Anna Sultana's Minestrone with Garlic Croutons and Garden Soup / Christmases Past by Margaret Ullrich

Minestrone

In only a couple of days it will be 2022.
Another year is coming to a close, with its good and bad.
True, Covid-19 and its newest variant - with the potential for more variants - haven’t gone away.
But we have vaccines, we’re doing all we can to prevent the spread, and it will eventually run its course, just like other pandemics have.
So, on to 2022! We can do it!!

Along with our health, Covid-19 has been affecting the supply chains of just about everything.
When we couldn’t find old favourites, or even staples, on the shelves in our grocer’s, we’ve had to make some changes in our usual menu plans.
There’s been talk of food prices going up even more in 2022.

Sounds like it’s time to pull out the soup recipes.
Soup give us a chance to use up every bit of our vegetables, along with getting us extra value from the occasional roast's bone.
It’s like getting two meals for the price of one, or two half-price meals.
Either way you prefer to look at soup, it’s a budget’s best friend.


Italians and Maltese have been making minestrone for centuries.
As a result there are many variations, such as:

Rice and Pea Minestrone
Substitute chicken broth for beef broth.

Add 20 ounces frozen peas
.
Substitute 1/2 Cup white rice for the macaroni.

Minestrone con Carne
When you’re cooking the onion add
1/2 pound ground beef
Cook until the meat is browned.

Another good soup is Escarole and Little Meatballs Soup - Minestra.

If you’d like to serve a soup as a first course with a non-Italian meal then the Garden Soup recipe would be perfect.

Wishing you health, peace, joy and everything good in 2022!


Hints:

About the Minestrone…
If you have a bit more time and a bag of dried chick peas you can use them.
Place in a bowl
1 Cup dried chick peas
enough cold water to cover by 2 inches
Let stand for 4 hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator.
If the chick peas appear above water level, add more water.

Drain the chick peas and place them in a pot with fresh water to cover by 1/2 inch.
Over low heat, bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot and simmer about 1 hour.
If the chick peas appear above water level, add more water.
When the chick peas are soft, drain and use as canned.


About the Garden Soup…
Don’t have a ham bone? You can use beef, lamb or poultry bones.
In a rush? Store-bought broth would do nicely.

If you prefer, you can leave out the salt pork or bacon and use 3 Tablespoons oil.
Instead of fresh spinach you can use thawed frozen spinach.
If you have fresh, use a few leaves each of mint, marjoram, basil, rosemary, and thyme.
Instead of the green or wax beans you can substitute fresh shell beans or 1/2 Cup dried navy beans prepared as you would the chick peas.



                                                               Minestrone and Garlic Croutons

Serves 8 to 12

Chop

1 medium yellow onion

Slice
1 Cup celery
1 Cup carrots
1 Cup zucchini

Finely shred
2 Cups cabbage

Drain and rinse
1 (1 pound 4 ounce) can chick peas


Place in a Dutch oven

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 Cup dried parsley
the chopped onion
Cook, stirring frequently, over low heat, until the onion is soft but not brown.

Add
4 Cups beef broth
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
the sliced celery and carrots
the shredded cabbage
the prepared chick peas
1 teaspoon dried basil, sage or oregano
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Add
1 Cup elbow macaroni
the sliced zucchini
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes or until the macaroni is tender.
Season with salt and pepper
Ladle into soup bowls.
Top with
the garlic croutons
grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Some crusty bread and a salad would round out the meal nicely.

Garlic Croutons

Cut into cubes
8 to 12 thick slices Italian bread
Place on a cookie sheet
Toast in a 300ºF oven until the cubes are dry but not browned.
Place in a skillet
1/4 Cup olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
the toasted cubes
Heat and stir until they are golden brown.


                                                               Garden Soup

4 to 6 servings

Chop
2 onions
3 stalks celery
1/2 pound fresh spinach or other greens

Peel and dice
2 carrots

Put in a large stockpot
1 ham bone
Cover with water, and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour.

While the bone is simmering, place in a frying pan
1/4 Cup chopped salt pork or bacon
Cook over low heat until the fat is released.
Add
1 clove garlic, minced
several sprigs parsley
the chopped onions and celery
the diced carrots
Sauté lightly, without browning.

