Minestrone Soup

The basic recipe calls for sauteeing some strips of good quality bacon
then adding the following, but I don't do that. I just start with some
good quality olive oil and sautee 2 onions, sliced thinly, 2 cups
celery, chopped thinly, 2 cloves garlic, or more, some zucchini and some
crookneck squash , and 1 tsp. basil leaves, crushed. Try for fresh
basil - sure makes a difference. I sautee this mixture untill the onions
are browning, then add some vegetable broth, and a few cans of tomatoes,
any kind will do - experiment with flavors of canned tomatoes, and
different types of tomatoes. Or
I especially like to slice up fresh tomatoes when I have them from the
garden and squish them up when they have cooked down a bit. I like to
add white beans ( the recipe the guy gave me calls for a few cans of Bean
and Bacon soup, Campbells, but oh well...) but you can add some canned
cannelini beans, and I especially like to add garbanzos, kidney beans,
lots of kidneys. I don't drain the cans, just add the juices. Cook this
down for a few hours, soaking up the flavors, then add a head of cabbage,
all cut up in thin slices, and your favorite pasta. I find that I cook
the pasta first because if you add it to hot soup to cook down, the
pasta gets all mushy and gives the soups a very papery, crappy taste. So
my rule is to cook all pastas before adding them to any soups. I like
to use the ditalini, small tube pasta for this soup, more authentic.
Experiment with different vegetables. I have made it with carrots,
broccoli, asparagus - what ever is handy. The more stuff in it, the
better. I even have added butternut squash. Oh my gawd... Make it at
least a day or two before serving it to guests - the flavors have time
to meld. And it makes great crock pot soup. and it freezes SO well. I
serve it with a great crusty garlic bread, tons ofd garlic, and some
fresh grated parmesan to taste.