Mummy made Minestrone soup, and it was fabulous. I wasn’t expecting it to taste so good, since she didn’t have a recipe or an Italian heritage, so colour me surprised.
I should have known better, since back in the day my mom was an apprentice chef in Europe. I had my doubts though, when she asked me to get her a recipe online, and go through the ingredients to see if she had it all.
Tomatoes? “Check.”
Onions? “Check.”
Carrots? “Of course!”
Celery? “Yes, but I won't use too much because I know you don't like it.” (thanks Mom)
Macaroni? “I like the little shells more.”
White Beans? “I’ll just use the ones I have.”
Basil? “Parsley, same thing.”
Beef stock? “Chicken is better. And I have some nice leeks, too.”
Talk about your bastardized version. I took my dog Bluetooth for a walk in the first snow of the year; she was chopping. I come in a half hour later to a hot bowl, ready and waiting. Commercial bound, I tell you, all it needed was an mm mmm reaction from me, which I happily gave. It was marvelous, stick to your ribs food, perfect when your cheeks are still pink from outside.
I started writing a cookbook over two years ago. Soup and sandwiches was the jist, and Mom’s Miraculous Minestrone reminded me of how much I still want to do it. We all start projects and set them aside from time to time, but this one is on my mind everyday.
It’s just really hard to make up recipes and experiment with food when you’re always telling yourself you have to lose weight first. Make sense?
But I want to hang onto the good things, meaning that there’s work to be done. And for one of my first soup recipes, Mom’s going to teach me how to make Minestrone.
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