Friday, August 24, 2012

Minestrone soup

I love this time of summer when people hand out fresh produce from their gardens like candy (they taste much better than candy, though). Someday I will have my own beautiful garden of produce, too. I'm starting small with two tomato plants in pots on my tiny back porch this year. They are alive and actually producing so I feel accomplished. I'm not the best at growing but I can sure cook and use up produce quickly. Here is one of the easiest ways to use the tomatoes and zucchini hanging out on your counter.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp margarine
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large carrot (or 10 baby carrots), chopped
4 C chicken broth
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 can kidney beans
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 C zucchini, chopped
1 C ditalini pasta
1-2 tsp each of basil, oregano, thyme and parsley
salt and pepper

Sauté margarine, onion, and garlic in a big soup pot for 3 min. Add broth, carrot and celery and simmer for 5 minutes. Add everything else. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Kind of hard to mess up.

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