Minestrone

The purchase of yummy Italian bread and lots of vegies at the Farmers' Market this morning required the making of minestrone this evening.

1 onion, diced
1 leek, sliced thickly
1 carrot, diced
1/2 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 (very) small red capsicum, diced
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tub tomato paste
1L water
1/8 green cabbage, finely shredded
1 bunch pak choi, finely shredded (or use spinach or silverbeet)
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 tin cannelini beans
1 tin kidney beans
black pepper and basil to season

Saute onion, leek, carrot, broccoli and capsicum until beginning to wilt. Add garlic for a minute until fragrant. Add tomato paste, and gradually mix in water. Season. Bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cabbage, pak choi, zucchini and beans, simmer for five minutes until heated through, and serve with grated cheese (preferably Parmesan, although I didn't have any tonight) and Italian bread.

We've been eating pretty crappily this week because I've been too tired to cook most nights, and I can just feel my body radiating gratitude at me for all those yummy vegetables right now *g* Maybe I'm a food snob, but I can't believe that some people eat the kind of processed crap we've been subsisting on this week all the time, and think that it constitutes real food...