Minestrone/Minestra

1. Meat
2. Beans
3. Greens
4. Vegetables
5. Pasta or rice
6. Cheese

What’s not to love about this most famous of Italian soups? Nutritionally speaking, it’s got it all. Frugally speaking, it’s a good way to clean out your refrigerator of all those leftovers & odds & ends that you’d probably wind up throwing away in a week. And it goes to a very good cause. A food that is close to perfect—well, depending on what you put in it. Of course, if you load it up with fatty meats or sausage or bacon, and loads of cheese, then you’ve defeated the purpose. But if you’re careful, and wise, you can produce a food that keeps on giving & evolving as the week goes on. On Sunday, it may be minestrone, but by the week’s end, it may become minestra (sort of a stew) as it thickens & you add things. With a loaf of crusty, whole grain bread and a salad, you’ve got a quick & easy & very healthy meal. Or, it may just be the soup course in a larger meal. See how versatile it is? I love it!

But I have to admit that I didn’t always love minestrone. As a kid, I hated it. It was full of boring vegetables & there were always some big red beans in there to ruin it for me. I just couldn’t see why adults went so gaga over it. But now, as an adult, I understand better & my tastes have changed. I know that this food is good for me. That the sum total of all of its parts has the properties that my body really needs for optimal health. Besides, now that I’m in charge of the kitchen, I can decide what to put in it—and what not. I can avoid the items that I or my family doesn’t like, and be sure to add the things that we do. And I can make sure it tastes good.

I've changed a lot about how I view food over the past few years. Things that I would eat with wonton abandon years ago, I can no longer have, not that I am ill. I have gotten to the point that I feel really guilty when I'm eating things that I know are made with (for example) white flour or white sugar, so that I can't really enjoy them anymore. I know that sounds a little neurotic... After all, it's only food. But I've come to view food as a sort of "therapeutic agent." It not only nourishes, it can also heal. Yes, food as medicine. And when you're ill, you take that pretty seriously, let me tell you.

As for recipes, check out any Italian cookbook for a basic one to follow & then adapt it to your own tastes. You really can't go wrong. (Do you really think all those Italian mamas over in Italy are consulting cookbooks on how to make soup?!) Mario Batali has a good one at the end of his "Holiday Food" book. Make a steaming pot of soup today as the weather is changing & it gets colder. It can really make you feel good!