i’ve had the hardest time completing a single blog entry. i have so many photos that i want to share, and so many half-entries to go with them and i’m struggling to get even one of them to completion. i guess i haven’t found my voice. and i’m severely over-thinking them. i stayed home from work today, sick with a cold. i thought for sure, with a whole day ahead of me where i didn’t have to leave my house, that i would finish some of the ones i started. instead i spent the day online, house-hunting, looking for a restaurant to go to tomorrow night and drooling over the blogs of people who were actually posting entries.
but i did accomplish one thing today, if only out of necessity. i made an easy but soothing soup to make me feel better.
what does it say about me, that i don’t normally have celery, carrots or parsley on hand, the staples found in any good cook’s fridge? they just aren’t ingredients i normally go to. but i was lucky to have them around today. if i hadn’t, i would have ordered chinese take-out for sure, justifying the financial and fattening splurge (i would have allowed myself to order the greasiest of my favourites), because i was sick and feeling sorry for myself. however, it was so easy to throw these ingredients into a pot and and come out with something much more beneficial that i had no excuse not to whip up this soup. my suspicious side knows it’s inauspicious to start with an entry about being sick, but i just need to post something already. i need to take a small first step. let’s just focus on the fact that this soup is damn good for you. if you try it, i hope you enjoy it–in good health!
vegetable soup
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and halved
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 large ribs of celery, chopped
1 small bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped
2 fresh bay leaves, torn
5 springs of fresh thyme
1 large sprig of parsley, plus 1/4 c. parsley leaves, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1 2-inch piece of parmesan rind
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 L water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c tubetti or other small pasta
heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. add garlic, ginger, onion, celery, carrots, bay leaves, thyme and parsley sprigs, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. stir vegetables and herbs to coat with oil and saute for 5 minutes until onions start to soften. add tomatoes, parmesan rind and water. bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, until vegetables are just cooked through but still have a bit of bite to them. add lemon juice and taste, adding remaining salt and pepper to taste. add pasta and cook for 8 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are as tender as you prefer them to be–when i’m sick, i like the vegetables and pasta to be quite soft. remove parsley and thyme sprigs, bay leaves and ginger pieces. add chopped parsley and stir through. ladle soup into a bowl and don’t forget to savour that soft, pungent and healthy garlic!
serves 4