Tomato and Basil Soup with Panini Soldiers and it's my birthday!

Yes all the rumors I've been circulating on social media are true; it is indeed my birthday!  (Please hold your applause, it's a yearly thing.)  Honestly I don't find the day all that exciting.  Usually I just give myself a high five because I did wake up after all.  

Last week when I ordered a glass of wine at a restaurant the server asked if I was 21, after I quit laughing at her I informed the nice young lady I was going to be 45 in a week.  "Oh," she replied. "My mom died at 44."  I immediately offered her my condolences and when she came back with my glass she added, "Make sure and take good care of yourself."  I wasn't quite sure if she was trying to tell me I was looking as tired and run down as I felt or if she was psychic and knew something I didn't.  

Usually I look forward to making myself an over the top dessert involving multiple layers and flavors but Mr. Bubonic was hanging out on the couch today ill and feverish and I figured it was much safer to hide upstairs in my office and catch up on some work.  

Fine I will eat healthy even if it kills me I kept uttering to myself.  The heirloom tomatoes I've been buying are so dripping fantastic right now I decided if I have to preserve my life longer I was going to do it with a bowl of Tomato Basil Soup.

Don't ask me how this sounded good, considering I have went to bed with the smell of tomatoes oozing from my pores the last few nights while I rebuild my inventory for the year.

Heirloom Tomato Basil Soup

4 pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes or any very ripe tomatoes you can find

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup carrots, finely shredded (about 2 medium sized)

1 small red onion, finely diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, and finely diced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  

Cut tomatoes in half and remove cores, place the halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in the oven for 10 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes.

Peel the skins off the tomatoes and squeeze the seeds out into a sieve over a bowl.  Reserve all the tomato juice and pulp.

In a stockpot add the olive oil, carrots, onion, and bell pepper and cook on medium-low heat till veggies are starting to wilt and become translucent.  Add the tomatoes and juice, salt and pepper, and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.  Add the basil and cook 5 more minutes.  

Use an immersion blender and pulse until semi-smooth.  If you want a chunkier soup you can skip this step.

Mozzarella and Pesto Soldiers

Sliced sourdough bread

Fresh Mozzarella balls

Basil pesto

Slather a little pesto on a piece of sourdough, a couple nice slabs of mozzarella, top with another slice of sourdough, place into a Panini maker or pan, drizzle the top with olive oil.  Wait for the crustification and oozification to take place and slice into soldiers.

I bought the bread, pesto, and cheese; after all I probably don't have much time to waste after my ominous warning.  But if you have plenty of more years ahead of you here are a couple of recipes you may want to try.

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Sourdough Bread

As for the source of the Black Death outbreak, well I traced it back to an unlikely source.  After much research and tapping my vast medical knowledge I had no choice but to conclude that Rusty is the pariah.  I have no idea how I could have missed it, it was right there staring at me the whole time: Blackening nails and an inguinal bubo on his armpit region. 

If I make it to 45 years and 1 day all bets are off and I'm going back to decadent baked goods.

In the words of my wise daughter, "YOLO!"

The Birthday Girl

Zuppa Toscana gets a make over

When my oldest daughter was little she went through what I like to call a "white food phase".  I wish I was exaggerating about just how particular she was.  If there was a speck of parsley on her pristine plate of white pasta with white cheese; she would sit there with the saddest pouty face ever and not touch it.  I would either have to send it back and try and not insult the chef who thought he or she was being a food stylist by adding that parsley masterpiece or sit there and painstakingly pick every green speck off that plate.  She was already on the thin side (sure didn't get that from her mother), so I tended to make sure we always had something on the table that met her critical eye.

I began to feel like a short-order cook, I would fix a huge dinner and then proceed to fix her a separate dinner just so she had something to eat that night.  I'm blaming the fact I did this squarely on my mother.  My younger brother (also painfully thin, and God why didn't that happen to me?) would never touch what my mom made us for dinner; he was allowed to eat a salami sandwich every night while the rest of us were forced to consume nasty stuff like liver or have our Dad yell at us (long story short, yes I still resent my Brother for being the special child, I'm totally kidding about that, well actually maybe I'm not).

