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.

Comments

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year. And once again it's tea time at my house. This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year. I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down. Baking with tea is both creative and fun. Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea. For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar. In addition to using lemon zest rubbed into the sugar for the cake

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

braised romano beans with heirloom tomatoes and purple leaf sweet basil

Romano beans braised in heirloom tomato sauce, shallots and garlic make an easy summer side dish -excellent served with grilled fish and potato purée. I know because that's what we had for dinner last Saturday night. I happily used purple basil from my own herb pots that are now watered with leftover shower water. We have many more months of drought ahead of us in California and apparently mask wearing when in public, no not in the car. I appreciate our farmers markets more than ever, thank you farmers for romano beans and heirloom tomatoes and also myself for the fresh purple basil. Such a treat to find fresh romano green beans at the farmers market; they hold up to a fairly long, about 20 minute braise and become tender in the tomato broth from the heirloom tomatoes. 🍅 This is one of those simple good veg recipes. Ingredients and Recipe for Romano Beans with Heirloom Tomatoes and Purple Leaf Sweet Basil Serves 2-4 1 pound fresh romano beans, washed and trimmed 2 tablespoon

Tarragon and Chives

Search This Blog