Myrna's Minnesota Minestrone

Most Minnesotans have gardens and lots of vegetables that they grow. Traditionally the vegetables are put in big paper bags and given to everyone they know. Bags of tomatoes and zucchini are brought to offices and neighbors and after a few salads a lot of folks are at a loss as to what to do with them.

Toss 'em in the soup pot, or even a crock pot and make a kick ass soup. After a long day at the State Fair or whatever other summer activity you enjoy it can be so nice to come home to soup, salad and a glass of wine. it is so easy to make this ahead and warm it up. This version does not have rice or pasta, but if you want some, add it. If you have a different mix of veggies that's fine too. If you live in one of those lands of long winter you need to eat those fresh veggies while you can.


1 - 1 cup Great Northern Beans (okay you can use any bean, but you are in the North)
6 ounces salt pork or chunk bacon
10 cups chicken broth (best if you make your own but the truly lazy can use the boxed)
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalk, chopped (plus the leaves, they add great flavor)
1 carrot, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head savoy or curly cabbage, sliced
1 cup of garden green beans halved
3 zucchini, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 cups fresh garden tomatoes
1 pound Italian Sausage browned (Yes you can use Jimmy Dean and it will taste fine, but really how hard can it be to get some hot Italian Sausage?)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish
Chopped basil or parsley for garnish

1 Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain beans, rinse, and place them in a large stockpot or crock pot. Add salt pork which has been chunked and browned and 6 cups of broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook gently for about 90 minutes. (overnight in the crock pot)Keep an eye on the beans, if they need more broth add it.

2 Heat oil in a separate large stockpot. Add chopped vegetables (onion, celery, carrot, garlic,) and saute until lightly browned. Add remaining vegetables and tomatoes. Add remaining 5 cups broth. Simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3 Remove salt pork from beans. Dice finely. Transfer half of the beans to a food processor or a blender and blend into a paste. Add mashed beans to the vegetables. Add remaining whole beans, broth, and diced pork to vegetables.

4 Simmer 5 minutes longer. Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve with a handful of brown sausage and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese and the fresh herbs if you have them.

Serves 10-12, easily. (This recipe makes a lot of soup!)

Jordan Ett's State Fair Drunken Beef Stew

Keeping with the theme of drunken food I am doing this particular recipe for my nephew Jordan. He loves to cook and is always busy. This dish is ideal in a slow cooker. In the photo Linnea is on the left with Jordan in the Center and I am on the right. My big visit of the year typically involves the Minnesota State Fair. I freely admit that there is very little about the State of Minnesota that I like (Other than my relatives)but I do love the State Fair. The spectacle of deep fried 'everything' on a stick is endlessly amusing, but I really love the animals, baked goods and crafts. This fair really is for the Farmers and it is a great way for us city folk to connect with the wonderful men and women who feed us. I have an enormous appreciation for the small farmers who manage to hang on despite the odds. If you have a farmers market or green market near you shop there.

On a related note...Beef; what is typically sold in the grocery stores is of very poor quality, filled with antibiotics and grain fed. Grain fed beef should always be avoided. Feeding cattle grain is horrible for their digestion and they must be given huge quantity of antibiotics to tolerate grain. In addition it destroys the balance of the Omega3 and Omega6 fatty acids and makes the beef difficult to digest and unhealthy to eat. Even the beef sold by Whole Foods (whole paycheck) as grass fed is grain finished to fatten it up and therefore very unhealthy. Talk to the Farmers in your area and see who has grass fed and finished beef and order from them. The taste will amaze you with it's natural richness and you will be doing something good for yourselves and the planet.

Drunken Beef
A little Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 veal knuckle bones
2 lbs beef stew meat (try to find some that has marbling, fat adds flavor)
5 large onions peeled and chopped into large chunks
20 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 lb. baby carrots
1 cut chopped celery with leaves
4 cups chopped spinach
1 bottle of beer (dark is good)
3 cups beef broth (Rachel Ray lies, canned never gives it the 'cooked all day' taste, but since you are cooking it all day anyway go ahead if you have no homemade stock on hand)
1/4 cup sweet Paprika
Salt
Pepper
A little sour cream for garnish

Get the crock pot out of the cupboard, plug it in and set on the counter. Dry the beef if it is damp and liberally salt and pepper. Cut into smaller pieces if they come larger than bit sized. Put a little oil in a heavy bottomed pan and brown in the hot oil, along with the veal bones. Stir them around and let them get kind of crusty. The more brown the more flavor. When ready dump in crock pot.

Put your onion in the hot pan and the moisture from the onion will begin to deglaze the pan, when they begin to brown add in the garlic and continue for a few minutes until the garlic has softened. Dump on the meat.

Put in a touch more oil and throw in all the veggies except the spinach, par cook them for about 10 minutes. Remove, cover and refrigerate.

Pour the beer in the hot pot and make sure you stir in every bit of brown clingy stuff when pot is fully deglazed dump beer on beef. Stir in the paprika.Add the stock. The beef should be fully submerged but not drowning. Put on the lid, turn on high and go take a shower, get ready to go to the Fair.

When your Father starts telling you to get your shoes on since it is time to leave turn the crock down to low, tie your shoes (if you wear sandals put some sunscreen on the top of your feet, you know how easily you burn)

When you get home take the veal bones out of the pot and add in the vegetables, turn back on high and give a good stir. Go tell your Mother about how much fun you had and how you REALLY are old enough for the haunted house now and promise not to have nightmares. Taste the stew and add salt if needed.

Put some water on to boil for a few noodles. When the noodles are cooked plate them and dump a good serving of stew on each plate, top with a dollop of sour cream. Have your sister get Daddy a beer and Mama and Uncle Karl a glass of red wine. Sit down and enjoy.

I'll put the leftovers away and it will be even better tomorrow for lunch.