Now that I'm all bent out of shape, let's move on to something more pleasant.  One place that my daughter enjoyed going out to eat was Olive Garden, not my first choice, but childhood traumas have a funny way of resurfacing at odd times.  I did however enjoy a bowl of their potato, kale and sausage soup or Zuppa Toscana as they called it. Being the picky food person I am I felt it needed a little something more (no that couldn't be where my daughter got her food issues, has to be my mother).

Zuppa Toscana Updated

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, washed, cut in half and sliced

1 pound Italian Sausage, casings removed

1 - 32 ounce box of low-sodium chicken stock

2 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

8 ounces whole crimini or button mushrooms, stems removed

5-6 ounces kale, chopped (I buy it ready to use in the bag)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup heavy cream

Heat a heavy stock pot on medium heat and add the olive oil and leek.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the leeks are wilting.   Add the sausage and break it up with a spoon and cook until browned.  Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, kale, salt, red pepper and cook for 8-10 minutes more, until the potatoes are soft.  Add the heavy cream at the last minute and serve.

Makes 4 large servings.

This soup packs more flavor than the original and uses only the minimal amount of cream.

As for the really good news, by the time my daughter left home she would eat pretty much anything I served her and I got to quit my short-order cook job.

Enjoy,

Gina

Turkey and Quinoa Meatball Posole

Soup Battle Royale was playing out in my head this morning.  One camp was screaming, "I want Posole", the other "I want Meatball soup".  Whoa, keep it down in there I had to keep reminding myself.  The battle went on for what seemed like hours, finally I decided to step away and have an oatmeal, apple, ginger cookie while I cleared my head.

I really wanted both kinds of soup, but decided to use a process of elimination to find the winner.

Posole
(pros); spicy, hominy, crunchy, pork (need I say more)
(cons);  3 hours to make, lots of pork and wanting to cut back on meat

Before I even finished with the cons (that and I was mentally tired), I cried out - I just want some spicy, tasty soup with meatballs and I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen.  

Soup Base

8 dried New Mexico chili pods

4 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt

1 - 29 ounce can white hominy, rinsed and drained

Turkey and Quinoa Meatballs

1/2 pound ground turkey

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large egg

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes

Radishes, thinly sliced

Tostada chips

Lime wedges

Bring four cups of water to a boil and pour the boiling water over the chili pods and let soak 15-20 minutes.

Turn a heavy stockpot on to medium heat and add the olive oil, onions and celery and let cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are starting to get a little color.  Add the garlic and cook a few minutes longer.  

Add the softened chili pods to a blender with 2 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and pulse until finely chopped.  Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the skins and seeds.  

Add the chili mixture to the stockpot and add the crushed tomatoes, 2 cups of water, cumin and salt and let cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Combine the ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.  I shaped the mixture into quarter sized meatballs and added them to the soup.  Let cook 5 more minutes.  

Add the drained and rinsed hominy and cook 10 more minutes.

Serve with sliced radishes, tostada chips and a squeeze of lime.

Hopefully I saved you from having this same battle play out in your head.  The meatballs are soft and tasty, the broth is spicy but not too hot and if you are like me you will need all the radishes in the above photo for your bowl alone.

Enjoy,

Gina

Italian Minestrone - Vegetarian

Whenever I read the words, "Because I'm a food blogger I never make the same thing twice", it makes me a little bit sad.  I can't imagine not whipping up the girls' favorites or a recipe that has been handed down over and over again.  Maybe it's because I favor more traditional things or I'm embarrassed to say it, "A little old-fashioned."

Even though I'm constantly trying new things, nothing makes me happier on the inside than when I go to my mom or in-law's house and they have one of my favorites prepared.  I don't care how many times I've had it prepared that same way, I can hear a whisper in my head - I love you, that is why I made your favorite.

Minestrone is one of those happy memory dishes.  It's one my younger daughters' favorites and I know every time I make it, she will eat it and be happy to do so.

Minestrone

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

32 ounces vegetable broth

1 quart whole tomatoes, crushed or 28 ounces crushed tomatoes (canned)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried

2-3 teaspoons salt or more if needed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 - 15 ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 zucchini, sliced

8 ounces cooked ditalini pasta

2 cups spinach or Swiss chard (optional)

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add the olive oil and onion to a heavy stockpot and turn heat on medium.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are starting to soften and getting some color.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.  Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and be sure and to stir the bottom to get the color up from the bottom of the pan.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  I broke into my San Marzano tomatoes from the summer and I'm glad I did, they still taste as good as the day they were picked.

