Winter minestrone soup with borlotti beans and bacon

Being February, it is still quite cold outside. I find I really must have a hot lunch to keep my spirits up. Often, I will make a large pot of this healthy soup and parcel it out by the bowlful over the course of the week. But best of all, it is wonderful if I can convince my children that this is their after school snack - warming and full of Organic vegetables. This recipe can easily be adapted to a vegetarian soup by removing the bacon, but if you aren't a vegetarian, it does give a depth of flavour that satisfies the soul.

A few words about borlotti beans: these protein packed beans have a creamy texture when cooked and add a nutty flavour to your dish. If you are unable to find tinned borlotti beans, cannellini beans can be substituted. The American equivalent to borlotti beans are cranberry beans. 

1 T olive oil
1/2 cup bacon, diced or lardon
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks
1 leek, sliced
1 tin borlotti beans, drained
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Chicken stock *
1/2 red pepper, diced
small bit of crushed chili or hot red pepper (optional)
thick egg noodles or pasta
4 leaves from a savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
grated Parmesan cheese

Saute the bacon in olive oil until the fat is rendered from the meat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, leek and sweet the vegetables until tender. Add the garlic and drained borlotti beans to the pot. Top up the pot with homemade chicken stock or water with a vegetable stock bouillon powder, such as Marigold. Once the carrots have softened, add the red pepper and egg noodles. When those are just about al dente, add the Savoy cabbage. Serve in a big bowl with a grating of Parmesan cheese on top. 

I also like to leave out the noodles and pour the soup over high quality stale French or Italian bread for Ribollita. Another lovely option is a nice green dollop of fresh pesto on the top of the soup.

* I always have some stock in the freezer made with my leftover roast chicken. Here is my recipe for chicken broth: http://www.lifeatmybench.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/chicken-noodle-soup.html

15 minute Games

Remember when we used to go on holiday and there was no TV, no handheld electronics and no Internet? It is very hard to replicate it. We've had a family property in New Hampshire until this year where we have tried to give this experience to our children. My sister and I have banned all modern forms of entertainment for our children, until cocktail hour when we'd put a DVD on the laptop for them (no need to be monastic!).

But, we have had a great time playing an assortment of 15 minute games around the dining room table on rainy mornings or late at night. Here are a few family favourites that you may or may not know about. Click on the name of the game to go to the Amazon.co.uk site or go to the Amazon list below for the US version:

Bananagrams: Really fun and completely addictive game. Great for all ages.

Blokus: Really fun and quick strategy game. Great for spacial perception.

Quoridor: My children beat me at this regularly. Think empowerment!

Tantrix: A bit more complex, but keeps them busy a bit longer!

Uno: I loved playing this with the children when they were very young. Still fun!

Rory's Story Cubes: You don't need these to play the story game, but it sure is fun to roll the dice!
Hoyles Card Game Rules: This book and a deck of cards will keep you busy for weeks.

For more information on these games, look at my list on Amazon.com: 15 Minute Games

And if all else fails, get them to the table with the After Eights game.

Wild Rice Salad

This is a bit of an impromptu posting: I just threw together this salad for lunch and it tasted so good I had to share it with you. This is what I call and open-palm recipe; in other words there aren't really any measurements, just a bit of what you have in your refrigerator. Take the recipe as a starting point and be creative.

Wild Rice Salad:

cooked wild rice
chopped yellow pepper
dried cranberries
chopped red onion
diced beetroot
chopped flat leaf parsley
crumbled pecans (6 - 8)
drizzle of olive oil
drizzle of aged balsamic olive oil
drizzle of red wine vinegar

What would you add to this?