Crave It: Making Minestrone

Being Italian, minestrone soup was practically a staple in my house growing up. As I've mentioned before, Grandma has the most wonderful vegetable garden, so I was used to the privilege of deliciously fresh veggies from spring to fall, and frozen for winter supplies when it got cold. Unfortunately, my little townhome doesn't even HAVE a yard, so to the grocery store for me.

Minestrone is great when you have a ton of veggies in the fridge, and no idea what to do with them all.

Fair Warning: I make this the "Italian Way." No measurements. Just toss it all in!

• I start by chopping up all my firmer veggies (carrots, onions and celery) and throwing them in a huge pot with a couple liters of water. I also put in a few whole cloves of garlic.
  (You can brown your onion and garlic in the bottom of your pot first in a bit of olive oil to really release the flavor if you'd like.)
  

• After after it simmers for about 20-30 min, I put in everything else; beans, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, etc., and let it simmer for another hour.
  It might make some "foam" on top... just skim it off and dispose of it.
  

• Aaaaand... that's it! You can throw in some pastina (small noodles) if you'd like and top it with some parmesan and you have delicious Italian Homestyle Minestrone! It also freezes really well in an air tight container - just defrost, heat up, and enjoy at a later date! (Just don't add the pastina until you're ready to eat it!)

Pretty simple, right? But lets face it... if it were hard, I wouldn't be able to cook it. Haha.