<p>Thumper, that looks like my minestrone except I put in some grated cabbage, as well. Also, toward the end, an husk from a piece of good parmesan. They’re good to save just for this purpose. A tip from my husband’s Italian grandmother.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Sewhappy, I also put in some shredded cabbage. I also throw in a splash of balsamic vinegar. I use a Minestrone recipe from W&S</p>
<p>I’m not a big cabbage fan (and yes it does change the taste of my minestrone soup). I don’t put the cheese in…this is a reduced calorie recipe!! High fiber.</p>
<p>Just my opinion on the Minestrone or any Italian soup: saute the garlic, onion, shredded carrot and diced celery in olive oil first. Then add the broth, other veggies etc and allow to simmer…it’s the right thing to do.</p>
<p>So what makes a minestrone a minestrone??? I always thought it had a type of pasta in it (?) - which incidentally is what makes me NOT like a minestrone!!!</p>
<p>EPTR -you are right. Sometimes I cheat and put the whole thing in the Crockpot, but skipping that step changes things. </p>
<p>Ah, thumper. Cabbage is like cilantro. You either like or you don’t!</p>
<p>EPTR…it’s minestrone for DUMMIES!! :)</p>
<p>Oops, I just noticed you DID have pasta in that recipe above! I didn’t catch that first read!</p>
<p>Actually, DH’s Italian grandmother would put the old stale husk of a block of parmesan into the pot of minestrone. Also a beef bone, come to think of it. Save the rinds of your parmesan. They’re not bad to throw into your marinara, as well. </p>
<p>This has got my motor running. Going to make minestrone this weekend!</p>
<p>The nice thing about Thumper’s recipe is that many of us have most of the ingredients in our pantry. I like cabbage in my minestrone.</p>
<p>OK, this borscht recipe is pretty close to mine:</p>
<p>[Elizabeth</a> Tatarinoff’s Winter Borscht | PCC Natural Markets](<a href=“Recipes | PCC Community Markets”>Elizabeth Tatarinoff's Winter Borscht recipe | PCC Community Markets)</p>
<p>Since I do not always have celeriac or turnips, I omit them. If you do not want to pre-boil beets, you can peel them raw, cut into matchstick pieces and saute with the carrots and onions.</p>
<p>I sometimes use ditalini for the pasta…I just toss in the pasta I have in the pantry. And yes…much of it is on hand. It’s an EASY recipe, very tasty…when I was working, I tossed it all in my crockpot in the morning, and added the pasta when I got home. The house always smells so good when something has been cooking all day.</p>
<p>Who wanted cabbage recipes?</p>
<p>Here is an easy slaw recipe that looks really pretty and is easy, easy!</p>
<p>1/4 head of cabbage - shredded
1/4 head of red cabbage - shredded
3 carrots, peeled and shredded</p>
<p>Dressing</p>
<p>1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup safflower oil
2 tsp caraway seeds
agave to taste</p>
<p>Mix the cabbage, mix the dressing, mix together.</p>
<p>If I am lazy, I buy a bag of dole’s shredded cabbage mix and add my own carrots and red cabbage. I also add shredded fennel or raw beets.</p>
<p>You can change the flavor by using sesame oil, white champagne vinegar, a little tamari sauce, sesame seeds, and agave. </p>
<p>Just finished our Saturday tailgate and we had this as a side.</p>
<p>Last Wednesday, we celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary by eating at a Southern food restaurant (my suggestion). I loved every morsel, but I’m not sure that at that quantity <em>morsel</em> is the appropriate description! In retrospect, I should have asked for a doggy bag and packed up half at the beginning. I had a dish described as sauteed spicy prawns over grits, but the grits were more like polenta with a ton of cheese. The grits and non-sweet cornbread muffin did not send me into a carb craving spiral, so maybe it is mostly bread, cookies, cake, and the like that do it to me? I was and am happy, since that one meal was far more satisfying than a diet friendly but mediocre meal might have been at another place.</p>
<p>I also like to put red cabbage in my slaw. I also add a bit of horseradish to the dressing. I am thinking of making some for a BBQ tomorrow evening.
What is the story on coconut oil?</p>
<p>Should have done my weekly weigh-in today, mysteriously I weigh a pound less than yesterday! </p>
<p>I went to the gym and cranked up the dreadmill - so that may have been part of it.</p>
<p>I made Thumper’s minestrone for dummies today with a little improvisation just because I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand:</p>
<p>1 24 oz can crushed Italian style tomatoes
1 16 oz can diced Italian style tomatoes
1 16 oz can garbanzos
1 16 oz can kidneys beans
1.5 cans Campbell’s beef consomme
1 onion
3 carrots
Couple handfuls of frozen mixed vegetables
Parmesan husk
Rotini pasta</p>
<p>I simmered the chopped fresh onion and carrot in a little olive oil and butter
Then put into crockpot with everything except the frozen mixed vegetables, pasta and parmesan
Cooked many hours in crockpot
Last hour, cooked the pasta, threw in the husk of parmesan, threw in a couple handfuls of frozen mixed vegetables.</p>
<p>Ladles the soup over the pasta in pasta bowls. Yummy. </p>
<p>I might put in a little turkey kielbasa next time but it was really good meatless.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we had this with my apple, raising and walnut cake and whipped cream so dinner was not particularly saintly tonight.</p>
<p>Sewhappy - Pacific makes a great low-sodium broth. It comes in a box and I love it in soups. </p>
<p>I don’t know the sodium count in the Campbell’s beef consomme and I wanted to offer an alternative. That’s what you can blame an uptick in weight on, should it occur!</p>
<p>Weight okay this morning. Actually, DH reported this. I rarely get on the scale. </p>
<p>I know the Campbell’s beef consomme is high in salt but I think the flavor is just fabulous and worth the sodium. Plus my dear friend at CDC says all the hype about sodium being bad for us is hooey.</p>
<p>Plus my dear friend at CDC says all the hype about sodium being bad for us is hooey.</p>
<p>I like salt- but I haven’t read anything that says that we eat the right amount.</p>
<p>[CDC</a> - DHDSP - High Blood Pressure and Sodium](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sodium.htm]CDC”>http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sodium.htm)</p>