Remove the ham bone from the pot and skim any fat from the broth.
Cut off any bits of meat from the ham bone and return them to the pot.
Add the onion and carrot mixture to the broth and simmer for 1 hour.
Add
1 Cup green or wax beans, frozen or fresh
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon mint
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
4 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
the prepared spinach or other greens
1 Cup pureed winter squash or pumpkin
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Season with
salt and pepper
Taste and adjust seasoning
Serve hot, with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

                                                            ~~~

This was a holiday piece I wrote a few years ago for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting’ when we decided to chat about past Christmases… both good and bad.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season full of peace, health, joy and love.
And, of course, favourite foods.
Let's not forget television specials and Christmas music.

For those who don't know the story, the Christmas carol Silent Night was written in the nineteenth century because of a problem.      
In a small Austrian church the organ was broken and couldn't be repaired in time for the Christmas Eve Mass. So, in a couple of hours, Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber created a simple song that could be played on the guitar.
It was called the song from heaven.
      
On Christmas Eve in 1914, the German soldiers singing Silent Night brought a touch of humanity to World War l. The British soldiers responded with another carol, The First Noel. For a few hours, peace returned, thanks to music.


The first year I was on the CKUW radio show 2000 & Counting, Older and Wiser I prerecorded our two holiday shows. That year the holidays occurred on Tuesday, the day we usually broadcasted, and we wanted to be home.
I taped each person telling a story and their favourite Christmas carol recording.
The segments filled the two hours easily.

Normally we did our shows live and, as our listeners knew, we did make mistakes. 
With prerecording, we were able to edit them. We sounded pretty good.

      
Maybe that's the problem with modern life.
We hear recordings and see shows that have had dozens of retakes.
Sometimes they show the bloopers.
It's pretty funny to see that even big stars make mistakes.
But, most of the time, all we only see a smoothly running show where everyone always says the right thing, the dinner is cooked to perfection and all problems are resolved with everybody hugging each other within a half an hour.

It can leave one feeling like he's been cheated or that he should try harder.


The first Christmas was a stinker.  Being in a big city with no available rooms is not fun. Add to that Mary was about to have her first baby in a barn with just a carpenter there to help.
I don't think any Christmas has ever gone according to plan.
And maybe Christmas just isn't supposed to be perfect.


A first Christmas away from all that's familiar can be rough.
Our first married Christmas was a big change.
Paul and I are originally from New York City.  Tons of people.
I came from a huge family - a first generation immigrant family.
My parents and their siblings couldn't get enough of each other.     
But, there we were in 1972, all alone in Surrey, British Columbia.
The two of us in a basement apartment watching Perry Como's Christmas Special.
It was something from home for us.
This was in the days before Skype. We hadn't seen our relatives for six months.    
When we watched Perry Como, it was good to know our folks were watching it, too.
For an hour, we were all together.
Then we went to bed for a long winter's nap.
     
The next morning we awoke hearing our puppy happily yelping and splashing in water.
No, he wasn't in a basin or a tub.
     
Surrey in those days was very rural. 
There were open drainage ditches running along the lengths of the residential blocks. The ditch in front of our house had gotten plugged. The rain had soaked our lawn and was seeping through three walls of our apartment. We were rapidly being flooded.

We piled things onto our bed.
The folks upstairs helped us carry everything else into their apartment.
Within a half hour water covered about two feet of our first Christmas tree.
We were safe and dry upstairs, sharing a cup of coffee.
Then we heard our phone ringing.
My folks had said they would call on Christmas Day.
If we didn't answer they phone, they would worry.
This was in the days before cell phones.
Our only phone was on the table in our apartment.
Our flooded apartment.

We braved the icy water and the risk of electrocution to answer the phone.
We wished my folks a Merry Christmas.
Keeping our teeth from chattering, we made small talk.
No mention of of our apartment suddenly becoming a wading pool.
What would've been the point of worrying them?


Living in British Columbia is just a memory.   
Perry Como's Christmas Specials are just a memory.
My parents, also, are just a memory.
But thanks to memories, we can enjoy a Christmas from the past.


During the holidays people often feel a bit down.
If this is your first Christmas after a major loss or change, be gentle with yourself.
Forget 'the rules'. Do what will make it easier for you.

It won't be perfect.
So what?
It will be real… another Christmas memory.