MEMORIES AND MOM'S PASTA FAGIOLI

I remember when my whole family went to Boston for my cousin's big italian wedding, and my husband and I drove from Connecticut to join them. When we arrived my Mother had cooked Pasta Fagioli in my Aunt Terri's kitchen, and tasting it brought back so many lovely memories of home and family. My Mother is always in my heart, even though miles are between us. Cooking her recipes makes me feel a bit closer to her and cooking italian food seems to be in my soul.I am on a quest to recreate all the traditional italian meals I grew up on,vegetarian style!!

This soup is delicious and you can always splurge with a little Italian bread warmed in the oven, or garlic bread. It is super easy and healthy, except the parmesan cheese; but I will be watching my portion size so I should be fine.
You could even drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on a whole garlic head, wrap it in foil and roast it on 400 degrees for about thirty minutes. That is absolutely delicious on italian bread. Tonight I dipped my italian bread in garlic infused extra virgin olive oil with parmesan cheese, just a little. :-)

Here is the fantastic recipe, simply divine. I make this all the time.

You will need:

1 large onion

Cloves of garlic, I use tons!!

2 large cans crushed tomatoes plus one can hot water

2 regular cans white cannellini beans, do not drain.

1 large parmesan cheese

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

dried or fresh basil or oregano

half of box of ditalini pasta cooked  al dente' and drained

Saute' onion and garlic in a large pot in olive oil.  I always season my veggies as they are cooking. Cook until the onions carmelizes.

 A few minutes later add 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes plus a can of hot water and simmer covered for forty minutes. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.

Add the 2 cans of cannelini beans and simmer another twenty minutes.Do not drain.

After simmering, mix in the parmesan cheese, using most of the can. Then mix in the cooked pasta with  a bit more salt, pepper and oregano and voila you have Mother's Pasta Fagioli.This soup is a big pot of italian goodness. Mangia!!

Looking at bright fresh flowers when you are cooking makes the experience much more lush. Food, flowers, music; feeds our creative senses. I found this little pitcher and it was just shouting for come colorful stems to marry.  Mission accomplished, thanks to Trader Joe's.

CONTRARY TOPIARY
The lotus flower
perfumed in blushes
pink from promise.
Blossoming from
a towering sky’s whim.
Blooming despite
the muddy soil
from which it grew.
Aroused in the aftermath
of earths secret desires.
(c) Rose Bruno Bailey

Color, love and light to all.
Rose

MY EVOLUTION TO VEGETARIAN COOKING AND LIVING.

My sisters and I used to love to go to the grocery store with our mother. We would follow like little disciples, contributing our wish list of meal choices for the family dinner. This was the one thing that kept us together, the family meal. I never took an interest in cooking, never needed to. My mother was gifted at the culinary arts and I just basked in her glory, sampling an array of delectable delights as the years passed. She cooked with such passion and love, we all were the recipients of this gastronomical  way of showing affection.  


When my mother was growing up, she had artistic abilities, talents that she never had the opportunity to fulfill. She could pick up a pencil and sketch a portrait, and sing like a songbird. Her mother taught her dreams were unrealistic and unattainable. Over the years those dreams were left at the wayside, replaced with children to raise and the constant need to just get through a day and survive. When my father first met my mother, her cooking skills were so lacking, she could not even boil an egg. I believe when she picked up that wooden spoon for the very first time, the artist in her was reborn; the wooden spoon was her pencil, and the food she created was her masterpiece. Her cooking would be the light that kept us from darkness during those challenging years of childhood, and I believe her culinary talent became the basis of her identity and our lives together.

As we grew into our teens, birthdays meant big meals with spaghetti and tomato sauce, and all the accompaniments that go with a  huge Italian meal. Our friends were always welcome, and there was always enough food to share with anyone who stepped on our doorstep; kindness to others always came first. We might not have had much, but there was always enough to share. Through my mother I learned it is so much more important to give than to receive. A value I believe has shaped me through the years.

I became a vegetarian and I was one for ten years, and she was always able to take family recipes  and come up with something completely  unique just for me. As the years went by I never took a liking to cooking, I was always off doing my own thing and let’ s face it; who needs to cook when you have someone always doing it for you. I could never compete nor did I wish to, that was her arena. My interests were in the arts and I was not a cook. Then the day came when I wasn’t within driving distance of my mother.  It was time I learned to cook, and I did so  with her help via the telephone . I learned all that I needed to learn and more, and I even cooked my first Thanksgiving Dinner.

Now I find myself living in California and a vegetarian once  again, a lifestyle I find enlightens my mind, body, and soul. This time it is me converting recipes and reinventing old stand-byes.  If I do say so myself the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, passion for cooking  and giving can be inherited.  I am always learning, growing, and evolving; with the reassurance that my inspirational Mother is always a phone call away to assist me when needed.

Food feeds our bellies but friendship, love and light nourishes our souls. I am honored to share both with all of you as well as all topics about the beauty being alive. Join me in my new journey through the blogosphere of life.
Namaste'

Rose Bruno Bailey