» VEGETABLE BEAN SOUP «

(26 October 2011) - It is autumn again. The yard is full of leaves once more and I fill like making soup. It must be the weather: cool and rainy.
Now I keep Ruben’s daughter on Wednesdays to give Lita (Maria’s mother) a little break. This way my granddaughter has the chance to know us better, and so do we, while enjoying every minute of it!
She has blue eyes, curly hair, and she’s funny and curious. “Miss Sopa” is bilingual, what makes her double funny being only 16 months old. I love that age. Pity that they grow so fast!
Like the other one, “Miss Soupy Soup”, she loves soup too, so most Wednesdays that is what I make for them, of course she will also have wherever the rest of us are having. Soup and “chips”, are Aurora’s two favorites.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs of olive oil
• 1 Cup of chopped onion
• 1 Medium tomato (chopped)
• 4 Big garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 Cups of water
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Celery stick (sliced)
• 1 Big carrot (peeled and sliced)
• ¼ Of a cabbage (cored and sliced)
• 1 Can of white beans
• 1 Sprig of thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a big pot with oil, sauté the onion, tomato and garlic over medium heat. Add water, the rest of the vegetables and the herbs, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Rinse the beans and add to the soup with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes. I like to serve it with some whole grain that I cook separately, but that will be your choice.

Very good & healthy. *Makes 3-4 servings* - Splendid!

» TONI’S VEGETABLES' SOUP «

(23 April 2010) - The weather is kind of crazy in NORTH CAROLINA. One day is nice and worm, the next one it may be unpleasant and chilly. At least it is raining now… Better yet: storming. So tomorrow will be warm again (may be) at least we will be free of pollen.
I am a little under the weather myself. But, who is complaining? God is good!
I am trying to eat healthier: more vegetables and fruits. More than the recommended five servings a day - I guess Bonita’s influence. We are friends for a long time. We used to work together in the children’s department of a great store at the mall. We became friends really soon. We share our faith, our desire to work with people, and we love children. And taking about children, a little person came today, asking for the “soupy soup”. She eats in front of the television watching her shows. Tom and Jerry is her new favorite, and she laughs at everything that they do to each other (so do I). When she got tired of watching TV, she saw my sewing box and brought it to me along with the FROOT LOOPS cereal box from the pantry. Grand children… you have to love them!

Ingredients:

• ½ Pound of kale (take of the hard center section and chop roughly)
• 2 Roma tomatoes (take the center of and cut in pieces)
• 1 Cup onion (chopped)
• 2 Ribs of celery (cut in squares)
• 2 Medium carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 4 Garlic cloves (chopped)
• ¼ Cup quinoa (multigrain or brown rice pasta)
• 1 Tsp dried basil
• 1 Tsp dried thyme
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• Salt to taste

In a pot, bring to a boil one quart of water with the kale, cover and let it simmer. Meanwhile prepare the sofrito: on a frying pan over medium heat sauté tomatoes, onion, celery and garlic in oil. Set aside. Add the carrots and the pasta to the pot with kale letting it cook for fifteen minutes. Add the sofrito, spices and salt.

Serve with crusty bread. *Makes 4 servings* - Fabulous!

» GRANDMA’S SPECIAL SOUP «

(17 March 2010) - I love soups. I can eat soup almost every day of the week, especially in cold rainy day. Soup will warm your body and soul. There is a funny story about soup lately: One of those days when I didn’t know what to do for lunch, I threw some vegetables in a pot with a box of chicken broth and a chicken breast. Let it cook, add some angel hair pasta and there was lunch.

My 3-year old granddaughter, after she eat half her lunch watching “Dora the Explorer” came to the kitchen to see what were we having. She sat on my lap and wanted to try the soup. She liked it. After that every so often she would ask me for the “special soup” that grandma makes. Yesterday after she ate more then half of her omelet she asked me for the special soup. I said, “I don’t have any today, I’ll make it tomorrow”. Today, like she does sometimes when my husband goes to pick her up from preschool, she called me to remind me about the special soup. When they opened the door, the first thing she said was, “smells yummy” and needless to say she had a bowl of soup. She ate with her fingers the last tiny pieces of pasta!
Grandchildren… You have to love them – They make your life sweet.

Ingredients:

• One box of organic chicken broth (I like the Pacific brand)
• Half of a small onion chopped
• One celery stick sliced
• Two carrots peel and sliced
• Two garlic cloves chopped
• A chicken breast (cut in pieces)
• A few sprigs of parsley
• A half a cup of angel hair pasta (or rice)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients on a pot and cook them at medium heat for twenty minutes

Let it rest for few minutes before serving. *Serves 3 people* - Yummy!