Isn’t it a good time to think about Italy? (Ed: I like where I am.) I don’t even want to be in Italy (necessarily), I just want to put myself there in my thoughts right now.
Of course, last December, Italy was rather gray and wet (Ed reminds me). But warm and spirited! I could use something warm and spirited. (No, sorry, no wine allowed just yet.)
As it's Saturday, I do have the Westside Community Market. (May I state my deep appreciation not only for the foods you bring to us each week, but also for the seasonal, colorful, thematic clothing you wear? Okay, at least the women. The male vendors appear to be indifferent to issues of wardrobe or weather.)
So now I have my basket full of vegetables for a minestrone. Out comes the pot, in goes the olive oil, the onion, the carrot, garlic, celeriac, then broth, then peas, beans, chard, cauliflower, Romas, spices….
I’m in my Italian bubble. Tally forth, October. I’m indifferent to your somberness.
That looks like the best minestrone ever made by anyone ever! I can almost taste it - not quite, but I wish.
ReplyDeleteYour cooking photos inspire me. Many thanks.
Only thing missing is the kitchen sink!
ReplyDeleteMinestrone at our house tonight! Just another example of the impact of blogs on well-being.
ReplyDeleteThe minestrone looks beautiful and yummy! Do you have a favorite recipe that you use to make it?
ReplyDeleteKim: I'm guided only by what I like at the market. The format is always something like this: Sauté a chopped onion in olive oil until golden, add lots of crushed garlic and chopped carrots, sauté some more, then throw in any combo of the following: chopped celeriac, cauliflower, green beans, chopped tomato, peas (in the winter, throw in frozen ones), etc. Add spices (salt and ground pepper, some combination of herbes de provence and crushed red pepper flakes), simmer for about half hour. Toward the end (last five or ten minutes) I put in chopped greens -- I used chard this time, but you can also use spinach or whatever, and a can of organic great northern beans without the liquid. (On other days I have added mushrooms, corn, celery -- anything that I have a craving for. Traditionally, a minestrone may have tomato paste and/or pasta, but I don't use those. I like the concentrated brothy taste.) Heartiest, healthiest soup in the world.
ReplyDelete