garnish
Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

Heat olive oil over medium high in a dutch oven or heavy soup pot.
Sauté the mirepoix for 5-10 minutes until onions and celery are translucent, stir in the garlic.
Stir in the Italian herbs, bay leaves 🍃 , thyme, tomato 🍅 paste, Parmesan cheese rind, red wine, tomatoes and vegetable broth.
Bring to a simmer and stir in the beans.  Cook the beans until tender, about 2 hours, adding water as needed, keep the beans covered with liquid.
Stir in the elbow pasta and simmer for about 7-8 minutes.
Add the zucchini and simmer until tender, add the chopped kale and simmer for a few minutes.
Serve hot in bowls with grated Parmesan and finely chopped curly red kale.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

pear jam with saffron infused honey and cardamom

  Pear Jam with Saffron Infused Honey and Cardamom The summer after high school I worked sorting Bartlett pears at the Scotts Valley Fruit Exchange in Lake County California.  I thought I would never touch or eat another pear again in my life. But, here I am years years later making pear jam in my kitchen with pears, honey and saffron grown in Lake County.  A few weeks ago My husband and I went to visit friends in Kelseyville at their finca, they generously supplied me with the pears from their orchard-Finca Castelero- for my jam.  I will never forget getting up early in the morning and riding my bike across the valley from my cousin's house to work a long hot day sorting pears.  I remember thinking whoever came up with the idea of creating a cooperative to sort, pack and send pears from family farms, including my cousin's family farm on what is now called Hendricks road, to markets all over the country really had a good idea!  I never looked at pears in the grocery store the s
Post a Comment
Read more

French strawberry cream cake

Gracie, my 10 year old granddaughter  and I have been wanting to make a strawberry cake with whipped cream for such a long time, we made it happen this week.  I found what I think is a do-able recipe for a French style cake with strawberries and a cream filling to make at home with basic baking ingredients including fresh strawberries which are still in season.  We baked a butter cake for the base, then we cleaned, trimmed and sliced the strawberries together. We used a springform pan for the cake; the cake was trimmed and put back into the pan with a parchment collar to support the berries and cream topping.  Then we whipped up a cream cheese, sugar and heavy cream mixture that we piped around and into the strawberries that we layered around the sides and into the center of the cake.  We put aside a few sliced strawberries to decorate the top before serving.  The cake has to be refrigerated over night for the cream filling to firm up so it can be sliced cleanly.  We both enjoyed our
Post a Comment
Read more

tarragon jalapeño spring garlic mustard marinade

Makes enough marinade for 2-3 chicken breasts Marinade Ingredients 1/4 cup lightly chopped fresh Tarragon 1/2 small Jalapeño pepper, sliced thin 1 shaved clove of Spring Garlic 2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 T fresh Lemon Juice 1 T old style Maille Mustard Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Chicken Stir ingredients together in a bowl that will hold chicken. Add the chicken and marinate for 4 hours. Place chicken in a hot grill for about 10 minutes on each side. Serve with garbanzo bean salad, recipe to follow.
Post a Comment
Read more