Minestrone

The Minestrone (page 222) soup turned out wonderful. John called it "perfect comfort food" and I couldn't agree more. The recipe was easy to follow and it seemed that you could use the vegetables you have on hand if you were missing any ingredients. One of the things I really like about Miriam's soup recipes is that she has you sauté the spices (even leaf spices) first in oil to bring out the flavors and it does the job. You can smell the spice aromas even after an hour of simmering the soup. The entire kitchen smells all 'welcome home'... mmmm