Minestrone Soup

I'm one of those people who is jinxed when it comes to staying healthy when flying. If there's someone on the plane who has a cold, I'll leave the flight with it. And that's exactly what happened on my last flight. I woke up this morning and realized what I thought was just an annoying sore throat was now officially a cold. Well, there goes my appetite. But, the one thing that always seems to go down well on a sick day is a hearty bowl of minestrone soup. There are so many variations to this soup that it seems like anything consisting of tomatoes, beans and veggies can be labeled "minestrone." Not feeling up for a trip to the grocery store, I was relieved to see that the fridge had pretty much every ingredient I wanted to use (except zucchini).

Since minestrone soup recipes seem to be such a hodge-podge of vegetable and flavors, I'm going to give you a recipe that has been my savior today. Here's my disclaimer: having a cold means my sense of taste is pretty nonexistent right now. I think this tasted great, but if I was feeling 100% I might find things to tweak here and there.

Serves 6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hours 15 minutes

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can white beans
1/2 can garbanzo beans (can be swapped for more white beans to use up the whole can)
3/4 teaspoon dried parsely
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups water
1 chicken flavored bullion cube (or use 2 cups chicken stock)
2 cups loosely packed Napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup Farfalline pasta (or any small pasta)
Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish

Over medium high heat, warm oil in a large pot. Add onion and saute until they begin to get translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and celery, cooking for another 5 minutes. Add the water, bullion cube, tomatoes, beans, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add cabbage and pasta. Stir together and cover for another 20 to 30 minutes. When ready to eat, grate the desired amount of cheese over your soup.

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