Add the thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaves and let the soup come to a boil on medium heat, cook for 15 minutes.

Add the beans, zucchini, and pasta also the greens if you are going to use them, cook five minutes.  Remove bay leaves.

My daughter dislikes the greens, so I serve her hers and then will add the greens for the rest of us.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Traditionally you would place a Parmesan rind in the pot, but I don't usually have rinds lying around, so I usually omit that step.

You guys are probably thinking where are your I'm crazy-busy getting ready for Christmas posts? Yes, I'm busy getting ready for the holiday, but I'm not being crazy about it.  I've decided this year I'm not taking on too many things.  Unfortunately this whole year has been a bit stressful for me and I'm giving myself the gift of - it's okay to just sit back and enjoy being together.  I've had to take on new tasks, so I had to let some go.  I guess I'm just rebalancing, one should never be so out of balance that you keep being weighed down from it all.

Enjoy,

Gina

Chicken Soup with Pastina & Arugula

You are probably scratching your head wondering, "What's up with the soup, when it's a well known fact that you were whooping it up in San Francisco this weekend at the Foodbuzz Festival".  Yes all the rumors I started on Twitter are true and I was there and I was whooping it up.  Maybe just a tad too much, I came home with a nasty cold.  I shouldn't be so ridiculous, there is no such thing as too much fun. 

Hopefully you will accept my offer of a bowl of delicious homemade soup and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  While I curl up under a blanket and nurse my hangover cold.

Chicken Soup with Pastina and Arugula

(1) 4-5 pound whole chicken

Water

2 whole carrots, peeled

2 stalks celery

1 tbsp. salt

8 whole peppercorns

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh thyme

8 ounces dried pastina

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

1 cup arugula

Sourdough baguette

1)  Make soup stock:

Clean out anything from the inside of the chicken (oh you know what I'm talking about, don't make me get graphic) and trim off any excess fat.  Place the chicken in an 8 quart stock pot and add enough cold water to cover the chicken by 2-3 inches.  

Add the carrots, celery stalks, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme sprigs to the pot.  Bring soup to a boil, cover and then turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the record:

You can use pre-made stock and I won't bore you with my 6,000 word lecture about the merits of making stock from scratch.  Just do me one favor and read the ingredients list, some of them don't even contain chicken, are you kidding me?

2)  Shred chicken:

Remove the chicken from the stock and remove any fat and shred the meat into a bowl.  Discard any bones. Set aside.

3)  Strain stock:

Place a piece of cheese cloth in a strainer and pour the stock over it and into another clean pot or a large bowl.  Discard the vegetables and return the stock to the pot and bring to a boil.  Skim any fat off the surface.

4)  Add vegetables and cook pasta:

Add the chopped carrots and celery to the stockpot and let cook for 10 minutes.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil with a little bit of salt.  Add the pastina to the boiling water and let cook for 7 minutes.  Drain and add the pastina to the stock pot.

Add the zucchini and cook 5 minutes longer.

5)  Serve:

Serve the soup with a little bit of arugula added at the end.  Season with a little additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  A sprinkle of Five Spice powder is really good too.

I choose to add the arugula for a little peppery punch and to add a little extra vitamins to help that cold along (wink, wink).

I charred sourdough crostini to serve on the side and I just love floating them in my soup instead of crackers.

Cook Time:  2 hours

Serves:  8

Hopefully this soup can fix anything that ails you; I feel the vitamins starting to work already and will give you the Festival rundown as soon as I can!

Enjoy,

Gina

Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with Tequila Crema

Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with Tequila Crema, the name of the dish alone was enough to make me buy the cookbook, but after reading the list of ingredients, I knew what I would be having for dinner last night.  I picked up Guy Fieri's new cookbook "Guy Fieri Food" in Pebble Beach last weekend and as soon as I got home I book marked a couple of recipes, including this one.

I feel like I've been running all week and getting nowhere, so I decided to tweak Guy's dish a bit and make it easier for a weeknight, while still preserving all the yummy flavors he had in the dish.

My version:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Guy called for marinating the chicken for 6-8 hours, I love marinating meat, I just usually need a little more lead time than I had on this night.  

