Minestrone Madness - Blame it on Fannie Farmer

The other day I wasn't feeling well and I wanted soup. I didn't want just plain ole chicken soup.

Wait...maybe thats not what happened (I was sick, and still am, so my facts might be weird). Lets start again:

The other day I wasn't feeling well but I was in the mood to cook something. I came across an old old mini cookbook that use to be my mother in laws: The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook. (complete and unabridged). what does that mean???

I came across Minestrone. It sounded easy enough. And I had everything I needed to make it.

So why did it take me all day?

I took the long way home.

I had a bag of white beans in the freezer that I thought should be used. And I had a bag of veggie cuttings in the freezer waiting to be made into a veggie stock.

Did I mention that I was so yearning for fall that I was desperate to make a comfort food over the weekend before the temps hit in the 100's again (as predicted)? Ya..I was desperate.

So I soaked and cooked 1 cup of beans. I got the veggie cutting bag out of the freezer....

The recipe had called for water. Not broth. But come one....you know broth is going to be much better than plain ole water, right?

So I dumped all those veggies in a stock pot, and loaded it up with seasonings. I let it boil for somewhere between 1 and 2 hrs. Then I strained out the big stuff....and then strained out the little stuff

and I was left with some really good stuff for my Minestrone.

Ok...now that that's out of the way....lets get down to business.

a 2" cube of salt pork, diced

1 onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

Cook and stir for about 10 minutes

Oh ya...I found some more goodies in the freezer....a small bag of cooked, crumbled Italian sausage. So I threw that in as well

Now I was instructed to add a can of tomato paste (hmm..I don't have any. But I do have some crushed tomatoes in the freezer....lets use that) and 2 cups of boiling water or broth.

Simmer for about 15 minutes then add some sort of veggie. Fannie recommended cabbage. I had some mixed veggies that I wanted to see in my soup.

Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the beans along with the bean liquid and stir gently. Bring to a boiling and add 1 cup of elbow macaroni

Cook until just tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste....add more broth or water if needed (and mine needed it).

Fannie says the soup should be very thick.

I forgot to garnish with Parmesan Cheese (blame it on the cold)....but I didn't forget my homemade Italian Style Herb Bread....

Now...this is my very first ever entry for Souper Sundays. With the cold weather (hopefully) around the corner....I know there will be lots of good stuff to be found on Sundays over at Debs Kahakai Kitchen. Not only is she the host of Souper Sundays (soup, salad or sammies) but she's got some great recipes for food and beverages.