That was my facebook status today… I love Mark Bittman. 😀 I also love his recipe for Pasta e Fagioli, or pasta and bean soup. When I woke up this morning it was the only thing I could think of. One of the great things about having holidays at your extended family’s house is that you do not have endless amounts of leftovers. I was so excited that we actually needed something to eat for dinner tonight!

I enjoyed a restful morning. Before I went to bed last night I set my alarm for 8:45 so I did not “sleep the day away” as my dad used to say. (I still have an uncanny ability to sleep for hours and hours at a time – something I have been doing since the day I was born.) I was glad that I set my alarm, and that I was able to get up at a decent hour (9 o’clock). Eventually I started gathering the ingredients for Bittman’s pasta e fagioli. I wanted to see what I had first at home, and then I made a list of things I needed to pick up at the market.

Ingredients:

Low sodium chicken broth (to cans)

3 cups of cannellini beans

1 large an of kitchen ready tomatoes

lots of garlic

freshly chopped parsley

1 large onion chopped

Rosemary, 1 teaspoon

extra virgin olive oil

3 cups of water

freshly ground pepper

mini bow tie pasta

freshly grated Parmesan for garnish

Even though some of my ingredients were from a can, the soup still tastes just soooo fresh. I love making my own soups because I can use low sodium ingredients, and things taste like they are right out of a farmers market or something.

I do realize that I never take photos as I am cooking – I think I get a bit wrapped up in the process. But today I actually remembered to take a few photos while I was cooking. Now you can see what a messy kitchen I keep 🙂

My chopping area, with spices, bread, cheese and pasta on the side.

My stove with the pasta already cooked, and the soup coming to a boil:

The final product:

Oh it is soo good. If you do not already have it, pick up How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. It is one of my favorite cookbooks.