Instead I rubbed the breasts with the canola oil and sprinkled the seasonings all over until the breasts were well coated.  Heat up your grill or a grill pan and cook the chicken until fully cooked. Also you will be grilling a jalapeno at the same time until charred.  Once the chicken is cool, shred the meat and set aside.  Peel the pepper and remove the seeds, chop and set aside.

Soup Base:

1 jalapeno

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder (I added 1 tablespoon to add a little more flavor)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 quarts chicken stock

One 14.5 ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

Juice of 1 lime

1 corn tortilla, cut into 1/4 inch strips

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil.  Once hot, add the onion and cook until it just starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add the garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring 3 to 4 minutes, taking care not to burn the mixture.

Add some of the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits for the bottom of the pan.  Add the remaining chicken stock, tomatoes, lime juice, and strips from the 1 tortilla.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

For Serving:

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

Pinch chili powder

3/4 cup sour cream 1 ounce tequila

Grated zest of 1 lime

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Lime wedges, for garnish

When you're ready to serve, heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees F.  Add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until golden brown.  Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and season with the teaspoon of salt and a pinch of chili powder.

Combine the sour cream, tequila, and lime zest in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, put some of the shredded chicken in the bottom of each bowl and pour in the hot soup base.  Top with diced avocado, fried tortilla strips, the tequila crema, and cilantro.  Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Serves 4-6

My notes:

Overall I thought the flavor of this soup was outstanding, I don't know how much more marinating the chicken will add, but I will try it again at a later date.  The tequila crema was really good, matter of fact I think my crema in the above photo is smiling at me.  Plus the recipe gets an extra bonus for the fact the whole family ate it without complaints, minus the tequila crema for my daughter.

Enjoy,

Gina

Posole - Live a little on the hot side!

I saw a recipe on another blog for posole that just really put me in the mood for this hearty soup; it has a soft spot in my heart.  The first time I ever had posole is when my husbands' cousin made it for me.  I was hooked from that day on; the porkyness (feel free to call the grammar police on me) of the broth and the tingle the chile leaves on your lips.  I prefer a little tingle, but if you prefer a more gringo version, just dial back on the amount of chiles a tad.

My husbands' dad used to cook stews all the time, and I'd watch my husband eating them with sweat pouring off his forehead.  When he'd ask me if I wanted to try some; I'd always think twice. I think my husband has finally converted me; I'm always saying that could use a little more heat now.

This is my husbands' cousin's recipe, with a few tweaks of my own.  You know our family is all related because they all tell you how to make stuff the same way.  You know those folks; oh you just need a handful of this and about that much.  I've seen many versions, and most seem to be more of a southwest style.  It's like anything; I think we all have our own favorite version.

Posole

4 lbs. Pork shoulder, cut into 1” cubes and reserve bone for pot

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

12 cups water

8 Chile Pasilla (about 3 ozs.)

8 Chile California (about 3 ozs.)

4 cups boiling water

½ tsp. ground cumin

Kosher salt

2 – 29 oz. cans white hominy, drained

Garnishes:

Finely shredded green cabbage or lettuce

1-bunch radishes, diced

2-3 limes cut in wedges

Tostada Caseras Amarillas (I like Guerrero) (or tortilla chips)

Finely diced white onions

Dried oregano

1. I like to cut the pork shoulder up first and remove the excess fat from the pork.  You can also leave it whole and shred it later, but this will save you a step.  Plus you will end up with less fat in your broth.

2. Place the cut up pork and bone in a large stock pot and cover with 12 cups of water.  Add the chopped onion, can of tomatoes and minced garlic.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes.

3. Place chiles in bowl and cover with 4 cups of boiling water, let sit till softened about 30 minutes. Making sure they stay submerged.

4. Once chiles are soft, remove stems and place chiles and 2 cups of their water in a blender and pulse till all chopped up.  Pour mixture through a sieve and add to pot, then add cumin.  Simmer for 30 minutes longer.  At this point I like stir the pot and ladle some of the broth through a strainer to get out any impurities from the broth, I like mine on the clearer side. 

5. Add drained hominy and salt, simmer 30 minutes longer.

The way I like to serve it is, place a pile of shredded cabbage on the bottom of the bowl, then ladle soup over that, squeeze of lime, a bunch of chopped radish, and break up some of the Tostada chips over everything.  That's my favorite combo, but I added a list of other condiments that are also traditional.  If you like even more heat in your broth, add 2 chipotles in adobo (rinsed) to your chiles, before putting them in the blender.

