MINESTRONE SOUP

Hearty soup good any time!

In a large heavy bottom pot:

4 TBSP butter
1 medium onion
1 stalk celery
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes (optional)
1 can cannellini beans or kidney beans or chick peas
1/2 cup shredded cabbage or kale
1 can tomatoes
1 liter of vegetable broth or 4 cups water, 1 TBSP soup bouillon powder

1. Chop up the veggies, into small pieces, 1 cm or smaller.

2. Melt butter and sauté the onion, celery and carrots for 3 minutes.

3. Add the potatoes beans, tomatoes and water or soup broth. Heat up to just boiling.

4. Season with:

· Up to 2 TBSP dried parsley and oregano, basil, marjoram

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste

· ** secret ingredient 1 cm of parmesan cheese rind

5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer with lid on for 15 minutes or longer until vegetables are tender.

6. Add 1 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked) and simmer soup until pasta is tender (check pasta package for cooking time). Add 1 cup of water or broth if soup is getting thick already.

7. If soup is too watery, add 1 TBSP of tomato paste, or simmer with lid off for 10 minutes.

8. Remove bay leaf and parmesan rind before serving.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Minestrone