Zuppa per una giornata fredda

It's a cold, wet day in Washington. A perfect day for a hot bowl of rustic soup. What I love about Italian food is you can be creative and use what you have in your kitchen that is fresh and healthy and make a simple, delicious dish.

While I did not follow a specific recipe, I'll share what I whipped up today. Deliziosa!

First, saute onions, carrots and celery in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil. I used about 1.5 cups of each vegetable. Saute until starting to soften, then add 2 cloves of minced garlic. Next, add one 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes (I used fire-roasted), 2 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable), 1-8 oz can tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Bring to a rolling boil and add your preferred spices to taste; I used dried oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.

Add a piece of rind from your favorite cheese such as parmesan cheese. I had a piece of rind from a yummy, cabaret cheese from Costco. This helps to flavor the sauce. If you cut off rinds from cheese, you can freeze the rind to use later in recipes like this.

Once everything has simmered and is softened, add 1/2 of a chopped large zucchini or 1 medium zucchini.

Once the zucchini has started to soften, add approximately 1/3 of a package of elbow macaroni.

Cook until the pasta is al dente. I had some baby leaf spinach so I added a little to the soup and heat until wilted. If you need to, add more water, broth or even a splash of wine. Then add some grated parmesan cheese and stir until melted.

Top with grated or shredded parmesan and fresh basil and Buon Appetito! Of course, with a slice of bread!

Praying for sunshine and warmer weather soon! Picture from the piaza di Duomo, Firenze (Florence), Italy.