Enjoy,

Gina

Butternut Squash Chowder

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I've become even more aware of how thankful I am to have my mom in my life!  Thanksgiving has always been her holiday; her health is preventing her from doing it this year.  So this will be my first Thanksgiving dinner for the family.

I'm always thankful for my huge wonderful family and loving and kind friends, but it never hurts to remind yourself on a daily basis.  I'm also thankful for all the wonderful blogging friends I've met on this journey called blogging.  I love it when you dangle goodies for me to gawk at, but I'm even more happy when I hear good things are happening for you also.  Your kind comments have brightened many of my days!

I'm going to spend the next couple of days cooking and cleaning and all the while remembering all the things and people I have to be thankful for.  I don't consider it a chore, but one more opportunity to have my loved ones around me for a meal and some laughs.

Back to my mom, I'm a rambler if you haven't already figured that out.  She was going on and on the other day about how she can't find her favorite butternut squash soup anymore.  I found this recipe on the Williams-Sonoma site and decided to try it;  I will make it for her on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

4 bacon slices, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. chopped fresh sage, plus small sage leaves for garnish

4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1/4 cup white wine

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 large butternut squash, cut in half, seeded and roasted

1/2 cup heavy cream

Place butternut squash on a baking sheet and roast in 400 degree F oven for 1 hour 30 minutes or until soft.  Scrape out of shell and puree in blender or food processor till smooth.  Can be done day ahead.

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until crispy.  Transfer to paper towel lined plate.  Set aside.

Pour off all but 1 tbsp. of the fat and return the pan to medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, bay leaf, chopped sage, salt and pepper, cook 5-6 minutes.  Stir in the potatoes, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Add the wine and simmer.  Add the broth and bring just to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer about 12 minutes, till potatoes are tender.

Add the butternut squash puree and bacon and simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in the cream.  Remove bay leaf and discard.

I had some Rosemary Parmesan Icebox Crackers left and they were super tasty with the soup. Overall I liked the soup, but I think I will remake it for her without the bacon, it made it a bit too salty or reduce the salt added, I'll have to play with it a bit more.

While I'm getting everything ready, I will be practicing my dance moves; so my niece doesn't whip me again at Just Dance 2!

I want to wish all of you and your families A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy,

Gina

Pasta e Fagioli with fresh Cranberry Beans

I was shopping at one of my favorite farm stands the other day when I found some fresh Cranberry beans or Borlotti beans as they are known in Italian. I just knew I wanted them, hadn't settled on what I was going to do with them.

I was sifting through them looking for some nice ones when this older Italian gentleman sorting green beans next to me gives me the eye. He tells me he is going to make minestrone, with the hand up and eyebrow at the same time. After rattling off recipes and hearing about his grandchildren, pasta e fagioli it is; seriously that was the extent of my excitement for the day!

Cranberry beans they are so cool to look at when fresh, too bad they turn brownish/gray when cooked. You are going to want to shell them and boil them in a little salted water for about 20-25 minutes and drain them, before adding them to your soup.

They are easy to shell, run your fingernail along the spine and they will open right up. You just want the inside beans not the pod.

Ingredients:
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
4 ounces chopped pancetta
1 box low-sodium chicken stock
5-6 black Russian heirloom tomatoes, skinned and crushed (use whatever variety you can find)
2 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. fresh cranberry beans (if you can't find these (1) can rinsed cannellini beans will work great)
1 cup cooked pasta
Couple of sprigs of fresh Thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large stockpot on medium, add olive oil. Add pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes until some of the fat is rendered. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic, cook for 5-7 minutes till softened. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add zucchini, beans, tomatoes, pasta, thyme (leaves only, not stems), salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes longer. I like my veggies still crisp, if you want yours a little softer, just leave it on for another 5-10 minutes.

Tip for the tomatoes: Cut an X on the bottoms and dip in boiling water for a minute or two till the skin is loosened, put in ice water to cool, then peel.

You can grate some fresh Parmesan over the top before serving, but I like to make some Parmesan crostini. Slice a sourdough baguette on the diagonal, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes till crisp.

Serves 6.

Enjoy,

Gina