Easy meals series: Minestrone

With the cost of food and the lack of time, you know that you could use recipes you can make ahead to save you tons of money when you are too tired or too broke to go out to eat.

Easy Soups: Minestrone
My go to soup that can last a whole week in the refrigerator, and can be dressed up or down is minestrone.  You can make minestrone with any beans and any vegetables, by the way.
I prefer great northern beans, freshly cooked, or from a can, rinsed and drained, carrots, celery, cabbage and a can of stewed tomatoes.

I saute' diced carrots, celery, onions and garlic in olive oil. (One cup each to make four servings.)
When soft, I add the stewed tomatoes,  chopped cabbage, and one cup of stock, then turn the heat down so everything softens slowly.  Taste after fifteen minutes, and if the cabbage is cooked, add the beans, warm it all up, season with salt, pepper, a few drops of Tabasco or red pepper flakes.

Serve with a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and chunky bread.

The next day, if you have any leftovers, you can add rice, or farro, or pasta. My mother used to add tiny ditalini pasta and potatoes to Minestrone. We never had any leftovers!

Home-cooked just like Mother's.

Have you craved for food you had as a child, and have not found any restaurants preparing them?
I do. I crave for simple fare, like this dish, beans and greens, for instance.
I crave for home-made pasta, little orecchiette with a simple tomato sauce.
I want to sit down to eat a big bowl of home-made soup.

To have any thing I really want I must take time to prepare the dish myself.

Beans:
I buy bulk beans from bins in the local grocery store. (This year I may purchase heirloom beans and plant them) You can soak the beans overnight, and the cooking will be lessened. Or, rinse your beans in cold water and place them in a big pot, covering with water, two inches above the beans.  Add four cloves of garlic, with skins on and a bunch of herbs tied with a string. Rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay leaves, for instance.  Bring to a boil, and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for a couple of hours at the simmering point, and watch the pot. When the water has been absorbed, test the beans by pressing one of them against the pot. If it squishes easily, it is cooked. Now taste. If cooked, add salt and pepper to taste and squish out the garlic from their skins.  If not cooked through, add a cup of hot broth and continue to simmer until cooked. Remember, do not add salt until the beans are fully cooked.

You now have a pot of beans to use in a couple of dishes.
The one in the picture is beans and chard.  Saute' the chard leaves until soft, in olive oil, chopped onion and garlic and hot pepper flakes. Add a cup of beans, and let the flavors meld.  Eat as a thick soup.

Or, add a cup of cooked rice, and you now have Minestra di riso e fagioli.
Or, add a cup of cooked pasta and you have Minestra di pasta e fagioli.
Add carrots and celery to the olive oil saute', cook until soft, then add chopped tomatoes, cook some more, add chopped cabbage and the beans with broth, and you now have Minestrone.

I hope you make a home-made meal from scratch for your mother this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day!

No time to cook.

                                      (Saturday, Feb.4, 2012, Grants Pass, Or. Oregon Old Time Fiddlers)

Plan on having non-cooking days, Yes, not just days when you have no time or energy to cook, but days when cooking is the last thing on your mind.  Sure, you can go and pick up food, or heat up leftovers.  If you make your pantry work for you, you never have to go hungry,

This is what I stock in my refrigerator:
~eggs
~hard cheeses
~soft cheeses
~ricotta
~cottage cheese
~sour cream
~milk
~whipping cream
~fruit, citrus fruit
~yogurt
~carrots,celery,jicama
~ green onions, red onions, ginger, garlic
~salad greens and cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach
~philo dough
~refrigerated biscuits\
~a jar of sundried tomatoes
~a jar of pickles
~a jar of pickled vegetables. My favorite, pickled eggplant. The recipe is on the sidebar*


In my freezer:

~individual fish fillets
~individual chops, cutlets of lamb, pork, chicken, beef, turkey
~fruit and berries
~sausages
~ground patties of above meats
~vegetables

In my pantry:

Cereals, and oatmeal in both forms.
Spices and dried herbs.
Oils and variety of vinegar.
Flour, plain and whole wheat, garbanzo flour, almond flour.
Sugar, honey, maple syrup
Ketchup, mayo, mustard.
Soy sauce, other Asian -inspired sauces.
Cans of tomatoes, and tomato paste.
Cans of beans, many varieties
Cous-cous.
Tabbouleh.
Pasta.
Rice, arborio, jasmine, basmati.
Bouillon cubes
Tins of sardines, kipper snacks, salmon, anchovies.




In a couple of minutes, I can whip up an omelette, a salad, a cheese plate, a yogurt and fruit bowl, a dip for crudites,  a tart, without turning on the stove, just opening my refrigerator for a minute.

To be good at anything, you need to plan ahead. To survive, you have to be inventive.

If you get inspired to cook something new, first check your stock to see if you already have some of the ingredients.

You'll be surprised!