I don't particularly like Minestrone

Tonight Mrs. MC wanted Minestrone soup. My mind, in horror,  instantly flashed to the plethora of soggy vegetable stews I have experienced in my life. My grandpa used to make something called Mulligan's Stew. Its like Minestrone on steroids. Mrs. MC makes Minestrone from time to time and I usually have one bowl, out of love for her, not the soup. So having just finished a 14 page paper for class, I wanted to cook the soup. I needed to stand up for a while anyway. Now comes the confession. I ate two bowls. Here is how it went down. 

6 qt. stock pot

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, pealed and diced

1 small yellow onion

2 Tbls Butter (the real stuff please)

2 Cups Diced Red Potato

1 Qt. Canned tomatoes, drained

1 Qt. Vegetable Broth

2 Cups Fresh Green Beans

1 Zucchini, Diced

1 Can beans, white, drained

Some pasta, shapes not spaghetti

Your chopped veggies should be about equal in amounts. This is similar to a mirepoix but since the ratios are not 2:1:1 I would be castigated for calling it that, but you could use the mirepoix ratios, in fact I think it would be better. Anyway, sweat the veggies in the butter in the bottom of your pan. Sweating is not sauteing. Sauteing equals browning, sweating equals translucence. If your stuff browns the pan is too hot.

 

Once the onion and celery become somewhat see through add about two cups of diced red potato and stir for about three minutes. This is where I wanted to add fresh garlic but I was out (gasp!). If I had fresh garlic I would add a couple or more cloves diced. After stirring the potatoes for the three minutes I added one quart jar of homemade canned tomatoes with the liquid drained off and one quart of vegetable broth.

 

Now spice to taste. I used a lot of garlic granules since I was out of fresh garlic, and salt and pepper, some thyme, a little cumin and some mustard powder. This is where you can make it how you like it. I let the concoction simmer for about 10 minutes until the potatoes were starting to get soft. Then I added about 2 Cups of fresh green beans snapped in half and one diced zucchini. Cook this until beans are to your liking. I like mine crunchy but not rock solid. Add one can of white beans, drained. I was out of white so I used pinto. White would have been better. I added about a half can of water to keep the mixture from getting too thick. Then I added some Farfalle (bowtie) pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente and then season to taste. 

I served this with homemade bread with butter and it was a hit. I think even the kids ate it. MMMMM. 

The first and foremost post

This is a new attempt at Blogging for me. I did attempt once, a long time ago. I discovered this when I tried to sign up for this blog. My first blog was a one sentence, "lets see how this new technology works" blog that I never went back to. Who knows how long ago that was. Since the title was in Arabic, I assume it was during my undergrad years.  So this time, following the advice of my favorite graphic designer- that blogs should be about something, I will make a real stab at this. Considering I will actually finish an MS degree in three weeks, I may need something to do. So my topic is Mormon Cooking. I am sure some are confused. Some might think I mean to post funeral potato recipes and others might think I intend to create a new multi-level marketing company that uses LDS connections to build your network, while others may wonder what Mormon Cooking is. 

So I suppose it is only fair to define what I mean by Mormon Cooking. While I have a great love for green Jello salads and freezer meals, this is not that kind of site. As a Mormon and a self proclaimed good cook, I wanted to share my triumphs and tragedies in the kitchen. I found a chain of blogs about food the other day and have enjoyed perusing them. I feel like I would love to be connected to that scene but I have two hang-ups: 1. I am not a pro-chef by any means and 2. Alcohol. It seems that every "good" cooking site, book etc. is more focused on how to use good booze to enhance food rather that just cooking food. Considering my faith's avoidance of alcohol, I wanted to post how I cook delicious food "sans Alcholia". So thus the premise of my blog was born. I will attempt to provide recipes, ideas, and thoughts on cooking - that negate the need to sneak into a liquor store, hoping no one in your Ward sees you, in order to make new and delicious food. If you came here looking for funeral potatoes I am sorry, I have never made them. Hopefully though I will have something to share. Until next time. . .